Finance Manager

About Law Debenture 

Law Debenture is an Investment Trust supported by a wholly owned professional services business. LawDeb is an unusual and exciting proposition; on a day–to-day basis we are nimble, ambitious and small enough to know everyone by name, whilst also benefiting from the profile and credibility of a listed business. This is thanks to our 137-year-old FTSE250 investment trust and our fast-growing independent professional services business of over 300 colleagues across 6 business lines.

At LawDeb, doing work that has a positive impact is important to us. We need the very best people to be the custodians of our business for the next stage of our proud history and growth. We’re ambitious to innovate, collaborate and push forward in providing peace of mind and excellence for our clients and each other.

We’re on a journey to shape a culture we’re all proud to be part of. One where everyone feels trusted, supported and empowered to own their success. Working at LawDeb, you will have access to our enviable network of clients and innovative projects, as well as brilliant colleagues to learn from and collaborate with.

Essential Purpose of the role:

We are looking for a qualified accountant with PQE in industry to join our dynamic Finance team and assume financial manager responsibility for our corporate trust professional services business.

Job Role & Responsibilities:

Principal Duties

• Full ownership of Sage Intacct month-end close and related reporting tasks for all entities related to assigned business line
• Production of timely and accurate monthly Management Accounts for the business line
• Drive enrichment of GL data enabling development of system generated automated reporting
• Critical assessment of existing operational downstream business proposes to recommend and implement best-in-class scalable and robust business processes
• Responsibility for review of core business controls to validate P&L and complete Balance sheet reconciliations and substantiation
• Act as intermediary between the Manchester based SSC and the London based business partners/stakeholders
• Support with IFRS 15 Revenue Accounting review and enhancement of Management Information
• Support the development and implementation of the Group Financial Controls Framework with a focus on the integrity of our processes
• Responsibility for preparation and review of business line entity annual financial statements
• Support with quarterly VAT reconciliations and submission
• Responsibility for assigned sections of Group reporting at half-year and year-end.
• Ownership of day to day relationship with Big-4 external auditor in completion of subsidiary business line financial statements
• Support annual budgeting process through close business partnership with professional services team.

General Duties

• Contribute to the development of the Finance team processes to ensure these are cohesive, efficient and effective
• Undertake training and development and engage fully in the performance management process
• Contribute to the Law Deb culture positively, attend meetings as required, and carry out duties willingly and diligently
• Where regulatory rules apply, abide by these in spirit and fact
• Carry out such other tasks as you may be reasonably directed to do by the senior management team from time to time

Essential Knowledge, Skills, Experience:

• Minimum 2:1 university degree
• Top 15 Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA preferred), 2+ years PQE
• Industry experience in a Finance role, Professional services experience advantageous
• Experience of managing challenging external ‘Big 4’ audits
• Exceptional attention to detail, numeracy and data manipulation skills
• Strong communication skills
• IT literate. Proficiency with Excel. Knowledge of Sage Intacct beneficial.
• Inquisitive and independent thinker with proactive problem-solving abilities, confident in challenging the status quo
• Takes full ownership for delivery of tasks and “sleeves rolled up” way of working
• Team player
• Able to ask for help and say “no” when needed to ensure expectations of senior stakeholders are not mismanaged
• Resilience, willingness to listen, learn and incorporate feedback
• Diligent, analytical with excellent attention to detail without loss of pace
• Ambitious and growth mindset to take on additional responsibility