The role

We encourage you to reach your full potential. To explore the opportunities and choices that shape your individual career journey. Here, personal growth goes hand in hand with professional development in a supportive culture.

Are you a qualified accountant, with professional experience in business partnering and FP&A capacity, looking for a chance to shape the ways of working and pro-actively propose solutions with an impact? Join us as Financial Planning & Analysis Manager.

This hugely exciting new role with an opportunity to support business decisions through delivery of commercial financial insights to our key stakeholders (lawyers, business managers, execs, Finance teams internationally).

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Budgets and Forecasting

• Manage the annual budget and forecasting process for the firm, ensuring that the FP&A team meets all deadlines and the data supplied to budget stakeholders is reliable and accurate. Work closely with all stakeholders to deliver the required meeting materials and presentations for the annual review meetings
• Provision of key commentary and analysis to support the Head of FP&A, Head of Finance and Finance Director in the delivery of the final budget to the Board for approval. Review and enhance the key budget reporting and KPI’s to help with the analysis of core trends and details
• Evaluate and identify key efficiency improvements for the budget cycle, working closely with the software consultants and internal finance systems team to incorporate these into the budget system to make it more user friendly and efficient
• Work closely with the financial control and financial systems team to develop and enhance budget system training for administrators and end users
• Developing and then managing new long-term planning capability within the budget system
• Managing and implementing changes to the firm hierarchy that come about through the annual budget process to ensure our financial data reflects the shape of the firm
• Responsible for managing the loading of all data from the budget process into our reporting system for the next financial year
• Calculation, loading and ongoing maintenance of the firm cost rates usually as part of the annual budget cycle
• Support the implementation of updated charge out rates when agreed through the budget process
• Providing budget notes with detailed guidance, timetable, and responsibilities as well training and support to Business Managers and other key stakeholders involved in inputting data for the budget and reforecast

Monthly Reporting

• Manage the FP&A monthly reporting cycle, ensuring the team delivers all required reporting for the business accurately and on time
• Implement and manage monthly FTE and direct cost reviews for the practice groups, supporting the Business Managers in analysing their FTE movements and direct cost variances to ensure that the results are accurate and in line with expectations
• Support the development of new reporting for the business, taking the opportunity to evaluate existing reporting and make suitable recommendations for standardised self-service reporting. Work closely with the financial systems team to develop all new report solutions
• Support the senior finance team in the development and delivery of any key monthly reporting presentations to the firm

Quarterly and Annual reporting

• Manage the annual and quarterly external survey process, ensuring all data submitted is accurate and submitted by the deadlines
• Submit all required data for the annual results submissions, working closely with financial control, PR and HR to ensure the data submitted is accurate
• Support the senior finance management team in the development and delivery of all key annual presentations to the firm
• Project manage the implementation of any new benchmarking tools and processes for the business, ensuring mappings and data flows are accurate
• Responsible for providing all the financial information for the firm’s promotion processes including partnership promotions

Other

• Day to day management and development of the FP&A analysts and FP&A Assistant Analyst; coaching and guiding the team to transition into valued and trusted commercial advisors to the Business
• Ensure all enquiries received via the analyst inbox are dealt with on a timely basis by the analyst team. Identify any common requests that could be better served by standardised reporting and work with the relevant stakeholders to develop standardised reporting
• Work with the Commercial Finance Manager to ensure that the reporting that is being provided across all commercial finance teams is consistent and best practice
• Documentation of key processes within the FP&A function
• Work closely with the Head of FP&A to identify key areas for process improvement across the FP&A function and develop and manage project plans for the implementation of these process improvement areas
• Ad hoc analysis as required by the Head of Financial Planning & Analysis and Head of Finance
• Work closely with the Finance Systems Team and others to gain an in-depth technical knowledge and therefore contribute to future improvement programmes

ABOUT YOU

• University degree ideally in a numerate discipline
• Qualified accountant (CIMA, ACCA, ICAEW) with at least 3 years PQE
• Previous experience of working within a Professional Services/Consultancy environment either in an FP&A role or business partnering role
• Experience of working with legal practice management systems (Aderant, 3e) will be an asset
• Previous experience of working with core business intelligence and planning software a necessity
• Previous experience of managing a small team preferable
• High level of systems/ IT literacy (particularly Excel, practice management systems and planning software)
• Well organised, keen attention to detail and good planning and time management skills
• Proactive, innovative and organised
• Able to communicate effectively across all levels of the organisation
• Strong commercial awareness and analytical skills
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and strong personalities to ensure collaborative work is kept on schedule
• Flexible and positive with the ability to prioritise effectively and simultaneously handle challenging  deadlines from senior stakeholders
• Inquisitive and curious, a natural team player who wants their team to deliver excellent service and always looking for opportunities to keep improving
• Analytical and commercial in approach, able to see the big picture but still stay close to the detail
• A self starter with drive and determination and the ability to keep others motivated