Financial Risk and Compliance Department Manager in Bracknell

At Honda we embrace inclusion in our various policies, so whilst our contracts state that the hours are as required to fulfil the role with a minimum of 35 hours per week, we offer flexibility for when you work. The regular office hours are 08:00 – 16:00 Monday to Thursday with a half hour lunch break and 08:00 – 13:00 on a Friday. However, we offer flexibility of when you work with our daily flex-time start of between 07:00 and 11:00 providing that there is no business requirement. Whilst there is no contractual right to work from home, the flexibility we offer is that you can request to work from home 2 days per week, again providing there is no business requirement to attend the office.

Role Reporting to the Head of Group Finance, this is a key position within the Finance team, with pan-European responsibility for managing financial risk and compliance activities across the UK and Europe. The role requires a high level of credibility and influence across the organization, as well as a strong understanding of the strategic business direction and the ability to clearly articulate it. The role must be capable of building trust and fostering strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels, including business leaders, functional heads, and cross-functional teams, across various Honda entities in the UK and Europe, external finance partners, and the headquarter in Japan. Key stakeholders include Business General Managers, Functional Heads, and counterparts across branches and regional entities.

Main Responsibilities

• Oversee the SOX compliance program across the region, partnering with business process owners and control owners to ensure effective implementation, monitoring, and continuous improvement of internal controls.
• Collaborate with senior management to define control objectives and monitor compliance performance, covering both Entity-Level Controls (ELCs) and Process-Level Controls (PLCs).
• Maintain and update the Risk & Control Matrix (RACM) and related control documentation to align with processes documented in SAP Signavio.
• Ensure business process owners and control owners are fully aware of their responsibilities.
• Coordinate with IT associates to plan, execute, and complete all phases of IT SOX compliance.
• Work closely with internal and external auditors to review test findings, support remediation of control gaps, and elevate critical issues to senior management.
• Following each audit cycle, engage external and internal auditors and key stakeholders to review results, evaluate successes and improvement areas, and integrate lessons learned into future compliance activities.
• Support and advise business process owners and control owners: Providing training and guidance on internal control ownership and expectations.
• Reviewing control design proposals and make recommendations to improve effectiveness and efficiency.
• Coordinate control testing plans, ensuring proper timing, ownership, and follow-up—while not performing control activities.
• Communicate and explain audit findings to control owners and help build practical and timely remediation plans.
• Act as a partner and advisor to the business, empowering ownership while maintaining independence.
• Act as a key advisor to business process and control owners on the design, implementation, and execution of internal controls, offering guidance, training, and best practices.
• Support internal audit processes for the Finance Division by coordinating responses before, during, and after audits, ensuring engagement of relevant departments, and assisting in countermeasure planning and remediation efforts.

Other Compliance & Governance Responsibilities

• Complete the annual HCG and risk questionnaires.
• Own and manage the department’s Business Continuity Plan (BCP), including training and performing drills on BCP for the team.
• Facilitate and coordinate Steering Board and Regional Operating Committee meetings.
• Ensure that financial risks are assessed and effectively addressed in broader business projects (e.g., online sales).
• Monitor and maintain accuracy of Pan-European Finance contracts on the Contract Management system including regular follow-up with contract owners.
• Proactively test systems and controls to minimize fraud risk and collaborate with relevant teams to strengthen control environments where needed.
• Assess training needs, develop materials, and deliver internal control training to ensure stakeholders understand their responsibilities.

Projects Responsibilities

• Provide subject matter expertise aligned with Honda’s ways of working.
• Maintain awareness of external audit deficiencies and remedial efforts, feeding insights into the project.
• Act as a conduit between project teams and the business, ensuring that new/revised controls are well understood and implemented.
• Facilitate agreement on IT General Controls automated controls, and manual business controls between IT and business stakeholders.
• Identify and manage key change management areas related to the implementation of new or revised controls within the project.

Qualifications, skills and experience

• Qualified Accountant with extensive experience in the controls area.
• Confidence and ability to operate at all levels of the business with excellent communication skills, quickly able to establish credibility with business leaders and other stakeholders.
• Strong leadership and management skills coupled with full commitment to results achievement & accountability.
• Excellent English verbal and written skills.
• Flexible, proactive and pre-emptive approach, open to implement change.
• Ability to motivate others towards a common goal.
• Respect confidentiality and commercially sensitive information.

Desirable

• Experienced in strategic thinking, operational plans implementation & measure/control based on TQM / PCDA methodology.
• Networking attitude with business partners that contribute towards more business opportunities.
• Demonstrable organizational skills, project planning and management.

Honda is committed to the principle of equal opportunity in the workplace for all employees, temporary workers, contractors, applicants and visitors. Honda also encourages respect for the individual differences and talents of others while making full use of one's own abilities, based on Honda's philosophy of respect for the individual. At Honda, we value and celebrate diversity and are committed to being a fair, non-discriminatory company that promotes and welcomes the uniqueness and differences of people around the world. We recognise that a diverse workforce allows for different ideas and perspectives, and we encourage everyone to share them. We strive to foster a culture of belonging that is consistent with Honda's core values and lived out in the way we work and respect each other. For us at Honda, diversifying our workforce means increasing its overall strength by providing people with equal opportunities - regardless of personal characteristics or previous careers. This commitment flows directly from the Honda philosophy and the belief that we are all working towards a common goal. Honda recruits, hires, trains and promotes the most qualified/experienced individuals at all levels without regard to race, origin, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or any other protected characteristic.