Job Description

Profile: Due to a restricted career path and the company wishing to retain the appointee for a substantial period, it is unlikely to suit a highly career driven individual. Whilst qualifications are not a pre-requisite (QBE may be acceptable), the role may suit someone who had commenced professional studies but is now time-barred, or someone with intermediate qualification such as AAT. Equally may suit someone who may be qualified (CIMA, ACCA, ACA) seeking a role to take them up to retirement, or a mature individual (though age is NOT a criteria) who has been made redundant and is finding barriers to regaining employment at this level.

Must haves:

• Supervisory experience;
• Excel skills (to include functions such as pivot tables, lookups, sum ifs etc);
• good level of spoken and written English;
• experience in an SME environment;
• ability to argue their points to their superiors (e.g. denying credit to customers), reports, and other staff, yet maintain working relationships across the organisation; commercial acumen;
• Ability to learn in-house computer system (training given) and extract data for use with Excel.

Desirable:

• An analytical mind-set but able to think strategically.

Main responsibilities

Supervision of accounts office, via the Assistant Finance Manager, to include Purchase ledger, Credit control, Sales Ledger, and General ledger. General financial control, ensuring that sufficient controls and reviews are in place to ensure timely and accurate accounts, and that reconciliations are prepared and an aim to avoid shocks. This includes ensuring that Purchase ledger transactions are timely, complete, and match Inventory postings.

Preparation of management accounts, using Excel, including

• Setting month end FX rates and ensuring FX revaluations to month end rates of monetary assets (including Forward contracts and currency options).
• Making accruals
• Investigating unexpected stock variances in Cost of Sales
• Explaining unexpected expenditure (or lack thereof), and variances to budget
• Executive commentary on financial results

Maintaining balance sheet schedules and following up as required, including

• Fixed asset register
• Staff loans and advances
• Sundry creditors
• Sundry debtors
• Pensions creditor
• Directors current accounts
• Reviewing adequacy of provisions
• Act as back up to Assistant Finance Manager for eg VAT returns and payroll preparation

Identifying variances to plan of staff payroll

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities