WHAT DOES A FINANCIAL CONTROLLER DO?
Published: September 17, 2024 – The Financial Controller oversees general accounting functions, including accounts payable/receivable and the dunning process, while creating monthly and quarterly financial reports. This role involves preparing annual financial reports for headquarters and local tax authorities, developing budgets, financial forecasts, and KPIs, and supporting investment planning and ERP system implementation. The controller also ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, develops internal controls and compliance policies, and continually seeks improvements in financial systems and processes.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Financial Controller
1. Financial Controller Responsibilities
- Chart of Accounts Management: Maintain and update the Company’s chart of accounts.
- Filing System Enhancement: Maintain and enhance the Company’s digital and paper-based accounting filing system.
- Financial Integration: Lead on financial integration of any acquisitions and new entity set-up.
- Forex Management: Establish and operate an appropriate approach for forex management to minimize the negative impact on the business.
- Treasury Management: Operate an appropriate Treasury management process to maximize returns to the business.
- Capital Spending Analysis: Creation of capital spending project analysis.
- General Ledger and Cost Management: Manages the Accounting and Analysis of the General Ledger, Total Cost, and Inventory including Control, Fixed Assets and Accounts Payable functions.
- Budgeting and Forecasting: Manages all Budgeting, Forecasting, CAPEX, BOMs audit, billing and Balance Sheets.
- Operational Improvement: Communicates with plant personnel and observes plant operations to assist with and make recommendations for improvement in plant operations.
- Financial Performance Optimization: Proactively supporting the finance community by driving the bottom line by driving actions on poor-performing contracts and optimizing “coasting” contracts.
- Functional Overheads Oversight: Oversight of the division's functional overheads and managing the division’s Financial Analyst.
- Business Governance Support: Providing support and input into new business’ Purple Reviews and Comcom documentation for UKBU governance processes.
2. Financial Controller Job Summary
- Accounting Compliance: Ensuring all relevant accounting policies, procedures, principles, and ways of working are properly adhered to by the division’s finance community.
- Financial Integrity Management: Assessing and resolving issues found and maintaining the integrity of the financial ledgers.
- Reconciliation Resolution: Ensuring any reconciling items are properly resolved on a timely basis.
- Compliance and Control Management: Proactively investigating and managing any issues related to compliance, control, or deficiencies in processes.
- Audit Coordination: Facilitating and coordinating audit processes and queries, interfacing with the division’s finance community, the Shared Service Centre, and auditors.
- SAP and BPC Supervision: Supervision of the division’s overall SAP and BPC structures.
- Process Ownership: Ownership of key processes and their consolidation for divisional understanding (Coordination of Annual Budgeting and Reforecasting exercises, Monthly Best Estimates, and month-end flash calls alongside compilation of monthly packs and commentary in coordination with the appropriate shared service resources).
- Working Capital Management: Taking the lead in Working Capital Management through KPIs on Accrued Income and Debt (mid-month and month-end).
- Management Information Leadership: Leading in compiling, analyzing, and distributing management information to facilitate appropriate calls and working sessions to achieve targets or resolve issues.
- External Reporting Liaison: Key liaison for external reporting requirements and ensuring timely submissions
- Process Improvement: Actively seeking to improve processes and the interaction between SSC, Finance Planning and Analysis, and the businesses via established forums or future ones and following up on actions.
- Controls and Accounting Optimization: Proactive with controls and accounting mechanisms to maximize results for the division, e.g., restructuring, ICT assets capitalization/AuC discussions with the SSC.
3. Financial Controller Accountabilities
- Management Accounts Completion: Completion of monthly management accounts, including KPI reporting and tracking.
- Business Planning and Forecasting: Leading the business planning, budgeting, and forecasting process.
- Financial Analysis: Analyzing financial information to assist management teams in improving and growing the business.
- Financial Insight and Challenge: Providing robust financial information and insight, challenging the leadership team to ensure that the business meets its annual EBITDA.
- Cost Containment Support: Challenging and supporting all heads of departments to contain their costs while retaining a 5* operation.
- Purchase-to-Pay Management: Managing the purchase-to-pay process, from PO creation to invoice settlement.
- Revenue Recording Management: Managing the process for receiving, checking, and recording daily revenues and receipts from multiple venues.
- Stores and Deliveries Management: Managing the stores and deliveries team, ensuring they are efficiently providing purchasing and distribution support to operations.
- Member Accounts Management: Managing Member accounts, including the production of monthly statements and collection of monthly balances by Direct Debit.
- Workforce Management System Oversight: Managing the use of the Fourth Workforce Management system across the business as an effective Time and Attendance system and cost management tool for operations.
- Revenue and Cost Reporting: Managing the reporting and analysis of revenues and costs (especially regarding food, beverage, and retail costs of sales).
- Balance Sheet Reconciliation: Overseeing the reconciliation of all balance sheet accounts, including Bank, Cash and Card handlers, Fixed Asset Register, Member deferred income, etc.
4. Financial Controller Job Description
- Management Accounts Oversight: Oversee the production of the monthly management accounts and reporting of timely, accurate, and compliant financial performance information for both management and statutory requirements.
- Risk Control: Control the risks to prevent errors and fraud, and develop robust policies and procedures.
- Financial Transactions Maintenance: Maintenance of all financial transactions in the financial systems.
- Fixed Assets Management: Maintenance of comprehensive records of all the fixed assets of the group.
- Financial Planning and Analysis: Maintain cash flow, budgeting, financial planning, forecasting, and performance analysis for the group.
- Department Management: Manage Finance, Internal Audit, and Business Process Optimisation departments.
- Team Management: Ensure that team members are informed of their roles, responsibilities, and expectations, and provide them with appropriate, timely, and accurate information, training, and ongoing development.
- Transaction Supervision: Supervise the processing of sales, purchases, cash books, and journal transactions.
- Cash Activity Monitoring: Monitor and follow up on all business activity related to cash collections and payments.
- Sales Collection and Payments Management: Ensure on-time sales collection, proper supporting documents for all payments, proper approval processes, and timely disbursement of payments.
- Error and Fraud Mitigation: Ensure appropriate checks and balances are in place to mitigate the risk of errors and fraud.
- Account Reconciliation: Ensure all control and suspense accounts are reconciled, documented, and signed off as planned and timely according to the scheduled timetable.
5. Financial Controller Tasks
- General Accounting Management: Responsible for General Accounting, including AP/AR and Dunning Process.
- Financial Reporting: Create monthly and quarterly financial reports in cooperation with the bookkeeping department at German HQ.
- Annual Financial Reporting: Prepare annual financial reports for Headquarters and local tax authorities.
- Budgeting and Forecasting: Develop annual budgets and financial forecasts.
- Financial KPI Tracking: Develop and track financial KPIs.
- Continuous Improvement Support: Support continuous improvement processes throughout the company.
- Controlling and Accounting Process Development: Develop and implement efficient, transparent, and scalable controlling and accounting processes.
- Investment Planning Support: Support investment planning, including business case calculations and feasibility studies.
- ERP System Support: Support the customization and implementation of the new ERP system (SAP).
- Internal Compliance Development: Develop and implement internal compliance policies, guidelines, and control procedures.
- Policy Compliance Assurance: Ensure policies and procedures comply with professional standards and state and federal regulatory requirements.
- Internal Controls Establishment: Establish and maintain internal controls to support the financial infrastructure.
- System and Process Improvement: Continually look out for financial systems and processes and identify improvements or efficiencies as part of a continuous improvement plan.
- Audit Recommendations Monitoring: Establish, maintain, and review a suitable system of recording and monitoring internal and external audit recommendations relating to the workings of the finance department.