Buckles Solicitors – Finance Director

About Our Client

Buckles Solicitors is an award-winning law firm, that provides world-class client experience and services on a comprehensive range of legal services to both businesses and individuals in the UK and internationally. They pride themselves on providing a positive work environment where independent thinking and new ideas are actively encouraged and where every member of the team genuinely can make a difference.

The role

For this role, you will bring experience within the legal industry or within a professional service environment, will have worked within an LLP model and have an understanding of the relevant associated accounting rules.

We are looking for someone with strong leadership skills with a proven track record of building high performing, collaborative teams and will have operated at FD level previously or equivalent senior position in a larger environment.

This is a unique opportunity to join the firm as their Finance Director to oversee all operations within the finance team whilst collaboratively working with all other departments.

Description

• Overseeing all operations within the finance team whilst collaboratively working with all other departments in Buckles to ensure the role accountabilities are met.
• Provide a clear lead and support for the Board of Directors across the firm for all financial matters.
• Lead and manage the finance department (and any other departments as necessary) and the delivery of internal financial reporting and analysis.
• Lead the external financial reporting and finance compliance requirements including income tax and VAT.
• Serve as the Firm’s Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA).
• Oversea and manage the Firm’s partnership accounting.
• Maintain the highest professional standards and confidentiality standards.

Role accountabilitites

Strategy, business planning and budgeting:

• Work closely with our senior leaders to develop and execute the Firm’s strategy and business plan, providing expert guidance on commercial finance matters.
• Deliver the finance strategy across all areas of the business, challenging assumptions and decision-making as appropriate.
• Provide financial analysis and guidance on all activities, plans, targets, and business drivers.
• Lead and manage the budgeting process, working with all department heads to identify areas of focus required to deliver against financial targets, creating individual budgets and co-ordinating strategy to increase return on investment and profitability.
• Lead and manage the firm’s forecasting processes; specifically profit & loss and cashflow.
• Lead the Finance Department approach to “finance business partnering” across the Firm.

Finance reporting

• Manage the monthly management accounts, report and analysis. Including profit & loss account, cashflow and balance sheet (against budget and forecast):

– Firm, Office and Department profit & loss performance.

– Cashflow performance.

– Balance sheet, with a specific focus on WIP and debtors and recoverability.

• Prepare profitability and any other financial analysis as required by the board.
• Maintain the other systems for internal reporting such as Power BI (or similar) to meet the Firm’s requirements.
• Manage cash flow by monitoring expenditure, supervising billing and credit control, working capital control, and all banking facilities to ensure the financial health and stability of the business.

Finance process and systems

• Implement and maintain operational excellence across all finance and accounts processes including audit systems, ensuring compliance with relevant regulatory requirements.
• Continuous improvement of our financial processes to ensure they are compliant, robust, aligned to our management system and support both current and future growth activities.

Compliance

• Serve as the Firm’s Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA).
• Maintain a deep understanding of the Solicitors Accounts Rules and specifically the management of client funds/client accounts.
• Responsible for maintaining records of compliance and regulatory breaches, reporting them promptly to the Senior Leadership Team.
• Assisting with the renewal of Profession Indemnity Insurance and other insurance requirements.
• Manage the external relationships with the Firm’s auditors and bankers.

Partnership Accounting

• Operate and maintain financial control over the Firm’s partnership accounting, including all capital accounts, current accounts and tax accounts for individual partners.
• Support the partners with any financial requests for information; but explicitly not to provide financial planning advice.
• Ensure that the partners’ tax matters; provision for taxation, payment of taxation and any other matters are promptly addressed.
• Provide on a quarterly basis for the Board to approve a recommendation on profit declaration within the year.

Skills and experience sought

• Experience within the legal industry or extensive experience within a professional service environment.
• Experience of an LLP model and the relevant accounting rules associated.
• Strong leadership skills with a proven track record of building high performing teams who are collaboration focused.
• The ability to establish credibility quickly and effectively to communicate with Partners, legal teams, and business support teams.
• Operated at FD level previously or equivalent senior position in larger environment.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills
• Open style to problem solving with the ability to consider from others’ perspectives.
• Experience of practice management system (Elite desirable, similar essential)

Benefits

• Bupa family cover with health assessment
• Pension 5% employee and employer contribution
• Discounted legal fees.
• 30 days annual leave plus additional birthday leave.
• Health cash back plan
• Group life assurance 4 x salary
• Annual bonus
• Electric Vehicle and Cycle to Work scheme

Our Culture

1. Responsible – Taking initiative and seeing things through
2. Empowering – Supporting others to develop and change
3. Sharing – Showing collaboration and sharing of best practice/success
4. Positive – Finding the win/win – even mistakes can become positive experiences
5. Empathetic – Understanding things from others’ perspectives
6. Communicative – Defaulting to an open, collaborative culture
7. Trustworthy – Trusting in and being trusted by people

How to apply

For more details and to arrange a confidential conversation, please send your CV to Anna Jay, MD of Public Leaders Appointments: [email protected] 

Application deadline: Midday, Thursday August 22nd

First Stage interviews (remote): 3rd / 4th September

Final Interviews (Peterborough): w/c 16th September