Senior Vice President - Finance in London

Wood Mackenzie is the global leader in analytics, insights and proprietary data across the entire energy and natural resources landscape. For over 50 years our work has guided the decisions of the world’s most influential energy producers, utilities companies, financial institutions and governments. Now, with the world’s energy system more complex and interconnected than ever before, sector-specific views are no longer enough. That’s why we’ve redefined what’s possible with Intelligence Connected. By fusing our unparalleled proprietary data with the sharpest analytical minds, all supercharged by Synoptic AI, we deliver a clear, interconnected view of the entire value chain. Our trusted team of 2,700 experts across 30 countries breaks siloes and connects industries, markets and regions across the globe. This empowers our customers to identify risk sooner, spot opportunities faster and recalibrate strategy with confidence – whether planning days, weeks, months or decades ahead.

About the Role

Wood Mackenzie is seeking a Corporate Controller to lead the company’s accounting operations, financial reporting, tax, payroll, and internal controls, while providing operational finance support across the company’s multinational footprint. This is a high-visibility role for a hands‑on finance leader who is comfortable operating in a private equity‑backed environment with rigorous reporting cadences, board and lender reporting obligations with active M&A integration work.

Key Responsibilities

• Accounting & Financial Reporting
  • Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual close process, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with GAAP.
  • Prepare and review consolidated financial statements; lead and manage annual external audit process and act as liaison with external auditors.
  • Manage technical accounting positions, including purchase accounting, revenue recognition for subscription/DaaS revenue streams, and deferred revenue methodology.
  • Support preparation of quarterly lender and board reporting packages in partnership with FP&A and senior leadership.
  • Support multinational operations, including multi‑entity and multi‑currency consolidation, intercompany accounting, and local statutory reporting and audit requirements across UK, US, and other jurisdictions.
  • Drive full utilization of the Oracle platform and the broader suite of modules the company has licensed, ensuring the system is configured and adopted to support close, consolidation, reporting, and reconciliation workflows, and partnering with IT and vendors to close functionality gaps rather than defaulting to offline workarounds.
• Controls & Compliance
  • Maintain and strengthen the internal control environment; serve as primary liaison for external auditors and PE sponsor requests, as applicable.
  • Ensure compliance with debt covenant reporting requirements and credit agreement terms.
  • Own balance sheet integrity, reconciliations, and working capital reporting.
• Tax
  • Own the company’s overall global tax posture, including oversight of federal, state, and local income tax compliance, indirect tax (sales/use, VAT where applicable).
  • Manage relationships with external tax advisors/preparers; review and approve tax provisions, estimated payments, and filings.
  • Oversee the ASC 740 income tax provision process for financial statement purposes, including deferred tax assets/liabilities and uncertain tax positions.
  • Assess tax implications of M&A activity (e.g., LandGate and future acquisitions), including purchase price allocation, transaction cost treatment, and integration of acquired entities into the tax structure.
  • Monitor changes in tax law and PE‑related considerations (e.g., interest expense limitations, carried interest structures) that may affect the company or its sponsor, Veritas Capital.
  • Ensure timely and accurate tax reporting to support board, lender, and sponsor requirements.
• Payroll
  • Own multinational payroll accounting and controls, ensuring accurate and timely recording of payroll expense, accruals, and related liabilities (benefits, PTO, bonus/commission accruals) each close cycle.
  • Oversee the relationship with payroll providers/outsourced payroll processors, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local payroll tax requirements.
  • Partner with HR on payroll policy, equity compensation accounting (e.g., rollover shares, options, RSUs), and multi‑state/multi‑country payroll compliance as the company scales.
  • Ensure appropriate segregation of duties and internal controls over payroll processing, given its sensitivity as a fraud risk area.
  • Support audit requests related to payroll, benefits accruals, and compensation‑related disclosures.
• M&A Integration
  • Lead accounting integration workstreams for acquired entities, including opening balance sheet procurement, systems/chart‑of‑accounts harmonization, and post‑close true‑up processes (e.g., NWC true‑ups).
  • Partner with legal and corporate development on purchase agreement accounting implications (e.g., rollover equity, earnouts, indemnification holdbacks).
• Team & Cross‑Functional Leadership
  • Build, mentor, and manage the accounting team, including any shared services or outsourced functions.
  • Partner closely with FP&A, Treasury, Legal, Operations, Human Resources and business unit leaders on cash flow reporting, working capital management, employee benefit costs and ad hoc financial analysis.
  • Represent accounting/controllership in cross‑functional leadership forums, including Extended Leadership Team (‘ELT’) and Veritas working sessions.
  • Champion technology and process modernization across accounting operations, evaluating and deploying automation, analytics, and AI‑enabled tools to streamline close, reporting, and control activities.
  • Continuously assess the right mix of internal versus external support across key operating fronts — accounting operations, tax, payroll, and shared services — developing insource/outsource recommendations based on cost, control, scalability, and risk, and executing transitions as the business evolves.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance; Chartered Accountant or Certified Public Accountant license required.
• 10+ years of progressive accounting/controllership experience, including at least 3–5 years in a PE‑backed or leveraged company reporting environment.
• Prior experience in subscription/SaaS or data & analytics businesses strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with M&A accounting integration.
• Strong technical GAAP knowledge; public company or large accountancy background a plus.
• Working knowledge of corporate tax (ASC 740, indirect tax, M&A tax implications); direct tax compliance experience a plus, though this role is expected to oversee rather than personally prepare filings.
• Experience overseeing payroll accounting and controls in a multi‑entity, multi‑country or multi‑state environment; direct payroll administration experience not required but familiarity with related compliance risk expected.
• Excellent communication skills, with experience presenting to CFOs, boards, and lenders.
• Forward‑leaning orientation toward technology; demonstrated use of modern ERP, close‑automation, and reporting tools, and a track record of applying automation and AI‑enabled workflows to improve accuracy, cycle time, and scalability of the finance function.

Equal Opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer. This means we are committed to recruiting the best people regardless of their race, colour, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, disability or protected veteran status.