A leading municipal energy and utilities provider in Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg — supplying electricity, heat, gas, and water to the city and surrounding area, just 40 train minutes from Berlin — is seeking a Head of External Accounting (m/f/d) to lead its external accounting team of 8 employees. This is a significant finance leadership role with full responsibility for quarterly and annual HGB accounts, group consolidated financial statements including subsidiary consolidation, VAT returns, energy and electricity tax declarations, payment transactions, liquidity management, and external audit liaison. The role is the central accounting interface to controlling, procurement, and executive management — and carries responsibility for the digitalization and process optimization of commercial accounting functions within a stable, community-rooted municipal utility. Compensation is above-tariff (außertariflich) in line with the AVEU collective agreement, with 30 days holiday, flexible working hours, mobile working options, up to €2,000 relocation support, and a workspace in a striking office building directly on the Havel waterfront.
About This Head of External Accounting Opportunity — Brandenburg an der Havel Germany
Employer: A municipal energy and utilities provider (kommunaler Versorger) headquartered directly on the Havel waterfront in Brandenburg an der Havel — responsible for the reliable supply of electricity, heat, gas, and water to the city and its surrounding communities — an anchor employer and essential infrastructure provider deeply rooted in the Brandenburg region
Location: Brandenburg an der Havel — the historic cathedral city on the Havel river in the heart of Brandenburg state, located just 40 minutes by train from Berlin — offering a uniquely balanced work-life environment combining big-city proximity with genuine small-city quality of life, natural landscape, and affordability
Team: Lead a dedicated external accounting team of 8 employees — providing the accounting leadership, professional development, and organizational management that keeps a critical municipal infrastructure finance function operating accurately, compliantly, and efficiently
Sector: Municipal energy and utilities — electricity, heat, gas, water supply — a regulated, stable, and socially essential sector with specific accounting requirements including HGB financial statements, group consolidation, energy tax, electricity tax, and utility-sector VAT compliance
Why This Head of External Accounting Role in Brandenburg Stands Out
Lead a Team of 8 — Real Finance Leadership Responsibility: This is a genuine senior leadership role in external accounting — not a senior specialist position with a leadership title. You will manage, develop, and organizationally lead a team of 8 accounting professionals, bearing full responsibility for the accuracy, timeliness, and compliance of HGB annual accounts, group consolidation, energy tax returns, and daily accounting operations for a multi-entity municipal utility group
Energy Sector Accounting Specificity — Energy & Electricity Tax Expertise: Accounting in the German energy and utilities sector carries a layer of regulatory and fiscal complexity — energy tax (Energiesteuer), electricity tax (Stromsteuer), utility-sector VAT treatment, and the specific HGB consolidation requirements of municipal multi-entity utility groups — that makes genuine energy sector accounting expertise rare, professionally distinctive, and highly valued in the market
Strategic Finance Role — Direct Geschäftsführung Interface: As Head of External Accounting, you will serve as a direct support partner for executive management (Geschäftsführung) in the preparation and implementation of strategic measures and projects — a level of organizational access and strategic influence that distinguishes this role from purely operational accounting leadership positions
Berlin Proximity + Havel Waterfront Quality of Life — The Best of Both Worlds: Brandenburg an der Havel combines direct Berlin commuter access (40 minutes by train) with a genuinely relaxed, affordable, and nature-rich urban environment — and a striking waterfront office building that makes the daily work environment genuinely pleasant. For Berlin-based professionals considering a move to a more fulfilling work-life balance without leaving the Berlin metropolitan area, this is a rare opportunity
Position Overview
This Head of External Accounting (m/f/d) leads the external accounting function of a municipal energy and utilities provider in Brandenburg an der Havel — managing a team of 8 accounting professionals — bears full responsibility for quarterly and annual HGB financial statements and group consolidated accounts including full subsidiary consolidation — manages VAT returns, energy tax, and electricity tax declarations — serves as the primary accounting interface to Controlling, Procurement, and other department heads — ensures compliant ongoing bookkeeping and balance sheet accounting within the energy sector regulatory framework — oversees payment transactions and liquidity management — acts as primary contact for external auditors, tax advisors, and energy/electricity tax audit authorities — supports Geschäftsführung in strategic project preparation — and drives the digitalization and process optimization of commercial accounting workflows within the municipal utility group.
Why This Role Matters: Behind every reliable electricity supply, every gas connection, every heat delivery, and every water service that the residents and businesses of Brandenburg an der Havel depend on, there is a financial management infrastructure that makes it possible — the accounting systems that correctly record every revenue euro and every cost euro, the HGB financial statements that transparently report the municipal utility’s financial position to its owners and stakeholders, the energy and electricity tax declarations that ensure the utility meets its fiscal obligations to the German tax authorities, and the liquidity management that ensures the utility always has the financial resources to maintain, invest in, and operate the physical infrastructure that keeps the city’s energy and water systems running. The Head of External Accounting who leads this function is not maintaining a back-office cost center. They are operating the financial reporting and control infrastructure that allows a community’s essential services to be sustainably financed, transparently governed, and responsibly managed for the long-term benefit of the people who depend on them. When your team’s HGB annual accounts correctly reflect the consolidated financial position of the utility group, when your energy tax declarations are filed accurately and on time, when your liquidity forecasts correctly anticipate a capital expenditure peak that allows the utility to draw down its credit facility at the right moment, or when your digitalization project eliminates a manual posting workflow that has been consuming 20 hours of your team’s time every month for the past decade — this is finance leadership that has direct, tangible impact on the quality and sustainability of an essential public service. That is the professional responsibility and community significance of excellent external accounting leadership in a municipal energy utility.
Key Responsibilities
Team Leadership, HGB Annual Accounts & Group Consolidation
- Lead and develop the external accounting team of 8 employees — providing the financial accounting leadership, people management, workload organization, professional development, and quality oversight that ensures a high-performing, technically accurate, and compliance-focused external accounting function capable of meeting all reporting deadlines and regulatory requirements within the municipal energy utility environment
- Bear full responsibility for the preparation of quarterly and annual HGB financial statements — managing the full statutory financial reporting cycle from data gathering and journal entry review through balance sheet reconciliation, financial statement preparation, and disclosure notes, ensuring that all HGB financial statements accurately reflect the financial position and performance of the municipal utility in accordance with German commercial law requirements
- Prepare and oversee group consolidated financial statements including the full consolidation of all subsidiary companies — managing intercompany elimination, equity method accounting where applicable, minority interest calculations, and all consolidation adjustments required to produce accurate, HGB-compliant consolidated accounts that correctly present the combined financial position of the municipal utility group to owners, supervisory boards, and external stakeholders
Energy Tax, VAT, Payment Management & Audit Liaison
- Manage VAT advance returns (Umsatzsteuervoranmeldungen) as well as energy tax (Energiesteueranmeldungen) and electricity tax (Stromsteueranmeldungen) declarations — ensuring that all fiscal reporting obligations specific to the energy and utilities sector are met accurately, on time, and in full compliance with the applicable tax law requirements, including the specialized energy sector VAT treatment and the energy excise duty framework that utility-sector accounting requires
- Take responsibility for and organize payment transactions and liquidity management — overseeing the outgoing and incoming payment processes, managing cash flow forecasting, monitoring bank account balances, coordinating with financing institutions as required, and ensuring that the municipal utility always maintains the liquidity position needed to meet its operational obligations, capital investment commitments, and financing requirements
- Serve as the primary accounting contact for external auditors (Wirtschaftsprüfer), tax advisors (Steuerberatung), and energy and electricity tax audit authorities (Strom- und Energiesteuerprüfung) — managing the audit relationship professionally, preparing audit documentation efficiently, responding to audit queries accurately, and ensuring that the external accounting function presents a well-organized, fully documented, and audit-ready financial record to all external review parties
Strategic Support, Process Optimization & Digitalization
- Act as the primary accounting interface to other department heads — particularly Controlling and Procurement — ensuring that the external accounting function provides the timely, accurate, and actionable financial information that management decision-making requires, and that accounting processes are effectively coordinated with the commercial and operational activities of the broader utility organization
- Support Geschäftsführung in the preparation and implementation of strategic measures and projects — providing the financial analysis, accounting impact assessment, and reporting infrastructure that executive management needs to evaluate strategic investment decisions, financing options, regulatory changes, and organizational restructuring in an energy sector context
- Drive the further development and optimization of commercial business processes — with particular emphasis on the digitalization of accounting workflows — identifying manual processes, paper-based procedures, and inefficient data transfer points across the accounting function where technology-enabled automation, ERP system enhancements, or digital document management can reduce workload, improve accuracy, and accelerate the closing and reporting cycle
Qualifications
Essential Requirements
- Completed degree in business administration (Betriebswirtschaft) or a comparable discipline — or a completed qualification as Bilanzbuchhalter/-in (Certified Balance Sheet Accountant) with relevant professional experience — providing the theoretical and practical accounting foundation for senior external accounting leadership in a regulated energy sector environment; not all desired criteria need to be met — FI-TS welcomes innovative, appreciative leadership personalities who are ready to grow with new challenges
- Sound knowledge of annual and group financial statements (Jahres- und Konzernabschlüsse) — including practical experience in HGB statutory financial reporting, consolidation accounting, intercompany elimination, and the balance sheet and disclosure requirements applicable to German commercial entities and utility sector companies
- Sound knowledge of tax law — ideally including energy and electricity tax law (Energie- & Stromsteuerrecht) — the specialized fiscal knowledge that distinguishes candidates with genuine energy sector accounting experience from generalist finance professionals
- Sound knowledge of SAP and MS Office — particularly SAP FI/CO for financial accounting, reporting, and closing process management within an enterprise ERP environment of the kind operated by German municipal utility companies
- Ideally, leadership experience in accounting or finance — previous team management, department leadership, or senior accounting supervisory responsibility that demonstrates the people management skills and organizational capability that leading a team of 8 external accounting professionals requires
- Experience in the energy sector is advantageous — familiarity with the specific regulatory, tariff, and accounting framework applicable to German energy utilities, including municipal utility structure, energy market regulation, and utility-sector VAT and excise duty treatment
Life in Brandenburg an der Havel — Work Where Others Vacation
Brandenburg an der Havel is one of Brandenburg state’s most historically significant and scenically beautiful cities — an ancient cathedral city set on the Havel river, surrounded by lakes, forests, and waterways that make outdoor recreation, cycling, and water sports a part of daily life rather than a weekend escape. With a growing population, a city center that is actively reinvesting in itself, and a direct rail connection to Berlin that puts Germany’s capital within 40 minutes, Brandenburg an der Havel offers a quality of life that few comparable-sized German cities can match — affordable housing, genuine community, natural landscape, and Berlin on your doorstep. Working at the municipal utility means working in the heart of this city, in a striking waterfront office building that genuinely makes the daily commute feel like something to look forward to, for an organization that is actively shaping the city’s future energy and infrastructure landscape. For finance professionals tired of Berlin’s cost of living, commuting times, and pace — and ready to make a genuine impact in a more human-scale, community-connected professional environment — Brandenburg an der Havel and this Head of External Accounting role represent a compelling and practically accessible alternative.
Career Excellence: HGB Annual Accounts, Group Consolidation, Energy Tax (Energiesteuer), Electricity Tax (Stromsteuer), SAP Finance, VAT Returns, Liquidity Management, Team Leadership, Audit Liaison, Process Digitalization — Head of External Accounting (m/f/d), Municipal Energy Utility, Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg, Germany 2026.
Who Should Apply?
- Senior Finance Managers — HGB Consolidation & Energy Sector Germany: With hands-on HGB annual accounts, group consolidation, and energy or electricity tax experience — ready to step into a Head of External Accounting leadership role at a stable, community-rooted municipal utility in Brandenburg an der Havel, 40 minutes from Berlin, with above-tariff AVEU compensation and a genuine work-life balance environment
- Bilanzbuchhalter/-in — Certified Balance Sheet Accountants, Germany: With Bilanzbuchhalter certification and relevant professional experience in statutory financial reporting, consolidation, and VAT — seeking a senior accounting leadership position that offers genuine team management responsibility, energy sector accounting depth, and the professional recognition of a Head of External Accounting title within a growing municipal utility group
- Finance Leaders — Municipal Utilities & Energy Sector Brandenburg Berlin: With accounting leadership experience in energy utilities, Stadtwerke, municipal enterprises, or comparable regulated sectors — bringing the energy sector regulatory knowledge, SAP finance proficiency, and team management skills that this Head of External Accounting role demands in a dynamic and growing Brandenburg an der Havel community utility
- Berlin-Based Finance Professionals — Brandenburg Relocation Opportunity: Senior accountants, finance managers, or Bilanzbuchhalter professionals currently based in Berlin — seeking a Head of External Accounting leadership role in Brandenburg an der Havel that combines genuine career seniority, waterfront office quality of life, competitive AVEU-referenced compensation, up to €2,000 relocation support, and 40-minute Berlin train access in an energizing municipal utility career opportunity
- Accounting Department Heads — Process Digitalization & SAP Germany: Seeking a Head of External Accounting position in Brandenburg, Germany — where HGB financial statement expertise, group consolidation proficiency, energy tax knowledge, SAP finance capability, team leadership experience, and genuine commitment to accounting process digitalization combine in a professionally rewarding, permanently secure, and community-meaningful finance leadership career at a waterfront municipal energy utility
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