Head of Financial Control

RPC; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

RPC is seeking a Head of Financial Control to lead the global accounting, cashiering and payroll function, delivering robust financial management and high-quality reporting. You will partner with the CFO and senior leaders to mature processes, controls and data enablement to support strategic growth.

You will oversee VAT compliance, SRA Accounts Rules, and the annual audit, building a high-performing team across Accounting, Cashiering and Payroll while fostering a collaborative culture that

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with strong technical accounting expertise.
• Experience leading financial control, accounting, cashiering and payroll.
• Excellent stakeholder management and regulatory compliance knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global financial control team (accounting, cashiering and payroll).
• Oversee timely production of internal management accounts and statutory reporting.
• Ensure compliance with VAT and SRA Accounts Rules; manage annual audit.
• Partner with CFO and leaders to enhance controls, processes and data enablement.

Skills

People leadership

Stakeholder management

Technical accounting

SRA knowledge

Law firm experience

Education

Qualified accountant

Job description

This is a key leadership role in the finance team, with global responsibility for the financial controllership, accounting, and cashiering, ensuring robust and efficient financial management of the firm.

It's an exciting time of strategic change for the firm, and the role of the finance function within it. The firm is on a growth trajectory as part of its strategic ambitions and finance plays a pivotal role in enabling the successful financial performance against this strategic ambition.

The Head of Financial Control will be responsible for developing the global maturity of accounting processes, cashiering, and payroll. Maturing ways of working, service delivery, and technology and data enablement.

This is a pivotal leadership position within the Finance function, with global responsibility for financial controllership, accounting operations and cashiering. You will ensure the firm’s financial management is robust, efficient and consistently high-quality, underpinning confident decision-making across the business.

The firm is in a period of strategic change and growth, with Finance playing an increasingly important role in enabling performance against the firm’s ambitions. As Head of Financial Control, you will lead the continued development and maturity of our global accounting processes, cashiering and payroll - strengthening ways of working, service delivery, controls, and the use of technology and data to improve insight and efficiency.

The team

The individual will work closely with the CFO to provide technical financial accounting delivery, management of cashflow, cashiering and client accounts (in line with SRA accounts rules), and responsibility for payroll. This team and the individual will work closely with the rest of the finance team, in particular the cashiering team needs to closely collaborate with the billing and collections team, and the accounting team works closely with FP&A and business partners.

The role is responsible for accurate and timely accounting, cash and payment management and ensure compliance with SRA accounts rules, and internal and external accounting requirements.

Working closely with the CFO, you will provide expert technical accounting leadership, oversee cashflow management, lead cashiering and client accounts activity in line with the SRA Accounts Rules, and support the payroll function.

You will operate as a senior partner to the wider Finance team. In particular:

• Cashiering will work closely with Billing and Collections to support efficient revenue and cash processes.
• Accounting will work closely with FPA and Finance Business Partners to ensure timely, accurate reporting and meaningful analysis.

The role leads three teams - Accounting, Cashiering and Payroll and reports directly to the CFO.

Key internal relationships

This is a critical role which interacts with all areas of the Firm, in particular:

• Managing Partner
• Billing & collection teams
• Risk and Compliance team
• Partners and matter teams
• Business services teams

Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Running and leading the global financial control team (accounting, cashiering, and payroll).
• Overseeing the timely and accurate production of internal management accounts and reporting for the firm as well as annual financial statements.
• Ensuring regulatory compliance in relation to financial matters (including VAT and SRA).
• Leading the annual audit process, and liaising with auditors.
• Leading the Cashiers team:
• Ensuring SRA accounts rules compliance, including managing the annual audit.
• Developing and implementing efficient bank reconciliation process.
• Creating regular and timely cash flows, including forecasting and scenario modelling.
• Management of the staff accounts and payroll team.
• Working with the finance leadership and management team to develop robust and efficient financial management. processes, this is particularly relevant to the billing and collections teams.
• Duties and responsibilities include (but are not limited to):
• Leadership and team management
• Lead and develop the global Financial Control function, encompassing Accounting, Cashiering and Payroll.
• Build a high-performing, collaborative team culture that supports continuous improvement and strong service delivery.
• Financial reporting and statutory accounts
• Oversee the timely, accurate production of internal management accounts and reporting.
• Lead the preparation of annual financial statements and associated deliverables.
• Governance, controls and compliance
• Ensure compliance with financial regulatory and reporting requirements, including VAT and SRA-related obligations.
• Maintain robust financial controls and governance across accounting operations and cashiering.
• Audit leadership
• Lead the annual audit process, acting as the primary liaison with external auditors and coordinating audit planning and delivery.
• Cashiering and client accounts
• Lead the Cashiers team to ensure full compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules, including management of the annual audit requirements.
• Develop and implement efficient, well-controlled bank reconciliation processes and wider cash/receipt controls.
• Cashflow and forecasting
• Produce regular, timely cashflow reporting, including forecasting and scenario modeling to support business planning and decision-making.
• Payroll and staff accounts
• Manage the staff accounts and payroll team, ensuring accurate, timely payroll delivery and appropriate controls.
• Cross-functional improvement
• Partner with Finance leadership to strengthen end-to-end financial management processes, with particular focus on improving effectiveness and controls across Billing and Collections interfaces.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Proven experience leading a Financial Control (or equivalent) team.
• Qualified accountant with strong technical expertise and deep experience preparing financial statements.
• Strong people leadership and stakeholder management skills; confident influencing senior stakeholders across the firm.
• Partnership accounting and partner tax knowledge.
• Experience of SRA Accounts Rules compliance strongly preferred.
• Law firm or professional services partnership experience preferred.
• Experience with VAT compliance preferred.
• Commercially minded, able to manage people, resources, budgets and projects efficiently.
• A collaborative, influential leader who coaches and develops others to perform at their best.
• Demonstrates a growth mindset and commitment to continual learning.
• Committed to building and sustaining a supportive, inclusive and collaborative culture.

About us

RPC is where you'll thrive. You'll join a team that leads by working together, where diverse perspectives are valued, curiosity is encouraged, and everyone pulls in the same direction to deliver commercially minded work that makes a real difference for our clients. It's this collaborative approach that's building RPC to become the destination firm in our chosen markets.

We work with the biggest names in retail, insurance, technology, media and the professional and financial services worlds. Our international reach means we support clients wherever their business takes them. It's this focus that provides the platform for deep experience with the clients and matters that define our sectors.

As a lawyer or business services professional, you'll be a part of a firm that inspires belonging – where people are involved, valued and trusted to do their best work. Flexibility and trust sit at the heart of how we work.

And we're not standing still. Across every one of our offices, we're deepening our international reach and investing in where we're headed. RPC is a firm with momentum, and there's real opportunity to help shape it.

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging

We are problem solvers. Whether in front of clients or behind the scenes. To solve problems creatively for clients, we need diverse collaborative thinking; drawing on different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives. That means that everyone who either applies to, or works for, the firm is treated equitably. We believe in removing barriers to equal access not least because our people define us and define what we do. If you need support and adjustments to do your best work, whether that’s during the recruitment process or throughout your time at RPC, we’re here to help.

Flexible working that supports your commitments outside of work is an important part of our culture and, where possible, we will support this across all roles. Please get in touch with our recruitment team if you have any questions about our hybrid working approach or flexible working policy.

Recruitment policy

RPC manages all vacancies via our recruitment team. When external support is needed, roles are released to select agencies subject to RPC standard terms and conditions.

Speculative or unsolicited CVs or profiles sent to any RPC employee or partner will not be accepted as an introduction, and no fee will be payable. For full details of our Agency Policy, please go to our website.