Finance Manager

Aimeewillow; East Hagbourne; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Emerald is a growing B2B lending business providing funding solutions to UK SMEs. The Finance Manager will own day-to-day operational finance, strengthening reporting, controls, and investor operations as the business scales.

You will collaborate with Portfolio, Analytics, and Technology teams to deliver accurate forecasts and robust financial processes across P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow. The role focuses on enhancing reporting visibility, automation, and financial discipline in a

Qualifications

• Must have solid financial modelling experience in a scalable business.
• Proven ability to translate data into clear, actionable insights for senior management.
• Experience building and maintaining robust forecasting and budgeting processes.
• Strong Excel modelling with advanced formulae and automation.
• Knowledge of lender/investor reporting and cash flow management.

Responsibilities

• Own Loan Book and portfolio analysis to reflect performance in forecasts and reporting.
• Develop liquidity and treasury models including 13-week/12-month forecasts and scenarios.
• Lead integrated 3-way financial forecasting: P&L, balance sheet, cash flow.
• Oversee overheads, AP/AR, and management accounts with variance commentary.
• Manage investor portal, investor statements, and liquidity forecasting for funding rounds.
• Maintain loan tape data quality and collaborate with Portfolio, Tech, and Finance teams.
• Coordinate annual audit and ensure timely, accurate financial reporting.

Skills

Commercial awareness

Financial analysis

Forecasting

Data storytelling

Process improvement

Self-starter

Communication

Hands-on

Education

Relevant degree or professional accounting/finance qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA/CFA)

Tools

Excel

Power BI

Tableau

SQL

Python

Job description

Working for a growing B2B lending business working with brokers and introducers to provide funding solutions to UK businesses.

The business operates in a fast-paced operational finance environment where reporting accuracy, investor management, cash flow visibility, operational control, and financial accountability are critical to long-term growth.

The Role

Seeking a highly organised, commercially aware, technically capable, and hands-on Finance Manager to perform the day-to-day operational finance function of the business.

The role is responsible for supporting the operational finance layer across the business while helping improve reporting visibility, financial controls, investor operations, reconciliations, BI reporting, AI-assisted reporting, reporting automation, and finance process structure as the business continues to scale.

Will also work closely with the wider technology team regarding reporting structure, operational workflows, finance data accuracy, BI visibility, reporting automation, and operational reporting consistency across Emerald and associated reporting environments.

Core Responsibilities

1. Loan Book, Portfolio & Financial Analysis

• Work closely with the Head of Portfolio & Analyst to ensure loan book performance and portfolio trends are accurately reflected within the Company's financial forecasts, budgets, liquidity planning and management reporting.
• Collaborate with the Head of Portfolio & Analysis on cohort and portfolio reporting, using the analysis produced to understand the financial impact of origination volumes, repayments, arrears, defaults, recoveries and loan book runoff.
• Work jointly with the Head of Portfolio & Analysis to provide relevant cohort reporting and analysis to the Collections Manager, highlighting repayment performance, arrears, recoveries and emerging trends, and assessing the resulting impact on cash flow and financial forecasts.
• Use portfolio performance data and analysis to forecast cash collections, capital return rates, lending capacity, portfolio yield, net interest margin (NIM) and overall profitability.
• Work with the Head of Portfolio & Analysis and Collections Manager to understand expected collections performance and ensure changes in collection rates are appropriately reflected within liquidity and cash flow forecasts.
• Support the CFO and Head of Portfolio & Analysis with bad debt provisioning and impairment forecasting, ensuring portfolio performance, arrears, defaults and expected recoveries are appropriately reflected within financial reporting and forecasts.
• Incorporate portfolio-level Probability of Default (PD), Loss Given Default (LGD) and IFRS 9 impairment assumptions provided through the portfolio analysis function into wider financial models and business forecasts.
• Work alongside the Head of Portfolio & Analysis on borrower lifetime value and repeat lending analysis, translating portfolio findings into commercial and financial insights for senior management.
• Assess the wider financial impact of changes in the loan book, including lending volumes, collections performance, pricing, loan fees, borrower behaviour and product changes.
• Translate portfolio analysis into clear financial and commercial insights for the CFO, Board and senior management team, ensuring changes in loan book performance are understood in the context of the Company's wider financial position.

2. Liquidity, Investment & Treasury Management

• Develop and maintain robust 13-week and 12-month rolling liquidity models to track cash inflows from repayments and investments, and cash outflows for loan disbursements, investor withdrawals and operational costs.
• Maintain forward-looking cash and liquidity forecasts which reflect the ever-changing investment roadmap, including expected new investment, investment increases, withdrawals, capital returns and fluctuations in investor funding.
• Build funding models to forecast facility utilisation, analyse headroom and ensure compliance with debt covenants.
• Model the interaction between investment movements, borrower collections, new lending volumes and operational expenditure to ensure sufficient liquidity is maintained.
• Formulate scenario and stress-testing models, including changes in base rate, macroeconomic downturns, changes in investment inflows/outflows or sudden spikes in defaults, to ensure adequate liquidity buffers.
• Provide senior management with clear visibility over available capital, committed funding, expected capital returns and future funding requirements.

3. Financial Forecasting & Corporate Planning

• Own the integrated 3-way financial forecasting model covering Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow for the overall business.
• Prepare and maintain the annual financial budget and departmental targets, with input from business teams.
• Maintain rolling forecasts throughout the year and reforecast appropriately as lending volumes, investment levels, collections, staffing costs and business assumptions change.
• Work closely with senior management to understand and forecast overheads, identifying areas of material cost movement and opportunities to improve operating efficiency.
• Model the financial impact of increased staffing and employment costs, including salaries, commission, bonuses, employer National Insurance, pensions and other employee-related expenditure.
• Assess the business-wide financial impact of new products, changes in loan fees, pricing decisions and other commercial initiatives before implementation.
• Assist the CFO in preparing Board packs, investor reporting and presentations for potential funding rounds or debt facilities.
• Take ownership of the financial and operational information required for the Board pack, ensuring information is accurate, consistent, clearly explained and delivered on time.
• Partner with commercial and origination teams to understand pipeline conversion and incorporate these assumptions into forward-looking forecasts.
• Partner with the Collections function to understand expected cash collections and incorporate their impact into liquidity, profitability and lending forecasts.
• Support preparation and submission of the Company's R&D tax relief claim, coordinating relevant financial information with the technology team, CFO and external advisers.
• Support audit preparation and external accountant requirements.

4. Management Accounts & Overheads

• Support month-end and year-end finance processes and provide required information to external accountants.
• Correctly categorise overheads and expenses and provide clear variance commentary.
• Take an active role in overhead management, tracking expenditure against budget and identifying significant cost movements or areas requiring management attention.
• Compare actual monthly expenditure against targets and investigate material variances and update forecasts accordingly.
• Oversee accounts payable and accounts receivable activity.
• Manage invoicing processes and payment tracking across the business.
• Provide meaningful commentary to management accounts once finalised by the Finance team.
• Compare monthly accounts to budget and reforecast appropriately.
• Maintain visibility over key cost drivers including staffing costs, funding costs, commissions, professional fees, technology expenditure and other significant overheads.

5. Investor Portal & Management

• Maintain management of the investor portal.
• Prepare investor statements
• Review new loans, borrower repayments and investor capital movements.
• Track expected investment inflows, withdrawals and capital repayments and ensure these are incorporated into the Company's liquidity forecasts.
• Reconcile investor balances and payments to finance records and investigate any discrepancies.

6. Data Management

• Work closely with the Head of Portfolio & Analysis to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the loan tape, ensuring it supports both portfolio analysis and financial reporting requirements.
• Share responsibility with the Head of Portfolio & Analysis for reviewing the loan tape for errors, inconsistencies and data quality issues, with clear ownership of finance-related reconciliations and reporting requirements.
• Collaborate on the continued development and enhancement of the loan tape, ensuring it provides the appropriate data and visibility required across Finance, Portfolio, Collections and senior management.
• Work alongside the Head of Portfolio & Analysis and Technology teams to identify opportunities to improve data quality, reporting visibility, automation and system processes.
• Identify and investigate reporting inconsistencies, reconciliation gaps and finance data issues, working collaboratively with the Head of Portfolio & Analysis where issues relate to portfolio or loan-level data.

7. Manage the Annual Audit

• Take responsibility for coordinating the annual financial audit, working across the business, CFO, external Finance function and auditors.
• Manage audit information requests and ensure supporting schedules, reconciliations and documentation are delivered accurately and on time.
• Coordinate responses to audit queries and ensure any identified issues or recommendations are followed through to completion.
• Support the preparation of year-end financial information and statutory accounts.
• Ensure appropriate supporting documentation is maintained throughout the year to improve the efficiency of the annual audit process.

Skills & Experience

• Commercial awareness and operational mindset
• Strong ability to translate complex data sets into actionable, strategic recommendations for the CFO and executive team.
• Proven experience in a financial modelling or FP&A role within the UK financial services sector (ideally broker-led SME lending, challenger banks, or asset finance).
• Advanced Excel proficiency is essential (ability to build robust, scalable, and error-free models using macros, pivot tables, and complex lookups). Experience with SQL, Python, or BI tools (e.g., PowerBI, Tableau) is a major plus.
• Familiarity with loan accounting, credit risk modelling techniques, and liquidity metrics.
• Strong organisational and workload management skills
• High attention to detail and reporting accuracy
• Ability to prioritise workload effectively within a fast-paced environment
• Comfortable identifying, investigating, and resolving reporting inconsistencies, finance data issues, reconciliation gaps, and operational reporting problems independently
• Strong technical and operational curiosity with the ability to improve reporting visibility, automation, and finance workflows without requiring constant direction
• Experience managing invoicing, AP/AR, payment processes, and operational reporting
• Comfortable working hands-on within a scaling business environment
• Self-starter with minimal oversight

Qualifications:

Relevant degree or professional accounting/finance qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or CFA)

Personal Attributes

• Operationally focused
• Organised and process-driven
• Self-sufficient and proactive
• Commercially aware
• Calm under pressure
• High attention to detail
• Accountable and dependable
• Strong communication skills
• Comfortable building structure and improving processes
• Hands-on approach
• Positive and collaborative mindset
• Technically self-sufficient
• Naturally curious and operationally analytical
• Comfortable solving problems independently
• Comfortable working closely with senior leadership and technology teams