VP, Accounting & Tax

Department: Finance

Location: London, UK

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Description

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About us

We are Digital Science and we are advancing the research ecosystem.

We are a pioneering technology company, and our vision is of a future where a trusted and collaborative research ecosystem drives progress for all. We believe in better, open, collaborative and inclusive research. In creating the next generation of tools and working in partnership with the community we tackle some of the biggest challenges to research. In order to achieve our vision, we need innovative, inspiring and dynamic people to join our team. Want to join us?

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Your new role

The VP, Accounting & Tax owns Digital Science's statutory reporting, tax compliance, and core accounting control environment across all entities. The role is accountable for accurate, IFRS-compliant financial statements, a robust month-end and year-end close, and a well-controlled tax and intercompany accounting function, while building and developing the Accounting, Tax & Corporate Reporting team and owning the continuous improvement of accounting and tax processes and systems — including legal entity consolidation.

The VP leads the Accounting, Tax & Corporate Reporting team and reports directly to the CFO as a member of the Finance leadership team. As one of the Finance seats identified for potential CFO succession, the VP is expected to develop the breadth of financial, commercial, and stakeholder judgement needed to deputise for the CFO when required.

Please note - due to business need, we can only accept applications from candidates who reside in the UK, where we have an established legal entity. If you apply from outside of this area, your application will not be considered.

For this role, we’d specifically need someone based in or close to London, so they can come into the office around twice a month.

Please be aware that we may close this position early if we receive a high volume of applications, so we encourage you to apply promptly.

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What You’ll Be Doing

• Own the preparation of IFRS-compliant statutory financial statements — for all Digital Science entities, including liaison with external auditors through to sign-off.
• Set and maintain group accounting policies — ensuring consistent application across entities and alignment with Holtzbrinck group reporting requirements.
• Own the group's legal entity consolidation process and systems — including intercompany eliminations, FX translation, and consolidated reporting in NetSuite, ensuring accurate, timely consolidated results across all entities and driving continuous improvement of the consolidation process as the entity structure evolves.
• Own the month-end and year-end close calendar — across the Accounting, Tax & Corporate Reporting team, ensuring a timely, well-controlled close.
• Review key reconciliations and judgemental accounting positions — including significant journal entries, ahead of finalisation.
• Own overall accountability for tax compliance and transfer pricing — working closely with the Tax & Intercompany Accountant and external advisors.
• Act as primary point of contact with Holtzbrinck group tax — on group-level tax and transfer pricing matters.
• Own external tax advisor and local compliance accountant relationships — across jurisdictions, including contract negotiation, scope-setting, and fee oversight, ensuring cost-effective, high-quality support for local statutory and tax compliance requirements.
• Oversee revenue recognition policy and its application under IFRS 15 — in partnership with the Revenue Accountant.
• Own judgement calls on complex or new technical accounting matters — ensuring positions are well documented and defensible.
• Own the internal control environment — across Accounting, Tax & Corporate Reporting, identifying and remediating control gaps.
• Act as the primary Finance owner for the annual external audit — and for internal and tax authority audits, from planning through to completion.
• Lead, coach, and develop the Accounting, Tax & Corporate Reporting team — including the Senior Accountant(s), Junior Accountant, Revenue Accountant, and Tax & Intercompany Accountant, setting clear objectives and building a pipeline of accounting talent.
• Plan resourcing and workload across the team — to meet reporting deadlines across all entities.
• Act as a credible stand-in for the CFO — on accounting, tax, and audit matters when required, including representing Finance in senior internal and external meetings.
• Build commercial, cross-functional, and board-level communication experience — needed to progress toward CFO-level responsibility over time.