Job Description

You will be expected to:

• Take ownership of several sub-teams within the financial reporting and control team.
• Ensure efficient & effective management and delivery to customers of financial reporting and control activities within their specified areas.
• Undertake effective demand management processes to manage, priorities, delegate and deliver an optimum service to the customer that aligns to their strategic requirements.
• Liaise closely with the Governance Team in order to maintain effective service delivery to PFS from the Centre and drive standardization of processes within the team.
• Be a fully integrated member of the PFS (Personal Financial Specialist) leadership team to assist the continuing and effective operations of the organization.
• As a senior member of the PFS financial reporting and control team, work to develop & continuously improve the services performed by the team, constantly seeking further efficiency & effectiveness through standardization, simplification & elimination as appropriate.
• Lead, coach and mentor staff within the team.
• Deputies for the PFS Senior Financial Reporting & Control Manager where required.

Lead a team of financial analysts and senior analysts to deliver:

• Monthly ‘close the books’ activities including balance sheet reconciliations and review; accruals; prepayments; bank and cash and other accounting entries arising; and other operational accounting processes for Pearson products and services.
• Challenge and follow up on reconciling items within your specified areas, ensuring explanation and actions arising are completed. Ensure particular balance sheet risk areas are brought under control.
• Ensuring communication of required accounting entries impacting on management reports across the relevant teams in the Pearson Finance Community.
• Check the integrity of the sub-ledger accounting entries being driven from the operational accounting teams.
• Working closely with the Senior Financial Reporting & Control Manager and Controls Centre of Expertise to deliver a robust internal controls framework and ensure that controls are tested at recommended intervals.
• Act as a key player in facilitating audit process across interim and final audit. Liaise closely with external auditors throughout the audit cycle.
• Adhering to financial reporting standards and ensuring self and team remain up to date on current technical requirements.

Service Delivery

• Manage the activities in the running of the team. This includes establishing and managing operating plans and goals for the team, developing work schedules, back-up procedures and managing staffing requirements to ensure maximum and minimum coverage levels at all times.
• Ensure that teams function effectively and efficiently.
• Develop and manage short- and long-term operational goals and tactical objectives ensuring customer goals are incorporated.
• Ensure key performance metrics are met and service is delivered to customers as expected.
• Develop, build and maintain relationships with all finance areas serviced by PFS.
• Manage key projects and improvement initiatives as directed.
• Monitor, control and identify improvements required to systems, processes and databases to ensure system and data security and ensure they are up to date and comply with current legislation.

You will display a deep knowledge of statutory reporting requirements, and the financial control processes required to deliver to necessary accounting standards.

• Keeps abreast of latest developments in accounting standards, attending technical updates internally and externally to ensure compliance with requirements.
• Ability to multi-task; coordinating the delivery multiple priorities in parallel across disparate teams and locations.
• Works closely with the Controls Centre of Expertise to ensure SOX controls across all aspects of the Finance Operations organization are embedded and tested, and pass audit requirements.
• Liaises closely with the business to ensure audit required documentation is retained, archived and easily collated for internal and external audit purposes.
• Key contributor to the co-ordination and delivery of the year end audit.
• Works closely with internal and external auditors to implement recommendations arising from audits.
• Understands filing deadlines for financial statements and tax returns and liaises with all relevant teams to ensure deadlines are met.
• Identifies areas of risk and escalates as appropriate.
• Works closely with other teams across PFS to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their own service.
• Works closely with the community of Global Process Owners to embed best practice across PFS, and the business as a whole.
• Takes ownership for resolution of issues pertaining to financial control and reporting, building a reputation as a trusted advisor/experience user in their area of expertise.

Information systems

Ensures the team and self:

• Obtain working knowledge of the finance systems landscape, its integration and data flows.
• Monitor the applications and effectiveness of the finance systems to support the work of the team.
• Proactively share finance systems knowledge across PFS.

Leadership, people management and development

• Work with the Senior Financial Reporting & Control Manager to recruit, retain and motivate staff and build a high performing team.
• Work collaboratively with the financial reporting and control team and the broader Financial Control organization.
• Empower people to take ownership and responsibility.
• Create a culture of continuous learning and development. Identify and plan training needs within the team and ensure each team member has a personal development plan. Provide support for staff to achieve their learning and development objectives and evaluate the impact of learning and development activities on performance.
• Encourage people to share their ideas for making improvements to their own and others performance and development.
• Manage / own all operational people processes and activities.
• Embraces diversity and adapts to multiple cultures understanding how these impact on ways of working and successful delivery.

Expected results:

• Delivery of all work to agreed key performance indicators.
• Clean audit close report as it pertains to the manager’s scope of control, with recommendations implemented prior to following year end audit.
• Process improvement over time including simplification, standardization and elimination, crystallizing measurable benefits to the organization.
• Leverages the work of the team, Reporting, and Intelligent Automation Centre of Expertise to deliver efficiencies.
• Ownership of service deliverables and outcomes, and a high performing team of analysts recognized for their knowledge and quality output.
• Flexibility to meet tight and changing deadlines.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities