Deputy Head of Finance

Armstrong Knight are delighted to have parterned with one of the UK's industry-leading property management companies, with their head office based in East London.

Our client is London’s largest privately owned property development and management group overseeing residential, hospitality, mixed-use, and commercial projects across London, the Home Counties, and the Midlands.

Currently, we are seeking to hire a Deputy Head of Finance with an ACCA or equivalent and significant service charge accounting experience.

This position is part of the group's internal property management division, and will report to the Head of Finance as the second position on the accounting team in the absence of the Head of Finance.

The chosen applicant will ultimately be in charge of overseeing the daily operations of the accounts and credit control teams and will be required to work directly with the most challenging service charge accounts. You must be capable of handling each aspect of the duties you are supervising.

Key Responsibilities :

• Manage a team of 8 direct reports and 3 indirect (7 in Accounts and 1 in Credit Control / Legal).
• Mentor and support the professional development of the team.
• Ensure that reconciliations are performed regularly, and strong financial controls are observed.
• Prepare monthly management accounts and prepare the company’s year end pack for the auditors.
• Prepare TBs and draft Year End Service Charge Accounts on the more complex sites.
• Supervise and sign off TBs, Service Charge Year End Accounts and Year End Reports prepared by the accounts team and liaise with the external certifying accountants.
• Monitor Purchase Ledger unauthorised bills and report weekly to highlight and avoid backlogs.
• Prepare monthly analysis of Debtors by site and cost type and interpret that analysis for non-financial stakeholders.
• Analyse external staffing costs to ensure all extra costs are fully understood.
• Forecast staffing and utility costs as part of budget preparation and mid-year revision.
• Perform mid-year expenditure reviews with the team and advise on actions needed.
• Prepare ad-hoc reports as required by leaseholders or internal stakeholders.
• Check and approve payments on Barclays.
• Oversee and support the team in the preparation of VAT Returns and Trust Tax Returns.
• Apply professionalism, accountability, and integrity in all dealings for and on behalf of clients and within Galliard.
• Champion exceptional customer services and ensure high levels are maintained.
• Encourage close working links between the property management team, accounts team, and credit control / legal team.
• Along with the Head of Property, ensure both property and finance teams work effectively to deliver budgets, year ends and mid-year reviews on time.
• Have a good knowledge of VAT accounting for service charges and rent on both residential and commercial sites.
• Be involved in establishing new accounting processes as needed, for instance in response to changing legislation.
• Identify the need and source training sessions from external companies as needed.
• Assist in the maintenance and development of software systems and technology such as BlueBox. Be involved in making the existing systems meet our changing needs.
• Contribute your ideas to departmental policies, driving change and improvements.

Skills Required :

The Person :

01702 567 302