Financial Controller

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Job Title:       Financial Controller                            

Department:  Finance

Reporting to: Finance Director                                            

                                   

Date of preparation: Sept 2020                                

 

 

Purpose of the Role:

To lead the financial accounting operations of the company, to include the production of periodic financial reports, maintenance of an adequate system of accounting records, and a comprehensive set of controls and budgets/forecasts designed to mitigate risk, enhance the accuracy of the company's reported financial results, and ensure that reported results comply with necessary accounting standards. 

The role will provide insightfull reporting to help the executive team understand the business dynamics and make decisions to improve profit and cashflow.

Role Dimensions:

Reporting to the Finance Director, this role will focus on developing a robust and High Performing finance team, working within a growing and dynamic business with three trading entities.  Ensuring that financial information is kept up to date, reliable and relevant, allowing the business to make appropriate decisions about its strategic growth and future.  You will manage a medium sized finance team, consisting of three direct reports in the areas of transactional finance, reporting & forecasting and management information. 

Principal Accountabilities:

The principal accountabilities for the role are:

 

  • To ensure the smooth day to day running of the Finance function.
  • Full responsibility for month end reporting and forecasting/budgeting in accordance with Group reporting deadlines.
  • Full responsibility for the transactional finance activities of sales ledger, purchase ledger, general ledger and banking operations
  • Ensuring that the three trading entities operate under an appropriate level of financial governance and control, maintaining policies and procedures appropriate to them
  • This role will play an integral part in managing current projects, ensuring compliance with appropriate revenue recognition standards.
  • Direct management of the audit process and statutory reporting.
  • Directly responsible for the treasury function (including cashflow reporting), and working capital including cash collection, purchase ledger and stock control.
  • Monitoring the R&D expenditure and returns to ensure in line with business cases
  • Responsible for approving the monthly payroll of the three trading entities.
  • Review of balance sheet reconciliations and control accounts
  • Proactively provide insighfull information to the executive team, enabling decisions to improve profit and cashflow
  • Liaising with tax authorities (including international authorities), tax advisors and group tax manager on VAT, withholding taxes, SAO, PSA, and R&D Claims.
  • Other key stakeholders with McLaren Applied requiring information from this role are the CEO, COO and Operations Director as well as The McLaren Group Financial Controller and CFO

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

  • Qualified Accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) with a commercial outlook
  • Management Experience
  • Robust experience of financial accounting and management reporting procedures and routines
  • Experience dealing with all aspects of UK tax, particularly VAT.  Desirable is an understanding of tax in the US and Singapore
  • Resilient and confident individual with consummate influencing and persuasion skills.
  • Presentable and personable – the candidate must be immediately credible with stakeholders
  • Ability to multi-task and manage time effectively

Key Competencies

Analytical Thinking

  • The ability to think clearly, logically and objectively
  • To analyse work-related problems in an effective way
  • To come to conclusions which are balanced, systematic and rational

Building Relationships

  • Recognising key relationships and making conscious effort to build rapport to enable smooth running of department or service
  • Establishing positive relations quickly with stakeholders irrelevant of status
  • Demonstrating tact and diplomacy in all professional relationships

Commercial Judgement

  • The ability to handle the business in a commercial and financially-driven way
  • The inclination to maximise revenues and profits
  • To minimise costs and constantly improve business efficiency

Results Focus and Initiative

  • The drive, determination and commitment to get things done
  • To move things forward, achieve, get results and do things better
  • Always strives to meet the expected standards of quality and reliability
  • Asks questions to better understand the business and the needs of the business

Planning and Organising

  • Ability to set achievable goals and deadlines
  • Capacity to multi-task over several on-going projects, and able to define priorities
  • Ability to assess work done against future goal and monitor progress
  • Able to adopt systematic and pro-active approach that will ensure task completion
  • Confidence to recognise and deal with arising problems
  • Helps others to learn by sharing knowledge and experience and demonstrating skills as needed