Commercial Finance Manager

A really exciting new Finance Manager position now available in UK law firm to be responsible for the production of annual budgets and monthly management accounts, insightful analysis of financial performance across the firm. As well as providing commercial support to Partners and fee earners to enable effective and profitable delivery of their matters and contribute to setting the department's longer-term strategic direction.

This will be a number two role to the CFO.

• Line management of the Assistant Management Accountant, providing guidance, supervision and delegating duties as necessary.
• Preparation and delivery of monthly management accounts including a detailed monthly written report. This includes departmental profit and loss accounts, contribution statements as well as various performance reports all completed in accordance with an agreed timetable.
• Planning and Budgeting - Agree annual budget drivers and assumptions with the fee earning and Business Service teams and prepare consolidated plans and budgets for the firm.
• Responsibility for maintaining budgets on the Aderant Practice Management System (PMS) and managing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Calculation of forecast updates to the profit and loss position in the run up to each year end.
• Commercial Analysis - Support and respond to Departmental Managing Partners and other stakeholders on request for financial analysis such as trends or client profitability, providing explanations and advice as necessary.
• Overheads budget holders monthly reporting - Providing stakeholders with detailed monthly expenditure reports and further analysis as required. Monthly variance analysis of significant cost items to accompany the Management Accounts.
• Provide pricing and pitch planning advice to assist Partners and the Business Development team with scoping and estimating matter proposals and monitoring outcomes against those plans.
• Oversight and ongoing development of management information reporting and KPIs issued to the firm (Departments and Practice Areas).
• Training new fee earners how to use management information tools and understanding their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Responsible for setting and maintaining standard and non-standard charge-out client rates, keeping records and analysing trends, maintaining log of volume discounts and other special arrangements. Additionally responsible for calculating underlying cost rates and ensuring FTE, joiner and leaver statistics are consistently reported between finance and HR systems.
• Ad hoc projects and reporting including preparation of financial analysis for Partner assessments, departmental (practice area) strategy papers, completion of legal industry benchmarking surveys.
• Deputise for the CFO on occasion, presenting financial reports and analysis to stakeholders around the firm and representing Finance at certain meetings with Partners and other fee earners as required.

Applicants must:

• Be fully qualified in either CIMA/ACCA or ACA
• Have experience in a finance team of a law firm or wider professional services firm that operates in a time billing structure.
• Have been in a business facing / commercial finance role previously who can gain credibility with the partners quickly

Employees of the firm will be needed in the office 40% of the time but upon starting, this is likely to be a bit more whilst you get to grips with the role.