Financial Controller
The Finance team’s vision is to partner with the Group in driving profitable growth, through finance excellence. We support our businesses to make effective commercial and operational decisions; provide information and analysis to management and the Board to support strategic decisions; manage working capital to quickly convert profit into cash; develop and maintain a strong control environment to comply with legal, statutory and tax legislation in all territories we operate in.
With over 100 Finance professionals operating from offices in London, New York, Hong Kong & Gurugram, this role works with finance and business colleagues from around the globe to deliver the Finance vision.
The Finance Team:
be part of our Finance team reshaping our processes and the technology we use
work closely with finance and business colleagues from around the globe
ability to influence in an organisation of 1,600 people
This is a Senior Management role with responsibilities covering:
Financial reporting, accounting and audit
Group risk and compliance
Treasury
The position reports into the Director of Group Finance and will form a close working partnership with the Shared Services finance team based in India.
Key Accountabilities:
Financial accounting, reporting and audit
Support our India reporting leadership teams with best practice, process improvement and accounting manual maintenance and be UK point of contact for stakeholders in these processes along with:
Review of the Group and subsidiary financial and reporting processes
Support of Group and subsidiary external audits.
Review and input on Group Annual and Interim Reports and subsidiary statutory accounts
Assessing the impact of new accounting standards on the business and working with Shared Services to implement changes to accounting practices, reporting and restatement of results.
Providing accounting technical advice in relation to complex or unusual transactions.
Monitoring the performance of the Shared Service function and broader finance functions in particular with regard to compliance with group accounting policy and guidelines
Group restructuring, legal entity simplification and distributable reserves planning.
Oversight of APAC region accounting and filing delivery
Risk and compliance
Overseeing the planning and coordination of the Group’s risk review process and tracking progress.
Ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and regulations impacting on the finance function, through implementation and adherence to internal policies. Investigate irregularities, instances of fraud and non-compliance issues.
Overseeing the compliance onboarding of vendors and customers in the business.
Co-ordinating the work of the outsourced internal audit function.
Managing the Group insurance programme stakeholders.
Treasury
Proactively managing group and regional liquidity needs while maximising facility usage and deposit returns
Robust cashflow process to anticipate financing needs and understand deviations from expectations
Proactively managing foreign exchange exposures
Reporting to regular Treasury and Audit & Risk Committees
Overseeing the management of banking relationships
Overseeing a robust banking and treasury control environment ensuring strong internal and anti-fraud controls are maintained in line with policies and procedures
Partnering with the business to ensure Group Finance objectives are met with regard to managing Economist subscriber payments
Delivery of process and system improvements to drive efficiencies around treasury activities
Other
Experience in delivering systems and process change, preferably an ERP transformation
Supporting on delivery of finance improvement projects in systems and processes
Senior leader in team driving best practice cross team collaboration and initiatives
Experience, skills and professional attributes
Education and training
- Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA)
Previous work experience and knowledge
- Preparation of Annual Reports to shareholders and statutory accounts
- Strong technical accounting knowledge
- Managing accounting functions including qualified accountant]
Knowledge of laws and regulations relevant to companies and finance functions
Audit coordination
Treasury knowledge
Knowledge of internal financial control frameworks
Business risks and insurance
Technology
ERP knowledge, Peoplesoft (an advantage)
Strong excel
Languages
English
Key skills
Analytical approach to problem solving
Managing teams
Attention to detail
Development of processes
Communication
Delivering change and continuous improvement
Developing relationships with internal and external contacts
Personal attributes
Commitment to quality and timely service delivery
Hands-on approach
Ability to multi-task and prioritize
Pro-activity and responsiveness
Consultative
Making appropriate judgments
Ability to provide well-presented information and insightful analysis of information
Interpersonal skills
Clear communicator of views and opinions
Ability to build networks and work with stakeholders and in teams
Sensitivity in providing views
Assertion
Clear communicator of views and opinions
Performance Measures:
Ability to deliver financial reports on time with no surprises
Ability to manage liquidity requirements and minimise foreign exchange volatility
Clarity of instructions issued and reports delivered
Compliance environment understood, strengthened, and number of compliance issues decreased
Cleanliness of internal and external audit reports
Efficiency of Group structure in place
Good relationships across the business and with the Shared Services team
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