FINANCIAL CONTROLLER

Financial Controller – SMART PENSION LTD  

Department: Finance

Reporting to: Chief Financial Officer

Office: Paddington

The Finance team is being developed to support the needs of a high growth organisation and to put in place a scalable Finance support infrastructure fit to meet the future needs of what will become a much larger organisation.  

Purpose of the role

To lead the Smart Pension Finance Team, to provide first class Finance and Management Information to the Senior Team thereby making a significant contribution to achievement of the ambitious company growth plans over the next 2 to 3 years.

Main duties

• Design and provision of high quality and timely financial management information and KPIs to monitor performance and progress against agreed plans.
• Regular updates to long term financial forecasts, monitoring and reporting significant changes in enterprise value.
• Supporting new growth initiatives through business case production and updating the forecasting model to monitor the realisation of agreed costs and benefits.
• Management and development of the Finance function, including efficient expansion of resources and capabilities to support growing business needs.
• Financial accounting for Smart Pension Ltd, the Auto Enrolment Master Trust, the Gen Life Master Trust and all other statutory entities as they are acquired or initiated.
• Manage the external audit process and produce all necessary year end accounts and supporting documents to a high standard
• Regular management accounting duties, including
• Production of monthly management accounts
• Budgeting
• Financial forecasting
• Cash flow reporting and forecasting

• Cash management, including treasury and foreign currency management ensuing that adequate returns are achieved on surplus cash and any currency risks are minimised.
• Company secretarial duties including share issues, fund raising and share options administration.
• Maintenance and development of the Accounting System. Currently the accounts are maintained on Sage 200 and a review will take place in early 2017 to decide on the most appropriate platform to support future growth. Implementation of a new system (if necessary) will take place from the financial year end (June 2017)
• Establish strong relationships with Senior Management.  Ensuring that all are properly equipped to successfully manage the financial performance of the business. Constructively challenge managers on performance variances and give feedback.
• Prepare the quarterly VAT return, annual HMRC tax compliance returns and other regular external compliance reports.
• Monitoring and improving the internal control environment, ensuring that all transactions are properly authorised and controlled, thus minimising the risk of loss or financial misstatement.

Technical skills

• Experience of working within a fast paced professional environment.
• Qualified accountant ,ACCA, ACA or CIMA.  
• Must be IT literate with advance level Microsoft Excel skills and good experience of managing and developing quality accounting systems
• Financial services experience, preferably covering Pensions
• Company secretarial experience.
• A clear understanding of tax and VAT requirements

Compliance

• You will be expected to be familiar and compliant with the full range of regulatory policies and procedures including: equal opportunity and diversity, data protection etc.
• You will also be required to undertake mandatory compliance training as required

Personal experience

• This is a responsible position requiring a qualified accountant looking to develop their skills within a fast moving high growth financial services organisation.
• A very pro-active mind set, with a passion for improving the financial performance of the organisation through provision of a first class Finance service
• The ability to work accurately and flexibly with the ability to manage multiple priorities, whilst adhering to critical deadlines
• A robust approach to relationships with a positive team spirit is essential, must be willing to assist in other areas if workload allows. e.g. operations, procurement.
• An enquiring mind to question and challenge, as appropriate, on own initiative
• Previous experience of working in a client focused environment with the ability to communicate at all levels is desirable.