Head of Group Financial Reporting

Head of Group Financial Reporting

Milton Keynes

Salary – £70-82k

Cognita are a group of private schools, since their launch in 2004 they have built an international network of 67 schools that serve over 35,000 pupils across eight countries in the UK, Europe, Latin America and South-East Asia.  Cognita require a Head of Financial Reporting to work in partnership with the Group FC and CFO to ensure effective financial reporting across the Group.

Key responsibilities include:

• Manage a team of four full time accountants with ongoing coaching and mentoring of team members
• Actively support the FP&A team with all aspects of financial reporting and promote a culture of support and improvement
• Provide technical expertise to the international Cognita finance community
• Provide guidance and support to regional financial management in the production of group local statutory financial statements and compliance with group accounting policies
• Manage the production and delivery of the quarterly and annual reports to bondholders and provide all presentations and input to the Executive Team for the quarterly and annual bondholder calls
• Manage the group audit process including the year-end timetable.  This will include the monitoring and delivery of information to the Group Auditor within agreed timelines, along with managing the regional teams to deliver to predetermined deadlines
• Manage the preparation and audit of the annual consolidation and consolidated financial statements of Cognita Topco Ltd, Cognita Bondco Parent Ltd and their subsidiaries
• Manage the acquisition accounting of the group including PPA modelling for newly acquired businesses
• Production and audit of the group annual impairment review and calculation
• Ensure all newly acquired entities have the relevant group accounting policies put in place to ensure financial information is reported in accordance with IFRS for group reporting purposes

The successful candidate will be a qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA or overseas equivalent). Ideally you will come from a Top 20 practice and have extensive experience of working within a fast paced financial environment with demonstrable experience in continuous improvement and financial performance. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are essential, as well as the ability to express complex ideas in a concise manner to all levels of seniority.