Position
Financial Controller
Location
Real Group Ltd, Canterbury (Hybrid)
Hours
37.5 or 30.0 hours part-time
Salary
£52,000 – £55,000 full-time depending on qualifications/experience.
Real Group has an exciting opportunity for a financial role in our growing company. It is a great time to join our team, make a positive difference, and impact our growth. We offer flexibility in how you work: up to 40% of your time can be worked from home if desired.
About the role
As Financial Controller you will be accountable for overseeing all financial ledger operations across all divisions encompassing all entities within the organisation. Ensure the integrity of financial activities and financial records by developing, implementing, and maintaining accurate and efficient processes for all financial activity, and producing timely monthly reconciliations, and management accounts with insightful commentary and analysis.
Key tasks and responsibilities include:
- Own and oversee all month-end close processes required for all group entities, including the ESF apprenticeship entity; manage the general ledger, and required reconciliations;
- Maintain rolling monthly P&L plus cashflow forecasts, for all organisations, including forecasted staff costs within this.
- Produce comprehensive timely group monthly Management Accounts, comprising Profit and Loss statements, Balance Sheets, and Cash Flow Statements, while ensuring adherence to UK GAAP accounting standards, for all entities as required.
- Reconcile and balance monthly apprenticeship levy payments received with apprenticeship learners numbers on board; together with producing KPI data on learners by standard, age, support payments, clawbacks, etc.
- Work with the FD to transition all finance ledger activities in-house, from the outsourced finance team, and work out the appropriate processes, controls, roles, structure, and accountabilities required to ensure accurate, timely, accurate, complete monthly accounts are reconciled and maintained.
- Responsible for the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal financial policies and processes for all company divisions, to be compliant with external governing regulations and standards.
- Support and drive the annual budgeting process for all entities. This will be at a high Group level, entity level, and individual business unit and department level as required.
- Analyze financial performance, investigate material variances, and provide explanations, and resolution, accordingly.
- Ensure that bank cash balances are reconciled monthly, and any items outstanding are investigated and resolved.
- Continuously look to improve financial operations through the implementation of best practices, and utilising advances in technology to improve operational efficiency.
- Ensure the annual year-end accounts are a true, fair, and accurate reflection of all income and costs incurred, and that the annual statements are therefore a fair representation of performance, and tie to the general ledger records at the year-end close.
- Provide guidance and oversight to the finance analyst team to ensure an effective Credit Control process, and oversee the tutor invoice billing process.
- Provide support to the Group Finance Director on strategic financial management matters, and analysis, on an ad-hoc basis, as required.
About you
The ideal candidate will be a past graduate, have a passion for finance, with a strong attention to detail and a good understanding of statutory accounts. Will be a qualified accountant with a minimum of 10+ years of relevant post-qualified accountancy experience. You will have a strong focus on controls, governance, and technical accounting. You will be proficient with data consolidation, have advanced Excel skills, and undertaken the preparation of statutory accounts.
About us
We are a dynamic, growing organisation with an established reputation for providing CPD training, SEN consultancy, and direct psychological services. We develop and deliver training for teachers within the UK and internationally. We currently have teachers in over 100 countries studying with us. We are proud of our innovative training approaches that combine psychology, education, and technology. Our courses enable educational psychology to have an impact in classrooms across the globe. Our values are embedded in the work that we do and they underpin our business culture.
Our Values
- Inclusivity – valuing others, respecting others, recognising and celebrating the contribution of all;
- Positivity – taking a positive outlook to challenges and embracing change and opportunity
- Curiosity – seeking to reflect, learn, ask questions, and challenge orthodoxies
- Integrity – acting fairly, honestly, and consistently
- Growth – seeking growth and positive change for individuals and organisations
- Sustainability – helping regain ecological balance.
We are an equal opportunities, flexible employer with offices in Greenwich, Canterbury, Stevenage, and Staines. Real Group has a strong culture of ethical business practice and values diversity and inclusion.
Benefits
We build our team with talented, positive-thinking and experienced individuals from diverse backgrounds. Working at Real Group brings many benefits including:
- Flexible working within a friendly, supportive team
- Competitive salary
- Pension
- Training and professional development opportunities
- Health and dental plan
- Access to free mental health support
- Salary sacrifice options for purchasing a bicycle or leasing an electric car.
Real Group is an equal-opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from all.
To apply, please send your CV with a covering letter outlining why you are interested in this role, and how you meet the requirements of the role.
You may be invited for a short phone interview in early January 2025. We are looking to undertake face to face interviews week commencing 20th January 2025.