Group Finance Manager

Mountain Warehouse; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail company in Greater London seeks a Group Finance Manager to oversee financial reporting and compliance, manage a small team, and provide strategic advice on cash flow and treasury. The ideal candidate is a qualified ACA accountant with over 5 years of experience and strong skills in multi-currency consolidations and advanced Excel. This role requires a proactive mindset and the ability to thrive under pressure while ensuring the efficiency of the Group's financial processes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of post-qualification experience, including 2 years in industry within a Group team.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline-driven work environment.
• Willingness to understand and question details.

Responsibilities

• Oversee financial reporting and compliance at a group level.
• Manage day-to-day operations of a small team.
• Advise on financial strategy regarding foreign currency risks.

Skills

Proactive mindset

Excellent numeracy

Advanced Excel skills

Multi-currency consolidations

Education

ACA qualified accountant

Job description

Description

GROUP FINANCE MANAGER

Reports to: Senior Finance Manager- Group and Finance Operations

Position Summary

This role is a key role in the Group team, who are responsible for :

• UK and international statutory reporting, working closely with 3rd party accounting partners to ensure global reporting compliance requirements are met.
• Financial updates to shareholders and our banking consortium.
• Technical accounting
• Managing the Group’s cash, ensuring we have sufficient funds to service the needs of the business today and in the short to medium term.
• Managing foreign currency risks from buying and selling in multiple currencies.

Management and Investor Reporting

• Oversight of the consolidation process, which includes translation of 8 foreign operations and significant intra-group stock movements.
• Oversight of the Group close process
• Preparation of monthly group management accounts for board and banks. Understand and document reporting team explanations for key P&L variances and critically analyse balance sheet and cash flow variances. Develop strong understanding of the balance sheet budget methodology
• Oversight of monthly submission of financial information to our investors

Statutory Reporting and Compliance

• Lead the day to day management of the Group and UK external statutory audits, managing the delivery of colleagues across finance and the wider business.
• Oversee the preparation of the consolidated financial statements and UK subsidiary financial statements by the Group team, including all relevant disclosures.
• Oversee the preparation of financial statements in 8 international jurisdictions, project managing the audits where relevant. Review the reconciliation of subsidiary accounting records to group ledgers so local GAAP differences are appropriately documented and understood.

Accounting Policy

• Provide clear technical accounting advice across Finance and to the wider business. Convey any business impacts of changes in accounting standards to senior non-financial stakeholders.
• Preparation and review of papers to support complex and judgmental accounting matters to include hedge accounting, impairment, onerous leases and share based payments. Ensure compliance with accounting standards at all times.
• Support Senior Finance Manager on project to implement IFRS 16
• Provide support to the Group Financial Accountant on the preparation of a Group Accounting policy manual and then ensure this is maintained by staying ahead of changes to accounting standards and reporting compliance.
• Prepare the monthly FX provision balance sheet

Cash Flow and Treasury

• Preparation of weekly cash reporting to the business and lenders, including communicating the weekly variances to the latest 13 week forecast, analysing and reviewing the reasons for the variances and advising on updating methodologies as appropriate.
• Maintain short term cashflow ensuring all bank accounts are sufficiently funded for immediate term cash requirements
• Advise on drawdown repayments to mitigate interest expense
• Oversee the reporting of daily cash balances
• Preparation of quarterly covenants calculations
• Preparation of monthly lender reporting (P&L, cashflow and balance sheet)
• Support the Senior Finance Manager on managing surplus FX currency by suggesting forward contracts

People

• Day-to-day management of 2 direct reports (Group Accountant and Management Accountant).
• Indirect line management of Assistant Group Accountant
• Ensure the learning and development needs of the team are met by setting objectives, coaching and providing constructive feedback through regular one-to-ones.

Other

• Identify and implement systems and process changes to continuously improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Group’s reporting and audit cycle.
• Support on business projects to include entry to new markets, group structure rationalization, professional service provider consolidation, ESG reporting and investor exit readiness preparations.
• Proactive continuous evolution of month end reporting and analysis to better communicate financial performance to key stakeholders.

Qualifications

• A qualified ACA accountant with 5+ years’ PQE. This should include a minimum of 2 years post qualification experience within industry within a Group team.
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced, deadline driven work environment, managing competing priorities.
• Proactive and willing to roll up sleeves to understand and question the detail.
• Experience in multi-currency consolidations through time working with a multi-national group or within a national audit practice.
• Excellent numeracy and IT skills including advanced Excel (lookups, pivot tables).
• Continuous improvement mindset.
• Technically strong accountant.