Finance Manager

Aje.; Sydney; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Aje Collective, Sydney-based fashion group, is seeking a Finance Manager to lead financial reporting, tax compliance and treasury for the multi-brand business.

You will oversee the finance team (including offshore members in Manila) and drive month-end close, GL integrity and comprehensive reporting across channels, brands and regions.

Qualifications

• Qualified CA with Big 4 audit experience.
• Retail industry experience, including cash controls, inventory controls and lease accounting.
• Strong financial analysis, forecasting and budgeting skills.
• Knowledge of local and international accounting standards and financial regulations.
• Experience implementing improved processes and controls in corporate settings.
• Leadership of finance teams (including offshore personnel).

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day management and support of the finance team.
• Own the month-end close process and deliver results on time.
• Maintain GL, COA, cost centres and profit centres; ensure reporting accuracy.
• Review balance sheet reconciliations and expense allocations for integrity.
• Analyze P&L variances against budget, forecast and prior periods.
• Coordinate external tax advisory and annual tax returns; assist audits.

Skills

CA with Big4 audit

Retail experience

Cash controls

Inventory controls

Lease accounting

Financial analysis

Forecasting & budgeting

Financial reporting

Leadership

Risk management

Education

CA - Chartered Accountant

Tools

ERP systems

Adaptive Insights

Job description

OVERVIEW

Aje Collective is a multi-brand Australian fashion group comprising Aje, Aje Athletica and Aje Studio, with operations across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the US and Europe. This is a high-impact opportunity for a commercially minded finance professional with strong technical capability. You will play a key role in ensuring our financial reporting is accurate, timely and compliant with accounting standards and disclosure requirements.

Reporting to the Director of Finance, the Finance Manager owns management and statutory reporting, tax compliance and treasury, and leads the finance team, including offshore team members based in Manila.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial Management

• Lead the day-to-day management and support of the finance team
• Own the month-end close process and deliver results on time
• Own the general ledger, including the chart of accounts, cost centres and profit centres in the accounting system and reporting cube, and maintain it for future new entities
• Review and sign off balance sheet reconciliations and the allocation of expenses, ensuring accuracy and integrity in financial reporting
• Investigate profit and loss variances against budget, forecast and prior period actuals, and provide detailed analysis of the differences
• Assist the Director of Finance with the annual insurance renewal process

Reporting

• Keep the Director of Finance regularly informed of financial performance, raising issues promptly
• Prepare monthly reporting packs, including channel, brand and business performance analysis, plus ad hoc reporting as required
• Prepare monthly department spending summaries, and work with department heads to monitor spend and analyse variances against budget
• Prepare the monthly inventory report to assess aged stock in the business
• Complete government reporting, including ABS and Payment Times Reporting
• Act as a key adviser to the Director of Finance and others on the accounting implications (technical or otherwise) of company decisions and actions, to deliver the optimal outcome

Transactional Functions

• Accounts Receivable: oversee accurate and timely invoicing (including fit-out contribution invoices) and the collection of payments from customers on or within payment terms
• Inventory: implement best practice to ensure inventory balances are accurate in each location, in both quantity and cost
• Fixed Assets: implement best practice to ensure fixed asset records are accurate in each location

Treasury and Cash Management

• Cash management: implement best-practice procedures to maintain an accurate view of cash at all times, including detecting irregularities that may indicate fraud
• Cash flow forecasting: manage the 12-month cash flow forecast, refreshing the near-term view weekly and supporting Finance and production heads with cash flow decisions
• Banking: manage transactional banking and merchant relationships to deliver the best outcomes for the group
• Assist with the issuance of bank guarantees for stores as required
• Submit banking covenant reporting within required deadlines
• Support the hedging strategy based on current and projected FX rates, and advise the business on the FX rates used in product costing

Taxation

• Manage external tax advisers and own the completion of GST/VAT and Sales & Use tax returns in Australia, the US, UK and EU, as well as FBT and payroll tax
• Assist the Director of Finance and external advisers with the Corporate Income Tax return and lodgement of tax returns

External Audit

• Own the end-of-year audit, overseeing the audit process, acting as first point of contact for the external auditors and providing information in a timely manner. You will be responsible for:
• Preparing the financial statements for the AU and UK entities
• Preparing all year-end audit adjustments, including the sales returns provision and AASB 16 lease accounting
• Consolidating all entities and reporting the foreign currency translation reserve
• Completing reporting and disclosure requests for the statutory audit

Financial Strategy and Business Partnering

• Provide senior management with financial assessments to support strategic activities, including tax optimisation
• Maintain a continuous focus on the cost of doing business, understand the key cost levers, and work closely with senior management to execute key projects
• Work with the planner on stock control

Process, Controls and Improvement

• Develop and implement a best-practice control environment appropriate for a group of our size and aspirations
• Establish a framework to monitor compliance with these controls, supporting company-wide governance and risk management
• Continuously review and improve processes to drive efficiency across the finance function
• Act as key point of contact for critical finance systems (including the ERP and Adaptive Insights), assess proposed systems and drive finance-related transformation projects

Team Leadership

• Coach finance team members, including direct reports in Manila, with regular 1:1s with offshore team members
• Identify training needs and develop team strengths
• Set team goals and evaluate progress and performance

REQUIRED AND DESIRED SKILLS

Technical and Behavioural

• Qualified CA with audit experience at a Big 4 accounting firm
• Relevant retail industry experience, including cash controls, inventory controls and lease accounting
• Demonstrated success implementing enhanced processes and controls in a corporate setting
• Expertise in financial analysis, forecasting and budgeting to support strategic decision-making and cost efficiency
• Strong understanding of local and international accounting standards and financial regulations
• Skilled in identifying and mitigating financial risk, and aligning financial strategy with business objectives.
• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to guide finance teams (including offshore) and collaborate across departments

The list of position responsibilities herein is not intended to be all-inclusive and may include additional responsibilities as required and assigned. It may become necessary to modify or change this position description and reporting line(s) from time to time.