Early Star Partners is a performance-focused advisory and accounting firm that helps service-based organisations strengthen financial control, improve decision-making, and achieve sustainable performance.

Our culture is built on trust, accountability, high standards, and continuous improvement. We operate in a fast-moving environment where ownership, sound judgement, explicit communication, and practical problem-solving are highly valued.

The Business Partner - Finance is a senior, hands-on accounting and advisory role working across a portfolio of clients. The role is responsible for the quality, timeliness, and commercial relevance of each client's financial information and provides high-level accounting support that strengthens financial control, reporting, and operational decision-making.

The role owns or oversees core accounting operations and month-end delivery, manages profit and loss performance, develops budgets and forecasts, and partners with directors, leadership teams, and front line managers to translate financial information into practical action. It also oversees delegated work completed by offshore finance team members, supports grant and funding acquittals, and acts as a key escalation point between client teams and the Managing Director.

Core Responsibilities

Financial Operations and Controls

- Manage the general ledger, Xero, bank feeds, clearing accounts, payroll flows, and coding.
- Complete balance sheet reconciliations and maintain audit-ready records.
- Oversee accounts payable, accounts receivable, payment verification, and cash-flow monitoring.
- Resolve discrepancies and escalate material issues with recommendations.

Month-End, P&L; and Mgmt Reporting

- Lead month-end close within seven business days.
- Review reconciliations, journals, accruals, prepayments, payroll, revenue recognition, and workpapers.
- Own P&L; accuracy, presentation, and account classification.
- Analyse results against budget, forecast, and prior periods, highlighting variances, risks, and opportunities.




- Prepare management reports and financial insights for leadership.

Budgeting, Forecasting and Operational Business Partnering

- Develop annual budgets and reforecasts with client leaders and managers.
- Build realistic revenue, staffing, service delivery, and expenditure assumptions with front line managers.
- Explain performance, budget responsibilities, and cost drivers, and agree corrective actions.
- Maintain cash-flow forecasts and scenario models.
- Translate results into concise insights for non-financial stakeholders.

Grant Funding and Acquittal Mgmt

- Prepare financial acquittals and funded program reports.
- Maintain audit trails for expenditure, payroll, allocations, and supporting evidence.
- Monitor grant budgets and flag underspends or overspends early.
- Coordinate information for auditors and funding bodies and meet submission deadlines.

Team Leadership and Process Improvement

- Manage offshore team workflow, quality, and accountability.
- Review delegated work and provide structured feedback.
- Maintain SOPs, month-end checklists, and financial controls.
- Complete quality control before work is submitted to the Managing Director or client.

Portfolio and Client Finance Leadership

- Act as finance business partner and high-level accounting contact for a client portfolio.
- Understand each client's operating model, funding, priorities, risks, and reporting needs.
- Build trusted working relationships with directors, leadership teams, and front line managers.
- Ensure financial records are accurate, compliant, and reliable.
- Manage priorities, deadlines, and communication across multiple client engagements.
- Improve financial controls, reporting quality,



commercial visibility, and decision-making.

Ideal Candidate Profile

- Minimum five years' experience in an Australian accounting environment, including substantial ownership of month-end close and management reporting.
- Demonstrated experience providing high-level accounting support across multiple entities, business units, or client engagements.
- Demonstrated experience developing budgets, forecasts, and variance analysis and managing profit and loss performance.
- Experience partnering with operational or front line managers and explaining financial information to non-financial stakeholders.
- Practical experience preparing or supporting grant, program, or funding acquittals.
- Advanced Xero capability and strong technical knowledge of reconciliations, financial controls, and compliance requirements.
- Experience supervising remote or offshore finance teams is preferred.
- CPA or CA qualification, or progress toward completion, is highly regarded.
- Strong commercial judgement, attention to detail, initiative, accountability, and follow-through.
- Confident written and verbal communicator who can build credibility with clients, manage competing portfolio priorities, and constructively challenge assumptions.

Measure of Success

- Month-end reporting is accurate, fully supported, and delivered within agreed timeframes.
- Budgets and forecasts are practical, current, and actively used by managers to guide decisions.
- P&L; variances, cash-flow pressures, grant risks, and control issues are identified early and addressed.
- Acquittals and compliance deliverables are complete, accurate, audit-ready, and submitted on time.
- Front line managers receive clear financial guidance and demonstrate improved ownership of their results.
- Each client receives consistent, proactive, and commercially relevant finance support aligned with their priorities.
- Delegated work is completed efficiently and meets Early Star Partners' quality standards.

📌 Management Accountant (Brisbane)
🏢 Early Star Partners
📍 Brisbane