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

placeDubai calendar_month 

Role overview We’re hiring an experienced Accountant / Finance Manager with a strong events background to own day-to-day finance, reporting, and commercial support across live events/projects. This is a hands-on role for someone who understands event P&Ls, supplier-heavy cost lines, tight timelines, and fast turnarounds.

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)
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