Head of Partner Affairs

A top international law firm is looking for a Head of Partner Affairs on a Permanent basis.

You will have responsibility for the accounting and reporting of profit shares, tax reserves, payments, disbursements and capital on a partner by partner basis. As head of partner affairs, you will be part of the Tax & Partner Affairs team, managing the partnership accountant and partnership tax assistant.

This is an exciting opportunity to develop your career by working in an LLP with a pre-eminent reputation and a real emphasis on employee progression.

Key Responsibilities

• Ownership of the Points Grid, Partner Schedules and other models / spreadsheets required to achieve division of profits in accordance with Members' Agreement and other contractual arrangements;
• Provision of all information and analysis required for internal and external accounting and reporting purposes, including adjustments for non-member partners and consolidation adjustments;
• Review and approval of the terms of each prospective lateral partner's offer letter and all letters for existing partners where their profit entitlements are changing by agreement;
• Have one to one meetings with partners regarding their annual statements of account and any queries
• Meetings with all joining and leaving partners to address any queries and ensure a smooth transition
• Preparation of earnings confirmation letters for all overseas based partners;
• Management of the Partnership Accountant and Partnership Accounts Assistant, whose personal emphasis is on partners current accounts (including drawings, distributions and disbursements) and capital accounts, including providing cover for them when required;
• Work closely with the benefits team in relation to the various partners benefits across different offices;
• Review of all drawings payments each month and all distributions and bonus payments each quarter;
• Review of exchange rates movements and the impact these have on partner balances and profit entitlements; operation of the firm's foreign exchange smoothing mechanism;
• Operation of the firm's sanctions for partners in relation to time recording including liaising with partners and the client intake team where partners are especially slow to finalise their time entries;
• Preparation of actual to budget comparisons for all partner related entries within the management accounts: partner headcount, points, fixed shares, notional and other partner related costs, and partner related cash flows.
• Preparation of the annual budget and six monthly reforecast for all partners related areas including points, headcount, cash flows, bespoke profit sharing arrangements, etc.;
• Draft the explanatory note issued to partners each year in connection with their annual statements;
• Liaise with the UK Partner Tax Manager in relation to tax reserves and partners' personal tax liabilities
• Provide information, analysis and explanation to enable overseas tax return preparers to compute the partners' tax positions

Experience/Skills
Fully qualified chartered Accountant
Experience in a law firm or other partnership environment
Strong understanding of UK GAAP and SAR regulations
Personable and professional attitude with excellent communication skills.
Travel within the UK will be needed, especially within the first 6-12 months to visit all partners in their multiple regional offices.
If this role is of interest, please apply today!