Manifest Global empowers in building companies that connect the world towards growth, prosperity, and innovation. Our portfolio includes trailblazer brands such as Cialfo, BridgeU, Explore, and Kaaiser, which are dedicated to expanding global student mobility by serving their respective stakeholders in the ecosystem.
Our Mission
To create a world where every student, regardless of their ethnicity, nationality, socio-economic status, and learning preference, gets equal access to higher education through our world-class network of portfolio brands; a network that globally connects community stakeholders that provide the finest resources and support material, anywhere in the world and at any time.
This position is with Manifest Global, which also includes trailblazer brands such as Cialfo, Explore, BridgeU, and Kaaiser.
About This Role
Manifest Global is an education investment and operating company headquartered in Singapore, with seven legal entities across five countries and a portfolio of companies focused on international student mobility. The group is scaling through M&A and organic growth, with an IPO on the strategic horizon.
We are elevating our financial reporting function to match where Manifest is heading. This role is central to that effort. Reporting to the Head of Financial Reporting, you will be the execution leader who ensures the books are clean across every entity, coordinates with advisers and auditors in every jurisdiction, and drives the implementation of the processes, controls, and AI-built workflows that will define how the reporting team operates at scale.
You will manage a team of 2-3 Financial Reporting Analysts and be responsible for the day-to-day quality and timeliness of the group's financial reporting output.
What You'll Own
- Books Integrity & Financial Reporting
- Ensure the general ledger and financial records across all Manifest entities are clean, reconciled, and audit-ready.
- Prepare consolidated monthly management accounts, quarterly reporting packs, and annual statutory financial statements.
- Execute the consolidation process: intercompany eliminations, foreign currency translation, segment reporting.
- Apply accounting policies (SFRS(I)/IFRS) consistently across all entities in line with the group accounting policy manual.
- Multi-Jurisdiction Coordination
- Coordinate with external accounting advisers, auditors, tax agents, and company secretaries across all jurisdictions.
- Track and ensure statutory filings, tax returns, audit timelines, and regulatory obligations are met.
- Act as a key point of contact for external audits across the group, managing information requests, queries, and timelines.
- Execute the integration of newly acquired entities into the group reporting framework, following the established onboarding playbook and flagging issues as they arise.
- Process Implementation & AI-Built Workflows
- Implement the monthly/quarterly close process as designed with the Head of Financial Reporting, including close calendars, task ownership, reconciliation checklists, and review workflows.
- Drive the build-out of AI-native workflows within the reporting team. The expectation is not to use AI as an occasional tool, but to build the team's day-to-day reporting operations on AI-powered processes, from data extraction and reconciliation through to consolidation and output preparation.
- Be hands-on in building, testing, and iterating these workflows. Identify opportunities for further automation and bring recommendations to the Head of Financial Reporting.
- Maintain documentation for every process, control, and workflow so the function is robust, auditable, and not person-dependent.
- Team Management
- Manage and develop 2-3 Financial Reporting Analysts. Set clear expectations, conduct reviews, and build capability within the team.
- Ensure the team's AI fluency grows over time, so AI-built workflows are understood and maintained across the team.
You'll Thrive Here If...
- You have high standards for how books should be kept and take it personally when things aren't clean.
- You've implemented processes and controls before, not just operated within ones someone else designed.
- You think about AI as the operating system for a modern reporting team, not a tool you use occasionally. You want to build the team's workflows on AI, not just use AI within existing workflows.
- You've coordinated with advisers and auditors across multiple countries and know how to keep external providers on track.
- You're energized by improving how things work and getting a team to operate at a higher standard.
- You want to be the person who makes things run, reliably and at quality.
Experience & Qualifications
- What We're Looking For
- Chartered Accountant (CA). This is mandatory.
- Minimum 10 years of experience in financial reporting, group accounting, or external audit.
- Experience with multi-entity, multi-jurisdiction reporting. You have prepared or managed books across multiple countries.
- Track record of implementing financial reporting processes and controls, ideally in a growing or evolving environment.
- Strong working knowledge of IFRS/SFRS(I). Familiarity with Indian GAAP and UK GAAP is a plus.
- Proficient in Xero or equivalent cloud accounting systems. Advanced Excel.
- Hands-on experience building workflows on AI platforms and tools for financial reporting.
- Skills & Qualities
- Takes personal ownership of the integrity of the books. Detail-oriented with zero tolerance for errors reaching stakeholders.
- Strong organizational discipline. Can manage concurrent deadlines across jurisdictions and keep a team and external advisers on track.
- Able to implement structure and rigour in growing environments. Comfortable writing SOPs and building checklists.
- Clear communication, particularly in coordinating with external advisers, escalating issues, and reporting to the Head of Financial Reporting.
- A hands-on team leader who develops people and builds capability.
What We Offer
A key role in the financial reporting function of a fast-scaling, multi-geography education investment group. You will be at the centre of how reporting operates across the group, with direct exposure to M&A integration, IPO preparation, and cross-border complexity. A clear development path as the function and the group scale.
