Financial Controller - Group Legal Entities

Who are we?

Howden is a collective – a group of talented and passionate people all around the world. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 18,000 employees spanning over 100 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

The Role

The Financial Controller will be responsible for the oversight of the Howden head office legal entities. There are 15 head office legal entities including the ultimate parent company, intermediate and financing companies. These are important and intricate entities as the engine room for a variety of Group processes including share buy backs (EBT), funding, FX and interest rate hedging.

Financial Controller will be responsible for the accurate and timely monthly submissions including completion of balance sheet reconciliations and control attestations. As well as timely monthly submissions, the role will be key in the delivering of statutory accounts prepared across FRS 101 and FRS 102, which will then be input into the FP&A cycle for these said entities.

Financial Controller will be part of a team of 20 direct and indirect reports reporting to the Chief Accounting Officer. There is a wider Finance function split across FP&A, tax, treasury, financial risk management, Group central services and corporate finance.

Key Responsibilities

Management and development of a team of 6 (currently two permanent headcount and four offshore outsourced provider headcount) Project based work would will include (but is not limited to):

• Managing Funds flow when treasury entities borrow external funding for M&A

• Providing advice to the wider group relating to intragroup restructurings

• Ongoing integration of subsidiary holding companies

• Support and collegiate responsibility for the wider teams across Finance in particular with tax, corporate finance and treasury teams

Key Accountabilities

• Effective and timely delivery of above deliverables including monthly items, year end and budgeting and forecasting

• Timely and accurate input into projects

• The Management and continuous development of your team and direct reports

Skills & Attributes

• Extensive knowledge of UK GAAP and IFRS and relevant UK law.

• Previous experience with reporting systems such as OneStream and Unit4 GL or equivalent

• Strong organisational and problem solving skills

• Ability to own individual / team outputs and deliverables

• Advanced MS Excel knowledge for data manipulation and analysis (V-look ups and Pivot tables)

• Ability to learn quickly and adapt to a constantly evolving business environment and Group structure

• Ability to work under pressure with a solutions orientated approach

• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to mentor and coach team members

• Candidates must have strong attention to detail and excellent communication skills

• Ability to form and maintain relationships with both internal and external stakeholders

• Ideal candidates must have previous Audit experience or knowledge of preparing financial statements

Desirable

• Knowledge of IFRS 9 and UK Company Law over distributable reserves desirable but not essential

Professional qualifications

• Ideal candidates will have a minimum of at least 10 years of relevant PQE

• Preferable candidates will be Qualified on the ACA or equivalent

• Previous Big 4 experience would be ideal (but is not essential)

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

Reasonable adjustments

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.

Permanent