Finance Director

Our client, a highly regarded London law firm, is seeking an experienced Finance Director to join its team on a permanent basis.

The Firm

Our client is a well-established law firm with a strong reputation for providing high-quality legal services to its clients.

The firm offers a collaborative and professional working environment, with a strong focus on commercial performance, operational excellence and continued growth. This is an excellent opportunity to join a senior leadership team and play a key role in the ongoing development of the firm's finance function.

The Opportunity

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced, commercially minded Finance Director to take ownership of the day-to-day finance function and work closely with the COO, Finance Partner and Partners across the firm.

The successful candidate will combine strong financial control and operational finance expertise with a commercial, business-partnering approach. The role will suit an individual who is comfortable being hands-on while also providing strategic financial insight and challenging senior stakeholders where appropriate.

Key responsibilities include:

Leading all month-end and year-end financial processes, ensuring accurate and timely delivery
Preparing monthly management accounts, including detailed analysis, commentary and performance insights
Producing financial reports and KPIs for the COO, Finance Partner and Equity Partners
Supporting budgeting, forecasting and wider financial planning activities
Taking ownership of firm-wide cash flow management and forecasting
Monitoring and actively managing WIP, disbursements, aged debt and wider working capital
Working closely with Partners and fee earners to improve billing discipline, debt recovery and overall lock-up performance
Managing and developing the Senior Legal Cashier
Overseeing client and office account processes and ensuring appropriate financial controls are maintained
Acting as the primary relationship manager with the firm's banking partners and overseeing day-to-day treasury activities
Leading the transition of payroll from an outsourced model to an in-house operation
Assuming responsibility for payroll, expenses and the firm's corporate credit card programme
Authorising office and client account payments in accordance with firm policies and regulatory requirements
Acting as the finance lead for the firm's Efimis accounting system
Reviewing and improving finance processes, controls, reporting and workflows, including opportunities for automation
Ensuring compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules and all relevant regulatory requirements
Supporting audits, compliance reviews and regulatory reporting
Working closely with the COO and Finance Partner to support strategic decision-making
Presenting financial performance, trends and recommendations at Equity Partner meetings
Providing commercial insight to support profitability, growth and operational effectiveness

Requirements

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)
Significant experience in a senior finance role, ideally within professional services
Strong experience producing management accounts and leading month-end and year-end processes
Proven experience managing cash flow, WIP, billing and aged debt
Previous experience managing and developing finance staff
Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence and challenge at Partner level
Experience managing payroll and financial controls
Strong Excel and systems capability, with a genuine interest in process improvement
Experience within a law firm or regulated professional services environment would be advantageous
Working knowledge of the SRA Accounts Rules and/or experience with legal accounting systems such as Efimis would be highly desirableThe role is office-based in London, with a minimum of four days per week in the office.

To be considered for this Senior Finance Manager opportunity, please contact Birchrose Associates for a confidential discussion.

Birchrose Associates, trading name of Huntress Search Ltd, acts as a Recruitment Agency in relation to all Permanent roles and as a Recruitment Business in relation to all Temporary roles.

We practice a diverse and inclusive recruitment process that ensures equal opportunity for all we work with, irrespective of race, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, age or gender. As an organisation, we encourage applications from all backgrounds and will ensure measures are met when required, to allow a fair process throughout.

PLEASE NOTE: We can only consider applications from candidates who have the right to work in the UK