Accountant / Finance Manager (Events) | Dubai | AED 25,000–30,000/month

Overview

Key Responsibilities

• Own monthly management accounts (P&L, balance sheet, cashflow) and deliver clear commentary to leadership
• Build and manage event/project P&Ls: budgets, forecasts, cost tracking, margin analysis, post-event reconciliations
• Manage AP/AR end-to-end: supplier payments, client invoicing, credit control, and reconciliations
• Oversee event cost control: POs, approvals, vendor contracts, accruals, and ensuring costs are captured to the correct project
• Cashflow planning: weekly cashflow forecasts aligned to event schedules, deposits, and supplier payment terms
• Support commercial decision-making: pricing support, scenario modelling, and profitability analysis per event/client
• Ensure VAT compliance (UAE): filings, documentation, and audit-ready records
• Liaise with auditors, banks, and external accountants as required
• Improve finance processes: reporting packs, controls, templates, and automation where possible
• Partner with operations/project teams to keep budgets tight and reduce leakage
• Must-have requirements
• Proven experience as an Accountant / Finance Manager (or similar) within events, exhibitions, experiential, production, or a project-based services business
• Strong track record managing project/event budgets and reconciliations (not just “general accounting”)
• Solid UAE VAT knowledge and practical compliance experience
• Advanced Excel skills (models, pivots, lookups; comfortable building templates)
• Strong stakeholder management: can challenge costs, enforce controls, and still work smoothly with ops teams
• High attention to detail, fast pace, deadline-driven

Nice-To-Have

• Experience with ERP/accounting systems (e.g., NetSuite, Oracle, SAP, Dynamics, Zoho, Xero, QuickBooks)
• Experience managing a small finance team or supervising junior staff
• Exposure to multi-entity / multi-currency environments
• Events industry knowledge: venue contracts, production suppliers, freight/logistics, staffing, permits, etc.
• What success looks like (first 90 days)
• Clean, reliable monthly reporting cadence in place
• Standard event P&L template rolled out and used consistently
• Clear cashflow visibility tied to the event calendar
• Reduced cost leakage through tighter PO/accrual discipline
• VAT and audit files organized and up to date
• Finance Manager / Senior Accountant (hands-on), ideally from an events/exhibitions/production environment

Experience

• 6–12+ years total finance experience, with at least 3–5 years in events or project-based services
• Demonstrated ownership of event/project P&Ls from budgeting through post-event reconciliation
• Comfortable in high-volume supplier environments with tight timelines (multiple events running in parallel)
• UAE experience strongly preferred (VAT, local banking/payment processes, vendor market)

Skills

• Technical skills
• Management accounts, budgeting/forecasting, cashflow forecasting
• Strong AP/AR, reconciliations, accruals/prepayments, cost allocation by project
• Advanced Excel (must be able to build and maintain models/templates)
• Accounting system proficiency; able to improve reporting and controls
• Commercial mindset
• Understands margin, pricing, cost drivers, and can support leadership with “what-if” scenarios
• Confident pushing back on scope creep and unapproved spend
• Behavioural traits
• Structured, calm under pressure, and deadline-driven
• Detail-obsessed but pragmatic (gets things closed on time)
• Strong communicator with ops teams (not a “back-office only” finance person)
• High integrity and control mindset (protects the business)