Senior Assistant, Finance (General Ledger & Payroll)

Job Title: Senior Assistant, Finance (General Ledger & Payroll)

Department: Treasury
Reporting To: Malcolm Beeden
Location: London, UK
Hybrid Working: Minimum of 3 days in the office
Full-time | Permanent

The Role

Kobalt Music is looking for an experienced, organised and highly dependable Senior Finance Assistant, General Ledger & Payroll to join our Global Finance team.

This role will take responsibility for coordinating Kobalt’s monthly UK and Rest of World payroll processes, working closely with the People Team, third-party payroll providers and Finance colleagues to ensure payroll-related financial activities are completed accurately and on time.

Alongside payroll, you’ll have responsibility for payroll journals, account reconciliations and analysis, as well as corporate bank reconciliations and other activities supporting the integrity of the general ledger.

We’re looking for someone who can go beyond following an established process. You’ll need to understand the accounting behind the transactions you’re responsible for, confidently investigate discrepancies and use your judgement to challenge information when something doesn’t look right.

Given the confidential and financially sensitive information involved, you’ll also need strong judgement, discretion and attention to detail, taking ownership of processes and handling sensitive information appropriately.

This is a great opportunity for someone with a solid accounting foundation who wants to broaden their experience across payroll accounting, reconciliations, controls and the General Ledger, while continuing to develop their Finance career within a global organisation. Pasted markdown

What You’ll Do

Payroll Coordination & Accounting

• Coordinate and manage the monthly UK and Rest of World payroll processes, ensuring key activities and deadlines are effectively managed.
• Work closely with the People Team and third-party payroll providers to ensure relevant payroll information is received, processed and reflected accurately.
• Coordinate the Finance aspects of the monthly payroll cycle, following up on outstanding information and resolving discrepancies where required.
• Review payroll information and amendments received from third-party providers, validating their accuracy and investigating anything that does not reconcile or appear correct.
• Prepare and post all UK and Rest of World payroll-related journal entries accurately and within month-end deadlines.
• Perform payroll-related balance sheet and account reconciliations.
• Analyse payroll accounts and investigate variances or discrepancies, working with relevant stakeholders to resolve issues.
• Ensure payroll-related accounting activity is appropriately supported, reviewed and documented.
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality and controls when handling payroll and employee-related financial information.
• Identify payroll accounting issues or control risks and escalate these appropriately and in a timely manner. Pasted markdown

General Ledger & Reconciliations

• Take responsibility for corporate-related bank account reconciliations.
• Prepare and post associated journal entries accurately and within required deadlines.
• Investigate reconciling items and ensure outstanding balances are appropriately followed through to resolution.
• Support balance sheet reconciliations and other General Ledger activities as required.
• Ensure appropriate supporting documentation and audit trails are maintained.
• Support month-end and year-end activities across the Corporate General Ledger team.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen the accuracy, controls and efficiency of reconciliation and accounting processes. Pasted markdown

Audit, Controls & Compliance

• Participate in the annual audit, preparing supporting documentation and responding to audit requests relating to areas of responsibility.
• Ensure Finance processes are completed in line with Kobalt’s internal financial controls, policies and approval requirements.
• Maintain clear and accurate process documentation across payroll accounting, bank reconciliations and other assigned activities.
• Proactively identify discrepancies, control weaknesses or process gaps and work with the relevant teams to resolve them.
• Support improvements to processes and controls as the Finance function continues to evolve. Pasted markdown

Business & Team Support

• Build strong working relationships with the People Team, Finance colleagues and external payroll providers.
• Act as a reliable Finance point of contact for payroll accounting and reconciliation matters within the scope of the role.
• Communicate clearly around deadlines, outstanding information, discrepancies and potential risks.
• Support knowledge sharing and effective cross-coverage within the Corporate General Ledger team.
• Participate in ad-hoc Finance requests, projects and process-improvement initiatives as required. Pasted markdown

What You’ll Bring

Preferred:

• Demonstrable accounting experience, ideally gained within Finance, General Ledger, payroll accounting or a similar environment.
• Practical experience preparing and posting journals and performing account reconciliations.
• A strong understanding of accounting principles and General Ledger processes — including an understanding of how transactions and journals impact the underlying accounts.
• Experience working with month-end deadlines and managing recurring Finance processes.
• Strong numerical and analytical skills, with the ability to investigate discrepancies, understand their root cause and resolve them.
• Excellent attention to detail and a strong commitment to financial accuracy and controls.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple deadlines and dependencies.
• A high level of discretion, maturity and judgement when handling confidential and sensitive information.
• Confidence taking ownership of processes and following issues through to resolution.
• The confidence to challenge information or investigate further when something does not look right, rather than relying solely on established processes.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with Finance, People and external stakeholders.
• Good Excel skills and confidence working with financial systems.
• A proactive and dependable approach, with the judgement to know when to act independently and when to escalate.

Additional Skills That Could Add Value:

• Previous experience supporting payroll accounting or payroll-related Finance activities.
• Experience working with multiple international payrolls or entities.
• Experience working with third-party payroll providers.
• Experience using NetSuite or another ERP/General Ledger system.
• Experience performing bank and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Previous exposure to external audit processes.
• Experience working within a global or multi-entity Finance environment.
• Previous experience within music publishing or another rights-based business.
• An interest in continuing to develop a career within Accounting, Corporate Finance or the wider Finance function. Pasted markdown

What Success Looks Like

By Month 3: You’ll have developed a strong understanding of Kobalt’s General Ledger and payroll processes, including our international payroll cycles, key stakeholders, systems and controls. You’ll be confidently supporting payroll journals and reconciliations and beginning to independently investigate discrepancies.

By Month 6: You’ll be independently coordinating your core payroll accounting responsibilities, completing journals and reconciliations accurately and on time and confidently challenging or investigating information where something doesn’t reconcile as expected.

By Year 1: You’ll be a trusted member of the Corporate General Ledger team who can independently manage recurring responsibilities, maintain strong financial controls and handle sensitive payroll information with appropriate judgement and discretion. You’ll contribute to successful month-end, year-end and audit activity while identifying opportunities to strengthen processes, controls and team resilience.

Key Behaviours for Success

Ownership & Dependability – You take responsibility for recurring Finance processes and can be trusted to deliver accurately and on time. You plan ahead, follow up proactively and ensure issues are resolved rather than allowing them to drift.

Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving – You understand the accounting behind the processes you manage. You question discrepancies, investigate root causes and don't simply accept an output because it has been provided by a system or third party.

Collaborative & Solutions Focused – You build effective relationships across Finance, People and external partners. You communicate clearly, work collaboratively to resolve issues and look for practical ways to strengthen processes, controls and ways of working.

Interview Process

• Introductory screening call with our Recruitment Team
• First-stage interview with members of the Finance team
• On-site live technical assessment
• Culture interview
• Feedback at each stage

We aim to complete the full interview process from initial application to offer within three working weeks. While we do our best to meet this timeline, there may be occasional delays. If that happens, our Recruitment Team will keep you updated every step of the way.

Why Choose Us

At Kobalt, we’ve championed creators since 2000. Our technology and music services are built to make the industry more transparent, fair and rewarding for artists, songwriters and rights holders. We’re proud to work with some of the world’s most influential talents including Phoebe Bridgers, Sam Fender, Paul McCartney, Foo Fighters, Karol G, Young Thug, Kali Uchis and Andrew Watt as well as acclaimed writers like Simon Aldred (Rag’n’Bone Man, Liam Gallagher, Celeste) and Clarence Coffee Jr. (Dua Lipa, Lizzo, The Snuts). Pasted markdown

We’re a company that thrives on creativity, collaboration and progress. Our values — Music First, Transparent, Tech Powered and Transformative — shape how we work, build and grow together. We are a community of people who care deeply about making a meaningful impact in music and technology.

Kobalt is an equal opportunity employer. We believe in equitable access to opportunities and are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and supportive workplace. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and identities. If you need any adjustments during the hiring process, please let us know — we’re happy to help.

If this sounds like you, then please share your story by filling out the application below.

Important Notice

Applicants must be eligible to work in the United Kingdom. A DBS check will be conducted on acceptance of the offer. Kobalt is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any status or characteristic protected by law.