Financial Controller - Retail

Key Responsibilities

• Financial Accounting: Oversee financial accounting activities, ensuring that records are accurate, accounting treatments are consistent and supporting documentation is complete.
• Financial Close: Manage monthly and annual closing procedures, reviewing reconciliations, accounting adjustments and supporting schedules to ensure timely and reliable financial information.
• Group Financial Reporting: Prepare and review group financial reports, including intercompany reconciliations, eliminations and adjustments to ensure accurate reporting across entities.
• ​​​​Annual Financial Statements: Prepare annual financial statements, ensuring accuracy, completeness and compliance with applicable accounting and reporting standards.
• Tax and Regulatory Compliance: Oversee corporate tax, VAT and other applicable statutory obligations, coordinating with external advisers where specialist expertise is required.
• Audits: Coordinate and manage audit processes, liaising with external auditors, preparing supporting documentation and ensuring that audit requirements are addressed effectively.
• Team Leadership: Guide the finance team, establish clear responsibilities and priorities, review work and maintain consistent standards across accounting and reporting activities.
• Team Development: Support team members through practical guidance, constructive feedback and opportunities to strengthen their technical knowledge and working practices.
• Financial Controls: Maintain effective internal controls, approval procedures and financial documentation, identifying weaknesses and following through on corrective action.
• Reporting Quality: Review financial information for accuracy, completeness and consistency, investigating discrepancies and ensuring that balances are properly supported.
• Business Partnership: Work closely with senior management and colleagues to explain financial matters and provide dependable information for business decisions.
• Process Improvement: Review accounting processes, reporting routines and the use of financial systems to improve accuracy, efficiency and accountability.

Qualifications, Skills and Attributes

• Education: A fully qualified accountant (ACCA, ACA or equivalent recognised professional qualification).
• Experience: At least 5 years of relevant experience in financial accounting and reporting, including responsibility for closing processes and preparing financial information.
• Group Reporting Experience: Demonstrated experience preparing or reviewing group financial reports, with a strong understanding of intercompany reconciliations, eliminations and adjustments.
• Leadership Skills: Proven experience managing and developing a finance team, setting clear expectations and holding team members accountable for the quality and timeliness of their work.
• Technical Accounting: Strong knowledge of accounting principles and financial reporting, with the judgement to assess accounting treatments and resolve discrepancies.
• Financial Reporting: The ability to prepare accurate financial information and explain results clearly, highlighting significant movements and matters requiring attention.
• Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain financial information to both finance and non-finance colleagues.

What's on Offer

• Leadership Responsibility: A position combining substantial financial accounting and group financial reporting responsibilities with the leadership of a finance team.
• Professional Scope: The opportunity to apply technical expertise across accounting, reporting and financial controls while working closely with senior management.
• Professional Development: Scope to develop your leadership experience through supporting colleagues, improving working practices and strengthening the quality of financial information.