Finance Manager

• Finance Manager
• Job type: Permanent
• Reference no: [insert reference]
• Finance Manager - Benefits
• Hybrid working
• Clear opportunity for career progression and increased responsibility
• Potential succession route to the Head of Finance
• Opportunity to influence and modernise the finance function
• Scope to introduce automation, AI and improved technology into day-to-day finance processes
• Broad exposure across financial reporting, controls and operational finance
• Opportunity to manage and develop a junior accountant
• Supportive environment with ongoing professional development
• Finance Manager - About The Role

Howett Thorpe are delighted to be partnering with an established and successful group to recruit a Finance Manager into its London-based finance team.

This is a particularly interesting opportunity for an ambitious finance professional looking for more than a traditional reporting role.

Reporting directly to the Head of Finance, the successful individual will take ownership of a broad finance remit spanning management accounting, financial control, transactional oversight and team development, whilst also playing an important role in shaping how the finance function evolves.

The business is keen to continue modernising its finance processes and there will be genuine scope for the Finance Manager to challenge existing ways of working and explore how automation, technology and AI can be incorporated into day-to-day processes.

The objective is not simply automation for automation's sake, but identifying practical opportunities to improve efficiency, accuracy, controls and the quality of financial information.

Alongside this improvement agenda, the fundamentals of the finance function remain critically important. The Head of Finance is looking for someone who brings real rigour to their day-to-day operating rhythm ; someone who is disciplined around deadlines, reconciliations, controls and financial close, takes ownership of their responsibilities and consistently maintains high standards of accuracy.

This person will become a trusted number two to the Head of Finance and, over time, will be encouraged to take on broader responsibilities across the function.

For the right individual, there is a genuine opportunity to develop into a potential succession option for the Head of Finance, making this an excellent career move for someone with the ambition and capability to progress.

The role will include

• Oversee the preparation and delivery of monthly management accounts, including journals, accruals, prepayments and supporting schedules.
• Ensure monthly reporting is accurate, complete and delivered within agreed deadlines.
• Review financial outputs, investigate variances and maintain a disciplined and controlled month-end close process.
• Maintain the integrity of the balance sheet through robust review and approval of balance sheet reconciliations.
• Oversee bank reconciliations across multiple accounts and currencies.
• Continually review key cash, client and third-party balances, ensuring discrepancies are understood and resolved.
• Maintain strong financial controls and appropriate levels of review and approval across the finance function.
• Review and approve supplier payment runs and associated payment processing.
• Oversee client and third-party transactions, settlements and associated financial controls.
• Oversee VAT calculations, returns and other statutory or regulatory reporting requirements.
• Support audit processes and ensure appropriate supporting documentation and controls are maintained.
• Manage and develop a junior accountant, allocating responsibilities, reviewing output and supporting their continued professional development.
• Provide effective review and sign-off of work produced within the team.
• Identify opportunities to improve month-end, reconciliation, reporting and transactional finance processes.
• Review how existing technology is being utilised and identify opportunities to introduce greater automation.
• Explore practical applications for AI and emerging technology within the finance function to reduce manual processes and improve efficiency.
• Continually strengthen the quality, consistency and efficiency of financial reporting and controls.
• Work closely with the Head of Finance, increasingly taking ownership of broader responsibilities and acting as a dependable second point of leadership within the function.
• Build effective relationships across the wider organisation and provide clear, accurate financial information to support decision-making.

The successful Finance Manager will have

• Finalist or newly qualified CIMA, ACA, ACCA or equivalent qualification.
• A minimum of 3 years' experience gained within a commercial finance environment.
• Strong management accounting and financial reporting experience.
• Excellent understanding of balance sheet reconciliations and financial controls.
• Experience of managing a disciplined month-end process and working to defined reporting deadlines.
• Experience of VAT and statutory or regulatory reporting.
• Previous experience of managing, supervising or mentoring junior finance staff.
• Strong Microsoft 365 skills, particularly Excel.
• Experience gained within insurance, financial services or another regulated environment would be advantageous but is not essential.
• A naturally structured, organised and methodical approach to their work.
• Strong attention to detail with a genuine controls-focused mindset.
• The ability to establish and maintain a consistent and rigorous operating rhythm.
• High levels of ownership and accountability, with the confidence to see issues through to resolution.
• The ability to review existing processes critically rather than simply accepting that "this is how it has always been done".
• An interest in technology, automation and the evolving use of AI within finance.
• A continuous improvement mindset with the ability to identify practical efficiencies.
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to work closely with senior stakeholders.
• The ambition and capability to develop into a broader finance leadership position over time.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who has established a strong technical foundation but now wants greater ownership, visibility and influence.

The successful individual will have the opportunity to combine the discipline of running a well-controlled finance operation with the more forward-looking challenge of improving how the function operates and, importantly, develop towards becoming a future finance leader within the organisation.

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