Gross Margin Finance Manager

About Us

At Kerv, we leverage the power of technology to help our customers stay ahead. We do this through our brilliant people who focus relentlessly on the customer and their needs, delivering world-class cloud solutions and digital transformation. Launched in July 2020, Kerv is a next-generation ‘customer-first, cloud-first’ provider, created to help customers achieve successful business outcomes in a new digital era.

The finance team is central to partnering with business leaders to provide accurate, timely and quality information to support their growth plans.

Role Purpose

The Gross Margin Finance Manager plays a critical role in ensuring accurate, timely, and insightful reporting of gross margin performance across Kerv’s practices. This role supports the Group Finance team by owning the end-to-end accounting, analysis, and reporting of revenue, cost of sales, and gross margin drivers. The role will provide key insights that support decision-making and profitability improvement initiatives across the business.

Additionally, this role will be responsible for ensuring staff costs are allocated to and then analysed, between overheads and Cost of Sales.

Key Responsibilities

Gross Margin Accounting and Reporting

• Prepare monthly gross margin reports across all Kerv practices, reconciling revenue and cost of sales accounts.
• Prepare and post the Group Payroll into ledger, (received from HR) ensuring correct allocation between overheads and Cost of Sales before end of each month.
• Ensure accurate allocation of direct costs (e.g. cloud costs, subcontractor costs, licence fees, support costs) to revenue streams and customers.
• Support month-end close processes, including journal postings for revenue accruals, deferred income, and cost accruals.
• Perform variance analysis vs. budget, forecast, and prior periods, identifying key margin drivers and trends.
• Reconcile revenue and cost data across systems (Dynamics BC, project systems, PSA tools, and billing systems).

Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Support

• Collaborate with FP&A and Practice Finance Business Partners to validate gross margin actuals vs. forecasts.
• Provide insights into profitability by practice, customer, and product line.
• Support annual budget and quarterly re-forecast processes, focusing on margin assumptions and cost structures.

Cost Control and Process Improvement

• Work with operational teams to ensure direct costs are correctly captured and coded.
• Review supplier invoices and cost allocations to ensure accurate COGS classification.
• Identify opportunities to improve gross margin accuracy through better data, system integration, and process control.
• Support finance transformation initiatives including automation and system enhancements.

Cross-Practice Collaboration

• Partner with Practice Leads and Delivery Managers to understand revenue recognition and project profitability.
• Ensure consistency of accounting treatment and reporting across all practices (Cloud, Networks, Collaboration, Digital Transformation, etc.).
• Build strong working relationships with Operations, Sales, and Commercial teams.

Governance and Compliance

• Maintain appropriate documentation and controls for revenue recognition and cost allocation.
• Ensure compliance with Group accounting policies and IFRS standards.
• Support external audit requests and internal financial reviews related to gross margin.

Skills, Experience, and Attributes

Essential:

• Qualified or part-qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA).
• Experience in management accounting or FP&A, ideally in a technology, managed services, or professional services environment.
• Strong understanding of revenue recognition, accruals, and cost matching principles.
• Proven ability to analyse large data sets and translate findings into actionable insights.
• Advanced Excel and financial systems proficiency (preferably Dynamics Business Central) Power BI, or equivalent).

Desirable:

• Experience working across multiple entities or business units.
• Familiarity with project accounting, PSA tools, and margin reporting in service-based businesses.
• Experience in continuous improvement or finance transformation projects.

Personal Attributes

• Analytical, detail-oriented, and commercially astute.
• Comfortable working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment with multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proactive, curious, and process-minded, with a desire to drive margin visibility and control.

KPIs / Success Measures

• Accuracy and timeliness of gross margin reporting.
• Improvement in margin visibility across practices.
• Reduction in manual adjustments or errors in cost allocations.
• Positive feedback from Finance and Practice teams on reporting quality and insight.