External Reporting Manager

About Zego

Insurance is one of the most important industries in the world and one of the least loved. It's complex. It's confusing. It doesn't champion the customer. Zego is changing that. We combine telematics, technology and a relentless focus on the customer to build motor insurance products that actually reward good drivers and serve the businesses and individuals who keep the world moving.

We operate as a regulated insurance group with a UK Holding company and MGA, a Gibraltan carrier and a growing Portuguese subsidiary, with finance sitting at the centre of all of it.

Purpose of the role

The External Reporting Manager is accountable for the delivery of statutory accounts, the SFCR narrative, the external audit cycle, the tax compliance pack and FCA / GFSC regulatory returns across the Group and MGA. You'll work directly with the Finance Director, the actuarial function, the Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, external auditors (Deloitte) and external tax advisors - and you'll have real visibility with the CFO, the Audit Committee and the Board.

This is a hands-on role for someone who wants to own a meaty external reporting remit end-to-end, in a regulated environment, with the breadth of an insurance group and the pace of a tech company.

Why this role and why now?

You'll be the single accountable lead for the full external reporting cycle of the Group and MGA, working directly with the Finance Director and CFO, with regular Audit Committee exposure. You'll be supported by, and expected to lead, a Finance function that's genuinely AI-native. If you want to build the technical depth of a Big 4 senior manager, with the breadth and pace of a scale-up, this is the seat.

What you’ll be doing

Statutory accounts (FRS 102) & External audit management

• Prepare and deliver annual statutory financial statements for the MGA and Group holding entities under FRS 102. 
• Draft technical accounting papers on judgemental areas (intangibles, going concern, intra-group transactions, R&D and other tax items) and own the disclosure checklist. 
• Maintain the group accounting manual and ensure consistent policy application across UK, Gibraltar and Portuguese entities.
• Act as the primary day-to-day contact for Deloitte across the MGA and Group. Run the audit timetable, deliverables tracker and Prepared By Client list. 
• Manage substantive audit queries, draft responses on technical positions, and prepare the Audit Committee paper pack. 
• Close out management letter points within agreed timescales.

SFCR (Solvency II Pillar 3 narrative reporting)

• Own the production and consolidation of the annual SFCR narrative across Sections A to E, working closely with the actuarial team (who own the QRTs and technical provisions), risk and capital management, and the Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs. 
• Co-ordinate the cross-functional sign-off process and the external regulatory audit of the SFCR.

Tax & FCA / GFSC regulatory reporting

• Coordinate the corporation tax compliance cycle with external advisors (current and deferred tax computations, group relief, transfer pricing documentation).
• Manage VAT (including any partial exemption and reclaim positions), PAYE/PSA, and the R&D tax credit cycle including any HMRC enquiry support.
• Own the tax provisioning conversation in the year-end accounts and maintain the SAO sign-off file.

• Prepare and submit FCA returns for the MGA and Group (RMAR / RegData), and group-level GFSC returns. Maintain the regulatory reporting calendar and the controls framework around submissions (data lineage, four-eyes review, evidence pack). Support ad hoc regulatory requests and thematic reviews.

Controls, process and team

• Operate and improve the financial reporting control framework (key controls catalogue, evidence packs, reconciliations). 
• Drive automation and the use of AI and reporting tools to compress close timelines and improve quality. 
• Mentor junior team members and act as a technical sounding board across the wider Finance team.

AI expectation at Zego

AI is core to how we work at Zego. We actively encourage and expect every Finance team member to use AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, and our internal MCP integrations across Snowflake, Gmail, Drive, Slack and Looker) to do their job faster and better. 

You don't need to be an AI expert - but you do need curiosity, fluency with at least one AI tool, and the appetite to make AI part of how you operate every day.

You'll be expected to

• Use AI as a first-draft accelerator for technical accounting papers, audit query responses, regulatory submissions, disclosure language and Audit Committee narratives - bringing well-prepared drafts to the FD rather than blank pages.
• Automate the manual in reporting cycles - reconciliations, variance commentary, consistency checks, tie-out files - using AI alongside Excel, Python and our existing data stack.
• Apply judgement, not just output - AI accelerates the work, but you remain accountable for technical accuracy, auditor-readiness and regulatory compliance. We expect you to challenge, refine and own every output.
• Build and share what works - if you find an AI workflow that compresses a process, we want you to document and roll it out across the team.

What you’ll need to be successful 

Essential

• ACA / ACCA qualified, ideally Big 4 or Top 10 trained with a financial services portfolio
• 2-4 years post-qualified experience in industry or audit
• Insurance, MGA or broader financial services background
• Hands-on experience preparing statutory accounts under FRS 102
• Working knowledge of the SFCR narrative structure and the regulatory reporting environment
• Experience working through an external audit, ideally from both auditor and auditee sides
• Working knowledge of UK corporation tax, VAT and R&D tax credits
• Strong technical writing - auditor-ready papers and clean disclosure prose
• Advanced Excel; comfortable with large data sets and reconciliations
• Active and curious user of AI tools in day-to-day work

Desirable

• Exposure to a multi-entity group structure, including offshore (Gibraltar / Guernsey) or European subsidiaries
• Familiarity with FCA RMAR / RegData and GFSC returns
• Python, SQL or Snowflake skills
• Experience working in a fast-growth, scale-up or fintech / insurtech environment

How We Work

We believe that teams work better when they have time to collaborate and space to get things done. We call it Zego Hybrid!

We foster a flexible approach that empowers every Zegon to perform at their best. We ask you to spend at least one day a week in our central London office. Every team has the flexibility to choose the day that works best for them. We cover the costs for all company-wide events (3 per year), and also provide a separate hybrid contribution to help pay towards weekly travel costs. We think it's a good mix of collaborative face time and flexible home-working, setting us up to achieve the right balance between work and life.

Benefits

We reward our people well. Join us and you'll get a market-competitive salary, private medical insurance, company share options, generous holiday allowance, and a whole lot of wellbeing benefits. And that's just for starters.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability status. If you need any support with your application please get in touch with us on [email protected]