Finance Systems Analyst

Finance Systems, in liaison with Technology, supports the Finance teams worldwide and provides a reporting facility both for Central Management and to partners. The team currently consists of the Finance Systems Manager with Analysts based in London and Hong Kong, a Senior Finance Systems Manager with Analysts based in the US, and a Finance Systems Manager – Product Owner based in London. This is a global team reporting to the Global Head of Finance Systems.

The Finance Systems team (FST) provides first line technical support for all computer systems used by the Finance staff of Hogan Lovells worldwide. This currently includes the following systems:

• Elite 3E.
• Intapp time entry.
• Emburse Enterprise Expense and Invoice.
• OneStream Budgeting and GL reporting.
• Paperless Billing (Nth Degree).
• Edicom Einvoicing.
• eBillinghub delivery of e-billing.

Finance systems also support/manage the BI reporting solution in partnership with the Technology team. This solution is currently based on Analysis Services (MDX / DAX) surfaced primarily using SSRS reports and Vendor developed dashboards from Big Square / Foundation Finance.

In addition to support, the department plays an active role in the development and enhancement of our finance systems. This includes application configuration and code development across a range of platforms (SQL, VB.net, MDX / DAX). The department works closely with the Technology team to test and deploy these changes through to production.

Working Hours
35 hours per week, 9:30am to 5:30pm but additional hours may be required. We are happy to consider agile and flexible working patterns. Our approach to hybrid working allows for up to 40% of time working from home and 60% working in the office.

Role Overview
This position will report to the Product Owner who is responsible for managing the prioritisation of software development for the finance application portfolio for the 3E Finance system and other systems used by the Finance department as well as surrounding integrations. The team will be responsible for delivering change to systems such as system upgrades. The Development team follows agile methodology, will work with the IT Finance Applications (ITFA) Development team, the business and key stakeholders to understand objectives and successfully translate requirements for the Development team to meet the desired objectives.

The team is focused on providing the best service to financial users on an international scale and is eager to onboard an accomplished Financial Systems Analyst. The ideal candidate for this role will have previous experience of supporting 3E and related systems and some experience of Software Development Life Cycle. Additionally, strong analytical and technical abilities and will appreciate working in a fast-paced, but very enjoyable environment where collaboration and teamwork are encouraged. Our people are the key to our success, which is why we seek to recruit and retain the most talented individuals.

In this role you will have the opportunity to interact with a wide range of people including finance and other business services departments, lawyers, partners, and senior management.

Key Responsibilities

Specific duties or responsibilities may be reviewed from time to time to reflect changes in personnel and management structure, staff location or services. All members of the firm participate in our Responsible Business program.

Systems Analysis and Support

• Analyse existing finance systems (ERP, budgeting, forecasting, reporting tools) to identify gaps, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities.
• Translate finance and business requirements into functional system specifications.
• Support day-to-day system issues, troubleshooting, and root-cause analysis.
• Ensure data integrity, accuracy, and consistency across finance systems.

System Upgrades and Enhancements

• Support finance system upgrades, patches, and version releases.
• Support coordination of testing (unit, integration, UAT) for system enhancements and upgrades.
• Assess impact of upgrades on finance processes, controls, and reporting.
• Partner with IT and vendors to ensure smooth implementation and minimal disruption.
• Assist in the development of finance systems – robust testing of new functionality, processes and setups and preparation of related documentation for sign off.
• Maintenance of the finance applications configuration and core setups in QA instances.
• Assist with managing the product backlog, incorporating feature requests for our finance application portfolio and add functionality into the 3E roadmap as deemed valuable by the business.
• Work seamlessly with global and senior management to plan incremental releases into our staging (for UAT) and production environments.

Process Improvement and Optimisation

• Identify opportunities to automate manual finance processes.
• Recommend system-driven solutions to improve efficiency and controls.
• Document system processes, configurations, and upgrade changes.
• Support post-upgrade stabilisation and optimisation efforts.
• Develop user stories and define acceptance criteria for all application development.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Collaborate with Finance Systems Team and IT Finance Application members globally to solve issues and provide solutions.
• Function as a liaison between Finance, IT, and external vendors.
• Provide training and guidance to finance users on system changes.
• Communicate upgrade timelines, risks, and impacts to stakeholders.

General

• Attend training from time to time, both in terms of technical training and personal development.
• In accordance with your terms of employment you are required to ensure that the firm's information security policies and procedures are always followed.
• You are required to complete security awareness training within a reasonable timeframe and apply the policy, and training requirements when handling information.
• You are required to inform your manager or senior member of staff if you become aware of or suspect a breach of security.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Finance systems background.
• Strong systems and business analysis, problem solving and technical skills including documentation of requirements and troubleshooting of application issues.
• Detail-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset.
• Ability to work cross-functionally in a fast-paced environment.
• Upgrade planning/testing coordination.
• Management of 3rd party suppliers.
• Incident management.
• Project management or system implementation experience.
• An understanding of accounting systems, and how the multi-company, multi-currency paradigm works.
• Effective communication and stakeholder management.

Desired

• Accounting qualification.
• Core Elite 3E data structure knowledge.
• Business Analyst / QA.
• Legal / professional services sector background.
• Experience translating business requirements into system solutions.
• Experience of Software Development Lifecycle and using Azure DevOps.
• T-SQL to an advanced level.

Equal Opportunities Employment & Agile Working Statement
It is the policy of Hogan Lovells to provide equal opportunities for all employees in relation to recruitment, training and promotion. Decisions in these areas will be made only by reference to the qualifications and abilities of the candidates.