Finance Business Partner

Job Introduction

We are currently recruiting for a Finance Business Partner to provide support to the Business Services functions by applying previous financial knowledge and expertise to help various stakeholders with financial management, analysis and hygiene.

Working hours: Monday to Friday 9.00-5.00

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 4 years PQE and the appropriate accountancy qualifications. The role will report into the Head of Group Financial Reporting & Control.

Role Responsibility

Business Partnering

• Ownership and control of month end reporting on Overhead Costs for the Group (portfolio of £70m+)
• Management of key stakeholders, including Heads of Business Service Lines, the Chief Operating Officer, Group Finance Director and other senior members of the Finance Management Team
• Preparation and delivery of monthly presentation to the Business Services Executive
• Providing analysis and support to senior stakeholders and various others within the Business Service Lines
• Advising and challenging, where appropriate, in order to add value in terms of the analysis and commentary produced
• Communicating and translating complex financial ideas
• Overseeing and supporting Group Assistant Accountants to ensure appropriate accounting for both business as usual and individual projects

Decision Support

• Work with Project Managers on preparation and review of Business Cases
• Understand the business needs for individual projects in order to support appropriate costing

Budgeting and forecast preparation

• Ownership and control of budgeting and forecasting overheads for all Business Services areas
• Working directly with the Business Services Heads on each of the Budget areas, providing backing detail and scenario analysis
• Providing the COO with regular progress reports during the main Forecast and Budget process
• Regular reporting on rolling forecast analysis
• Oversee and support Group Assistant Accountants in preparation and communication of Budget detail

Provision of basic finance training to Business Services staff

• Involvement in finance training for non-Finance colleagues

Other analyses

• Input to the annual statutory Cost Allocations exercise
• Other ad hoc, as required

The Ideal Candidate

• Qualified accountant (CIMA, ACA or ACCA)
• 4+ years PQE
• Strong finance and analytical skills, including experience of providing monthly management accounts and value adding commentary
• Strong experience of working with complex Excel models, manipulating large amounts of data and preparing summaries for wider use
• Experience with other Microsoft Office applications
• Strong and confident communication skills, both orally and in writing, with the ability to interact with senior members of the business
• Organised and able to handle multiple demands and deadlines simultaneously
• Ability to convey complex financial and accounting concepts in a clear and straight forward manner
• The ability to add value and build strong working relationships with key stakeholders across the firm
• The ability to work collaboratively with the business and challenge where appropriate
• Experience in budgeting and forecasting discussions with senior business managers
• Experience of Finance Business Partnering gained in a professional services environment within a large finance function would be a strong advantage
• Experience of project cost accounting would also be an advantage

About the Company

We are a leading international legal business with over 2,400 colleagues and a diverse range of capabilities. We have 11 offices in the UK as well as offices in Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Miami. We also have associations/alliances with firms in Northern Ireland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Peru, Central America, Argentina, the USA, Australia and Germany.

We are known for our market-leading presence in sectors such as Insurance, Health and Real Estate. This is complemented by a fast-growing Business Advisory capability. We represent a wide range of clients, ranging from household names to government departments and NHS bodies. We act for the majority of the top 30 insurance and financial services companies operating in the UK. We are the asset management lawyers for the UK’s largest shopping centres and act for 9 of the UK’s top 10 housebuilders.

We have an impressive legal pedigree, with 155 Chambers UK 2019 practice area and individual lawyer rankings, including 30 rankings at 'Band 1' level. In Legal 500 UK, 2018, the firm received top tier ranking for 32 of its practice areas and 59 practice areas in the top two tiers. In March 2018, we were named as one of Legal Week's Best Legal Advisors for the third year running, achieving category-leading satisfaction scores for our commercial approach, service delivery, quality of legal advice, communication & responsiveness and overall relationships.

Our vision is to be leading business advisers, recognised for our insight and our outstanding commitment to clients, and for being the place where talented people want to work. For further details on our work and our culture, please visit www.dacbeachcroft.com.

DAC Beachcroft is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from every sector of the community. We also welcome direct applications. If this opportunity sounds of interest to you, please make an application and submit your CV. Your application will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.

DAC Beachcroft