Finance Manager

Job Introduction

Are you looking for a Finance Manager role that gives you the opportunity to work for one of the world's leading retail brands? Want to work as part of a dedicated Finance team, and have exposure to both financial and management accounting? Looking for a company that wants to help further your career as well as provide you with an exciting, inspiring and fun place to work?  

If the answer to all of these questions is ‘yes’ then you’re just the kind of person we’re looking for! 

Role Responsibility

Introduction

The Leicester Head Office Finance team structure includes 4 key areas of responsibility, namely Financial Accounting, Treasury, Payroll & HR Admin and Accounts Processing, all reporting to the Financial Controller.

This is a high-profile role with exposure to both financial and management accounting.  A key component of the role is to assist the Financial Controller in providing a robust and rigorous control environment across the finance function, playing a significant part maintaining the company’s balance sheet controls alongside the ownership of the monthly fixed asset and occupancy reporting.  

The role will also provide good exposure to both senior finance management alongside the some of the operational areas of the business in particular the investment and property teams.

As a key contact within the Financial Accounting team, the jobholder will possess strong communication skills, and the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of individuals both within the business and when representing Selfridges externally, delivering an extraordinary experience for all customers.

About the role

Reporting to the Financial Controller, the Finance Manager will have exposure to a variety of areas within finance, including Financial Accounting, monthly management reporting and providing ad-hoc specialist support to the other operational teams within the Leicester Finance function (including Accounts Payables/Receivables, Payroll and HR Admin).  As such, the role offers a wide range of experience with excellent future development opportunities within the wider remit of the Finance function.

Key Responsibilities

Controls and Reporting

• As the “guardian” of the balance sheet, support the Financial Controller with the review and continuous improvement of the company’s monthly balance sheet reconciliations
• Oversee the monthly balance sheet reconciliation tracker, providing regular status updates, and communicating adherence to KPIs across the finance team
• Support the Financial Controller and Head of FP&A in the identification of all balance sheet risks and opportunities
• Provide insightful commentary and analysis as required to the Financial Controller and Head of FP&A around monthly balance sheet variance analysis as part of the monthly management reporting process
• Own the monthly intercompany process, including completion of the monthly intercompany reconciliations and co-ordination of the intercompany confirmation and payments process
• Responsible for the completion of all monthly balance sheet reconciliations for fixed assets, occupancy and loan finance, ensuring any risks and opportunities are identified and communicated timely
• Responsible for the monthly flash and month-end reporting for the occupancy and depreciation costs, providing meaningful insight into any fluctuations and/or variances
• Provision of financial data for budget and forecasting purposes to support the London FP&A team as required.
• Working closely with the Investment Finance team, build an in-depth knowledge of the company’s capital project plans and pipeline projects
• Providing additional financial analysis and information as required including that used for banking covenants, business reporting and tax requirements
• A key contact for all internal and external audits, providing information and support as required
• Assist in the production of the annual statutory accounts, supporting audit files and work papers and responsibility for completion of the internal group reporting pack in accordance with the reporting timetable and statutory requirements
• Responsible for the day to day management of the interim and year-end audits, closely monitoring and status reporting on all audit deliverables, ensuring all stakeholders are aware of their deliverables
• Ownership of ONS compliance
• A key contact for all tax advisors and the internal tax department, this role is responsible for providing relevant data to enable completion of all corporation tax work

Others

• Remaining technically up-to-date, providing support to the Financial Controller and Financial Accounting Manager for all technical accounting areas including IFRS and statutory reporting.
• Assisting the Financial Controller with the periodic review of processes and controls with a view to continuous improvements.
• To support the Financial Controller with ad-hoc queries and projects across the wider Leicester Financial Operations function.
• To represent the finance community in line with the Selfridges values and embed into the teams’ ways of working
• To contribute towards the creation and delivery of the Finance People Plan
• Opportunities to take on responsibilities for team member training and development across departments across the Leicester site
• A range of opportunities to join one of Selfridges’ communities which operate across all sites

The Ideal Candidate

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA)
• Excellent up-to-date technical accounting knowledge, with good knowledge of current accounting standard including IFRSs
• Proactive self-starter with a drive to continually improve processes and outputs to provide a first-class service to all stakeholders, taking ownership of all tasks
• Inquisitive and curious with excellent attention to detail and the ability and desire to unravel complex accounting queries
• Experience of completing and reviewing complex balance sheet reconciliations with a good understanding of the requirements of the reconciliation process
• Strong MS Excel skills
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex accounting matters to individuals with a non-finance background
• Highly organized with the ability to manage a varied and changeable workload
• Flexible and able to work in a changeable, dynamic environment
• The role is based in Leicester with occasional travel to other offices (primarily London) as required

About the Company

ABOUT US

Our Creative Spirit

We are more than a shop. We are a social space where culture and commerce collide to release an energy that we call the Selfridges spirit. We are here to make our world brighter, and everyone is welcome. 

Our awards cabinet 

We’re not ones to brag, but since you asked...Selfridges has won the award for The World’s Best Department Store an unprecedented four times at the IGDS awards, with an additional award for the Best Sustainability Campaign.  

Our future 

Since 1909 we have been at the forefront of retail and today our stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham – alongside selfridges.com and the Selfridges App – continue to redefine the way we shop and socialise. As a Selfridges team member, you will learn what it takes to consistently drive innovation, success and amazing customer experiences. 

The Fun Stuff

There are lots of reasons to be excited about joining Team Selfridges – from our fantastic team member communities to volunteer days and behind-the-scenes Selfridges experiences throughout the year. 

Other benefits and rewards include: 

• Generous bonus and/or commission scheme 
• Discounted gym memberships 
• Pension contributions  
• Annual travel pass and cycle to work schemes 
• A volunteer day for all team members 
• Access to a wide range of training programs to help your career development 

Selfridges