Vice President, Financial Reporting and Control

Job information:

• Functional title – Vice President, Financial Reporting and Control
• Department – Finance
• Corporate Level – VP, Financial Reporting and Controls
• Report to – Director, Financial Reporting and Controls
• Location - London

What you will be doing:

Role purpose

This broad role is to assist the Financial Control team in the following areas:

• Reporting into the Head of Financial Control, this role will help to support the critical day to day business management of CLS’s Financial Reporting and Financial Control activities. Notably this will include helping to develop and implement effective and robust financial reporting on a monthly basis, as well as supporting the interim and year end statutory audits and liaising with external auditors.
• Preparing analytical reviews for external auditors and the business as required;
• Ensuring accurate and prompt responses are provided to CLS stakeholders including investor queries, tax, and regulatory questions as well as any internal queries;
• Manage the development and applicability of accounting policies
• Use the CLS financial control framework, including financial accountabilities and authorities to ensure full financial control compliance
• Ability to quickly analyse financial information and data to identify key actions and plans of action
• Recommend changes best practices and processes that will help improve the company's financial reporting and financial controls.
• Responsible for ensuring that team members in the assigned work area(s) maintain adequate levels of technical competence.
• Manage audit deliverable with the team.

Operational

• Month end account ownership and balance sheet reconciliations to ensure Group and individual legal entity trial balances are correct;
• Review of balance sheet reconciliation across all legal entities;
• Monitoring and liaising with statutory and regulatory bodies to understand any changes to their requirements, ensuring these are reflected in refined internal policies and procedures;
• Helping to prepare all Finance regulatory reports required by the FED and other institutions in liaison with group legal, risk and compliance functions;
• Ensure all financial statements are prepared under the appropriate accounting policies and relevant accounting standards
• Plan and prepare for audit and assurance engagements. Assist in liaison to external auditors, and other key stakeholders to provide all required information on a timely and accurate basis.
• Assisting with the preparation of the consolidated statutory accounts for the group
• Prepare statutory accounts for subsidiary companies.
• Review data and financial performance trends and appropriately challenges to ensure compliance with accounting policies and accounting standards
• Responsible for the maintenance of the general ledger in Oracle especially leases in local and group accounting standards.
• Maintain strong communication links and knowledge sharing with the team members.

Leadership

• Provide day to day management, support and training to develop the more junior members of the team to establish a strong Financial Control team.
• Assume responsibility for the maintenance of knowledge, skills and disciplines, with on-going professional development.
• Demonstrate adaptability to ensure that the team focus is maintained on key issues, under the guidance of the Head of Finance and the Head of Financial Control.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with appropriate senior management across the organisation.
• Collaborates and supports the company to achieve the latest objectives for an organisation, while using the appropriate digital resources.

What we’re looking for:

• An ambitious qualified accountant with demonstrable post qualification experience within financial services companies.
• Extensive experience working within Finance in a financial services environment (ideally banking) and / or strong financial and operational experience across a range of business audits in a financial institution or professional services firm.
• Strong communication skills (written and verbal) including experience of dealing with all levels of management.
• Experience and understanding of change, controls and regulatory requirements.
• Hands on experience of change projects.
• Advanced excel and consolidation knowledge.
• Highly numeric with strong analytical and problem solving skills.
• Able to meet deadlines with a strong attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with senior managers on an equal basis.
• Ability to communicate complex finance issues to non-finance managers.
• Strong team player with a collaborative style.
• Comfortable with all aspects of leading, motivating and developing a team.

Professional qualifications / certifications

• Qualified accountant (ICAEW /CIMA/ACCA)
• Track record of experience working in a Financial Control team and taking responsibility
• Highly numeric with strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Senior Financial Controller

Location: London

Summary:

We are seeking a dedicated Senior Financial Controller to join our Finance department in London. Reporting to the Director of Financial Reporting and Controls, this VP-level role is critical in managing financial reporting and control activities. The role involves developing robust financial reporting systems, supporting audits, liaising with external auditors, and ensuring compliance with accounting standards and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities:

• Support the Head of Financial Control in managing daily financial reporting and control activities.
• Prepare analytical reviews for external auditors and stakeholders.
• Ensure prompt and accurate responses to stakeholders, including investor, tax, and regulatory queries.
• Manage development and applicability of accounting policies.
• Analyze financial information to identify key actions and recommend best practices.
• Ensure team members maintain technical competence and manage audit deliverables.
• Perform month-end account ownership and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Monitor changes in statutory and regulatory requirements and adjust policies accordingly.
• Assist in preparing regulatory reports and statutory accounts.
• Maintain general ledger, especially leases, and ensure compliance with accounting standards.
• Provide training and development to junior team members and maintain strong communication links.
• Collaborate with senior management and support company objectives using digital resources.

Required Skills:

• Qualified accountant (ICAEW / CIMA / ACCA) with post-qualification experience in financial services.
• Extensive experience in Finance within a financial services environment, ideally banking.
• Strong communication skills and experience dealing with all management levels.
• Experience in change management, controls, and regulatory requirements.
• Advanced Excel and consolidation knowledge, with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to meet deadlines with attention to detail and communicate complex finance issues.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build effective relationships with senior managers.
• Proven leadership skills in developing and managing a team.
• Experience in a Financial Control team and hands-on change project experience.