Head of Finance

Head of Finance – Hertfordshire - £70,000 - £85,000 DOE Our client, a property management company is looking for an experienced Head of Finance to lead the financial management, control and reporting, ensuring the business remains financially robust, commercially informed and fully compliant with statutory and regulatory requirements. This is a newly created role due to the growth of the business. The successful candidate will lead, coach and develop the Finance team, build capability and accountability within the function and support operational leaders to understand and manage finance performance within their departments. The role is accountable for ensuring that financial analysis leads to clear recommendations, decisions and measurable action rather than the reporting of activity alone. Responsibilities: Financial Management & Reporting

• Lead the preparation and delivery of monthly management accounts of the group
• Produce monthly profit and loss accounts, balance sheet reports, cashflow reporting and other management information required by the CEO and senior leadership team.
• Prepare financial information, analysis and commentary for Board meetings and present financial performance where required.
• Ensure reporting is accurate, timely and focused on commercial implications and actions. Financial Control & Statutory Compliance
• Maintain oversight of the Group's financial control framework and ensure appropriate systems, reconciliations, approval controls and payment controls are in place.
• Ensure statutory accounts, corporation tax, VAT and all other financial and regulatory obligations are completed accurately and within the required timescales.
• Manage relationships with external accountants, auditors, tax advisers and other financial advisers
• Identify material control weaknesses or compliance risks, determine the appropriate action and monitor implementation through to a satisfactory outcome.
• Experience managing payment processes, including GoCardless or similar Cashflow, Working Capital & Debtors
• Lead cashflow and working capital management across the Group, ensuring the business maintains appropriate visibility of current and forecast cash requirements.
• Monitor aged debt, cash conversion and collection performance, taking action to address issues.
• Establish the root causes of overdue or disputed debt and require appropriate collection, escalation or commercial action to improve the financial outcome.
• Provide timely advice to the CEO on cashflow risks and working capital pressures. Financial Analysis, Recommendations & Commercial Performance
• Develop and maintain meaningful financial and operational KPI reporting.
• Produce reporting and analysis on property profitability, client profitability, guardian income performance, maintenance profitability, debtor performance, cash conversion and departmental performance against budget.
• Ensure unresolved historic Finance queries are actively managed by assessing the cause and risk and determining the required escalation or alternative action, rather than allowing repeated chasing to become the end point.
• Identify root causes of financial or commercial issues, quantify their impact, recommend solutions and drive agreed actions.
• Measure and communicate the financial effect of operational performance, including the cost of delayed property readiness, vacancies, missed KPIs and inefficient processes, and quantify the financial benefit of improvement.
• Partner with Head of Operations to improve financial performance and understand the commercial impact of operational decisions. Budgeting, Forecasting & Business Planning
• Lead the annual budgeting process across all Group companies.
• Prepare and maintain rolling forecasts, reforecasts and cashflow projections.
• Support business planning through financial modelling, scenario analysis and commercial forecasting.
• Challenge departmental expenditure and material budget variances and require budget holders to provide and implement appropriate corrective plans.

Finance Team Leadership

• Lead, coach and develop the Finance team, establishing clear responsibilities, objectives, performance standards and accountability for outcomes.
• Allocate work and resources appropriately, address capability or capacity gaps and intervene where agreed standards or deadlines are not achieved.
• Promote a culture of accuracy, commercial awareness, continuous improvement and constructive challenge. Systems, Reporting Automation & Process Improvement
• Lead the development and improvement of finance systems, reporting tools and dashboards across the Group.
• Improve reporting automation and reduce manual reporting wherever possible.
• Work with internal and external system providers, including My Globe, to improve integration between operational and financial reporting. Skills and Experience Required:
• Significant experience in a senior finance role within an SME or growing multi-entity business.
• Experience with finance systems such as Xero, Telleroo and Dext or similar platforms
• Experience of leading, coaching and developing a Finance team and building accountability for departmental outcomes.
• Strong experience in financial controls, statutory reporting, tax, VAT, cashflow, working capital and debtor management.
• Experience producing Board-level reporting and advising senior stakeholders.
• Experience developing KPIs and financial reporting that support commercial decision-making.
• Property, facilities management, housing or service-delivery experience is advantageous.
• Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) or qualified through significant relevant experience.
• Experience with accounting software, financial reporting systems and dashboards. Salary: £70,000 - £85,000 DOE Working Hours: Monday to Friday 9am – 5:30pm, remote working (attendance to the office is required for meetings, performance reviews etc) If you are an experienced senior Finance professional looking for a new role, please contact Anisha on the Business Support team at Dove & Hawk Property Recruitment.