Group Financial Controller

SearcHive is delighted to be working with a high calibre Manufacturing business, to recruit a Group Financial Controller.

Joining a small head office finance team, the Group Controller will report to the Group Director of Finance. The individual will be responsible for overall financial reporting integrity and financial accounting of over 100 reporting entities, the consolidation of these entities into financial statements and project managing the external audit process.

The Group Controller has line management of the Financial Reporting team (two direct reports) and the Group consolidation systems team (the Group Systems Manager and Group Systems Accountant) and works closely with the Head of FP&A, Group Treasurer, Group Director of Tax and Group Director of Pensions, ensuring consistency and accuracy of information across internal and external reporting.

About The Role

External reporting

• Production of the Group’s consolidated financial statements for both year end and half year results.
• Oversight of other external and internal financial reporting, including the IFRS consolidation of a complex, multi-currency plc.
• Working closely with the Group Systems Manager to ensure the Group’s BPC consolidation system meets the requirements of external reporting.
• Project management of the Group’s external audit process.
• Production of c.15 sets of UK holding company financial statements.

Technical accounting

• Act as an accounting centre of excellence across the Group.
• Responsibility for IFRS accounting for the Group, including transition to new accounting standards and ownership and maintenance of the Group Reporting Manual. Support in maintaining the Group Finance Policies.
• Provide support on accounting issues for businesses within the Group, with a focus on providing practical solutions that meet the commercial needs of the Group whilst achieving compliance with financial regulations.
• Regular support to the CFO and Group Director of Finance on a range of technical and reporting issues.
• Ownership of complex accounting and key judgement areas including defined benefit pension schemes, share incentive schemes, hyperinflationary accounting, Group distributable reserves and goodwill and investment impairment testing.
• Identifying and delivering technical training requirements for the Group’s central functions and the wider finance community.

Corporate centre

• Provide support in preparing Audit Committee and Board papers.
• Participate in the restructure of the Group’s legal entity structure to ensure the Group is organised in an efficient manner to meet current legal and tax requirements.
• Participating in other finance project work such as acquisitions, disposals and internal reorganisations.

Compliance and controls

• Ensure the central functions (including financial reporting, consolidation system, FP&A, tax, pensions, CoSec, Legal, IT and HR teams) maintain robust financial controls in compliance with financial regulations and the Group’s minimum controls framework, providing training where required.
• Maintain the central functions’ SoA.
• Champion the continuous improvement of controls environment both within the Group functions and across the wider Group finance community in preparation for the requirements of 'UK SOx’.

Qualifications

• ACA qualified.
• External audit/ Big 4 experience.
• Experience of SAP BPC (or other consolidation system) report writing.
• Experience of working in a manufacturing business is highly desirable.
• Deeply experienced in IFRS, including in multi-currency consolidation & preparation of Group financial statements.
• Experience of reporting in a UK plc environment.
• Strong leadership, gravitas, people management skills and ability to influence.
• Demonstrable track record of making improvements to systems, processes and implementing appropriate controls.
• Highly developed stakeholder management; excellent written and spoken communication skills; capable of influencing and persuading people at all levels of the organisation.
• Excellent Excel, numerical and written skills and high accuracy and attention to detail is essential.
• Ability to build financial models, think through complex issues and make recommendations .
• High energy and resilience in achieving goals and targets.

If you are interested in this role, please click apply!