Head of Finance

The Company:

Our client is an investment holding company based in Derbyshire. They have recently acquired two profitable SME companies and they plan to make other additions to their portfolio. They have a longer-term business model which involves the retention and incentivisation of the existing senior management teams of acquired companies.

They will look to support and help grow the portfolio businesses with the provision of commercial, financial and technical support to facilitate shared wealth creation opportunities. They are sector agnostic and will focus on existing profitable SMEs that are seeking a collaborative business partner to help them grow and develop.

The Opportunity:

Based on their current and future portfolio of businesses our client has made the decision to establish a new central finance function. This newly created role will report to a Non-Executive Finance Director and is an opportunity to lead and create the group finance function that will ensure all day-to-day finance operations are efficiently undertaken for each portfolio business.

It is envisaged that in the early stages of this role considerable time will be required to be spent in each portfolio company to establish efficient finance functions. Therefore, there is a requirement to travel and to be located in each business which may be phased over time with the companies being located in the Midlands and the North East initially.

Key Responsibilities:

• Monthly management accounts and report preparation including variance analysis and year-on-year comparisons
• Preparation of annual accounts and liaising with company accountants
• Ensuring each business meets all its statutory and financial compliance obligations, including statutory accounting and HMRC items
• Outsource and management of payroll
• Ad hoc reporting and analysis for director requirements
• Preparation and management of budgets and forecasts
• Managing cash flow with responsibility for credit control
• Providing insights on the financial health of each organisation and looking for cost reduction opportunities
• Negotiation of finance arrangements
• Some stock control responsibility
• Bank reconciliations and support with the company banking relationships
• Recruitment, training and supervising one team member per operating business to provide bookkeeping/administration support
• Ensuring efficient day to day financial operations are undertaken to include prompt sales invoicing and purchase/expense control
• Establish and maintain financial policies and procedures for all companies
• Experienced in the set up and maintenance of accounting software. At the commencement of the role, you will be tasked to set up Xero accounting software transferring all data from the historical accounting systems. This will involve setting up the chart of accounts, ensuring job tracking and profitability analysis
• In time there may be the opportunity to assist with future business acquisition and due diligence

Skills and Experience Required:

• Strong technical accounting knowledge
• Good communication and team skills
• Proficient IT skills
• Good commercial awareness
• Ability to manage your workload working within a fast-paced growing business
• Ability to implement new systems

We are seeking a Qualified ACCA, ACA, CIMA, or Qualified by Experience Accountant with a proven track record in the SME market in organisations with a turnover below £10m. The role will provide the necessary financial reporting, compliance and support whilst making improvements to financial procedures and controls as well as ad hoc projects and requests as they arise. This role will also work closely with the founding partners and team directors.