Legal Entity Controller (Qualified Accountant)

Cantor Fitzgerald; Warszawa; On-site; PLN 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Cantor Fitzgerald in Warsaw, Poland, is seeking a Legal Entity Controller to oversee financial reporting for entities across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This role requires ensuring accurate and timely reports while liaising with various global departments.

The ideal candidate is ACA/ACCA qualified with 2-3 years of relevant experience, strong analytical abilities, and excellent communication skills. The role focuses on maintaining high-quality control in financial reporting and statutory accounts preparation.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2-3 years post qualification experience in financial services or commodity broking.
• Prior experience in a legal entity/financial control role.
• Exposure to complex reporting issues and consolidation accounting.

Responsibilities

• Produce monthly and quarterly reports for responsible entities.
• Lead reviews of entity results with senior management.
• Ensure timely delivery of audited accounts signed off by auditors.

Skills

Legal entity / financial control experience

Statutory financial statement preparation

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Control mentality

Education

ACA/ACCA qualified accountant

Tools

MS Office

Hyperion Essbase

Adobe Acrobat

Job description

The LEC team provides all financial reporting activities for legal entities across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This includes statutory, Sarbanes Oxley and Public Company attestations and all other financial reporting. Liaising with Group reporting in the USA, and other functional departments (Tax, Treasury, Product Control, Operations and Legal) both locally and globally.

The aim is to ensure that the individual can make an important contribution to the continued development of the Legal Entity Control team, the Finance function and raising the bar in terms of quality, control and consistency. This role is a core part of that team and a liaising with colleagues across those and other functions.

Job Location:

Warsaw, Poland

Key Responsibilities:

For the entities assigned to them, the Legal Entity Controller is responsible for:

• Understand fully the entities and businesses for all responsible entities.
• Produce monthly and quarterly reports on the results of their responsible entities and ensure that internal/external deadlines are met on time with accurate information.
• Advise and assist the operational accounting, Tax and FP&A teams to prepare, review and post their journals for the month end close.
• Where necessary, prepare, post and review non-standard journals for the month end close (i.e. investments, capital, acquisitions, consolidations, disposals, liquidations).
• Assist in continuing to maintain, develop and improve and strengthen the control environment.
• To produce statutory accounts for the required entities under their responsibility and to deal with the external auditors and ensure timely delivery of information, responses and ensure sign off of the audited accounts to a strict deadline.
• Lead monthly review of entities results, balance sheet and regulatory capital status with Europe and Asia CFO and Group FC.
• Assisting with the annual budget/forecasting process and daily/monthly and annual regulatory deliverables (i.e. ICARA and wind-down plan).
• Review and feedback to the Tax team on corporation tax provisions and reconciliations.
• Partnering with Treasury and Cash Management to develop and evolve funding and cash management of the entities.
• Understand the FX exposure that is contained within the responsible entities and help in the global management of the FX position across the Group.
• Understand, provide guidance and review of intercompany recharges, allocations and transfer pricing processes from service entities to trading entities between different geographies.
• Drive forward and co‑ordinate the process of liquidating and dissolving redundant entities.
• Ensure that for all responsible entities, balance sheet reconciliations are prepared and reviewed by appropriate owners and reviewers. Carry out overview review and report any concerns to senior management.
• Monitor the regulatory (FCA and NFA) impact of entity movements and balances and ensure regular settlement of related party receivables/payables.
• Monitor un‑posted journals report daily for entries and manage the resolution of issues and postings made as appropriate.
• Monitor control account / suspense / wash accounts and manage the resolution of any breaks pre‑month end as appropriate.
• Monitor cash breaks and ensure breaks are cleared appropriately.
• Support the Head of External Reporting with ad‑hoc issues e.g. accounting policy changes, acquisitions and head office queries.
• Be alert to Conduct Risk issues, specifically the risk of harm to client interests, market integrity and/or competition in financial markets due to inappropriate practices or behaviours across the firm.

Skills required:

The ideal candidate is a ACA/ACCA qualified accountant, ideally with 2 - 3 years post qualification experience in a financial services or commodity broking / trading organisation, and should be able to demonstrate:

• Prior experience in legal entity / financial control position.
• Experience of statutory financial statement preparation.
• A strong academic background and good career progression to date.
• A control mentality coupled with excellent accounting, analytical and reporting skills.
• Exposure to complex reporting issues preferably with demonstrable knowledge of consolidation accounting, impairment assessments and minority interest accounting.
• Possess a pro‑active attitude with an ability to take responsibility.
• Process analysis skills to identify vulnerabilities and control weaknesses.
• Understanding of UK GAAP (FRS 102), IFRS and experience of US GAAP would be advantageous.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to prepare accounting memos and interact with professionals throughout the organisation.

System Used:

• MS Office: advanced use of Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Hyperion Essbase and HFM
• Adobe Acrobat
• Workiva

Personal Attributes:

• Highly motivated, self‑starter, unafraid to ask questions and seek answers.
• Willing to take ownership, work without close supervision, while also being a team player.
• Able to use judgement to implement changes to improve processes.
• A good organiser with the ability to multi‑task.
• Proactive and adaptable, able to work well under pressure.
• Whilst being able to delegate efficiently and effective, must also be willing to get hands on to ensure the job gets done.
• Intellectually curious with a desire to learn and understand complex new processes.