FINANCE MANAGER

Job Description & Person Specification

Appointment: Finance Manager

Responsible to: Director of Finance

Hours of Work: 37.5 hours per week

Location: HQ, Leicester

Directly Responsible For: Payroll Officer

Accounts Assistant

Finance Administrator

Main Purpose of the Job

To manage the ‘back office’ function. Overall management of the development and maintenance of the finance system, adherence to financial policies, processes and procedures, including income, expenditure, payroll and treasury management. To maintain the integrity of the accounting systems and associated ledgers through the correct treatment and allocation of financial transactions. To ensure compliance with accounting regulation and convention and to ensure that the Association’s transactions are processed in line with prevailing guidelines. To manage reporting to Government Agencies including but not limited to the Charity Commission and HMRC. To manage and develop resources including systems, processes and people to ensure efficiency and accuracy. To manage the production of the annual statutory accounts, for all Association legal entities, and to manage the annual audit process of the aforementioned. To develop and maintain good external relationships with auditors, insurers and professional advisors generally.

Role definition

Primary Responsibilities

·  Day to day management of financial processes and financial transactions

·  Production of monthly management accounting data to facilitate the preparation of monthly reports and the production of transactional data to enable the production of balance sheet reconciliations for the Association and its subsidiaries

·  Management and development of financial processes for payroll, purchase ledger, expenses, credit cards and branch transactions

·  Production of Statutory Accounts for all entities and supporting documentation for audit

·  Ensuring that income and payments are processed promptly and accurately and that duties are segregated to reduce the likelihood of fraud

·  Ensuring that the accounting system is coherent and that it’s integrity is maintained

·  Ensuring that accounting and government deadlines are met

·  Reviewing working practices to ensure a continuous improvement of the back office function

·  Ensure that finance functions at the satellite locations operate effectively and efficiently

·  Liaising with and assisting the auditors with the preparation of the Pension Fund accounts

·  To undertake other tasks as required by the Director of Finance

Knowledge and Experience

·  Managing the finance team and the support the ongoing, training, development of the team to achieve the objectives set

·  Process transactions and maintain the nominal ledger for the Association and its subsidiaries

·  Production of statutory accounts and annual reports for review by the Director of Finance

·  Process financial transactions in line with FRS102 and the Charities SORP

·  Prepare and submit VAT returns, gift aid claims and PAYE/NIC returns

·  Facilitate income collection through various methods, including direct debits

·  Management of the statutory audit and the relationship with the external audit team

·  Recommend, manage and develop best practice use of the accounting package

·  Required to attend all mandatory training identified by Director of Finance or RAF Association

·  Ability to commit to personal development, to take advantage of education and training opportunities and improve personal competence

·  Required to work within RAF Association policies and procedures

Communication and Relationships

·  Liaise with Association auditors in respect of the annual audit of the Association (and its subsidiaries) and the Pension Fund accounts

·  Liaise with Association bank managers to effect smooth operation of Association’s accounts and optimise the corporate relationship

·  Liaise with tax authorities re VAT returns, gift aid claims and general operating issues

·  Liaise with the Association’s insurance broker to ensure that the policies in place are appropriate for the business needs of the Association and its subsidiaries

·  Timely and accurately responses to questions about the Association’s finances and financial transactions

·  Liaise with Area and Homes employee to assist with their day to day management of their respective financial processes

·  Liaise with RAFA members to advise on branch accounting issues including branch loans and deposits and membership subscriptions

·  Liaise with RAFBF to ensure coherent systems in place in respect of the RAF BF welfare grants and payments

·  Required to participate in and contribute as appropriate to team meetings

·  Required to co-operate and liaise with departmental and inter-departmental colleagues

People Management

·  The Finance Manager will be responsible for the management and supervision of the following employee and their workloads: Payroll Officer, Accounts Assistant and Finance Administrator

·  The Finance Manager will be responsible for appraising employee, employee development and absence and performance management.

·  The Finance Manager will ensure that employee receive adequate training for their roles

Decision-making and Problem-solving

·  Resolve accounting discrepancies and reconcile balance sheet accounts

·  Required to use own initiative to time-manage the workload of the team in consideration of possible competing priorities

·  Resolve technical accounting issues and ensure solutions are compliant with prevailing legislation and guidance

·  Interpret and analyse financial and non-financial business information and provide easily understandable reports and communications

Financial & Physical Resources Responsibility

·  The finance team is responsible for processing annual income of c£10m, salary costs of c£5.5m, and other costs of c£4.5m

·  The Finance Manager is responsible for ensuring that cash holdings are maintained at appropriate operational levels and that strict segregation of duties are in place in relation to payroll, payments and the processing of financial transactions

·  The Finance Manager must monitor liquidity and alert the Director of Finance to any potential overdraft situation or excess cash levels

·  The Finance Manager must alert the Director of Finance of any potential misappropriation of monies or potential system weaknesses that could lead to such abuse

·  Expected to use all opportunities to raise the profile of the RAF Association and its work, encourage fundraising and membership

Information

·  Ensure that the Association’s accounting system and resulting information is accurate, up to date and fully reconciled

·  Ensure that the Association accounting system is accurately maintained in respect of financial transactions and control accounts

·  Initiate and develop reports for financial, non-financial and statistical analysis to assist decision-making

·  Required to respect confidentiality applying to all RAF Association areas

Working Conditions

·  Required to work on occasions at RAF Association functions and events at weekends and evenings for which time off in lieu may be granted

·  Required to work longer working days on occasions for which no overtime is payable

Physical/Mental Effort

·  The post will require periods of concentration both long and short to deliver high quality financial information and reports and to meet statutory requirements

·  This post will require occasional travel and for you to drive using your own car (for which you must obtain appropriate insurance at your own cost) or a hire car for longer journeys

Health and Safety Responsibilities

Managers’ responsibilities are to:

·  Co-ordinate and maintain health and safety policy management processes, risk control systems and good practice standards with monitoring arrangements within each service, premises and activity.

·  Promote a positive health and safety culture, safe systems of working and good standards of practice.

·  Include health and safety as an agenda item for team meetings with documented minutes documenting actions and the dates they were completed

·  Identify, maintain and keep up to date employee competencies with the provision of health and safety information, training and supervision.

·  Maintain and keep up to date health and safety monitoring logs and auditing systems.

·  Monitor and report to line managers significant risks arising from working activities, accident and incidents, risk assessments and team reporting systems.

·  Investigate and analyse minor accidents, incidents and significant events, identifying actions for improvement.

·  Maintain and keep up to date health and safety reporting, monitoring and auditing systems.

·  Work in co-operation with landlords, other organisations, local authorities and regulatory inspectors to maintain legal compliance and safe practice.

·  Co-ordinate with contracted service providers to ensure they have suitable health and safety arrangements in place, including risk assessments and method statements and, provide relevant health and safety, emergency and welfare information.

·  Keep up to date with health and safety information provided within the Association and any new developments to improve practice.

All employees are required to:

·  Comply with health and safety policies, procedures and arrangements for safe working practices.

·  Promote a positive health and safety culture with safe working practice.

·  Participate in team meetings to keep up to date with health and safety information.

·  Discuss any concerns or issues arising from work activities.

·  Attend health and safety training as directed.

·  Report any significant risks or issues arising from risk assessments and comply with protective and preventative measures identified.

·  Ensure that buildings, equipment, goods, substances and vehicles are safely used, maintained and are not damaged.

·  Report to managers any faulty equipment, hazards or operational difficulties affecting safe systems of working, personal safety or well-being.

Other

This job description outlines the main functions and responsibilities of the post. The post holder may be required to undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of the job.

Training requirements

One of the objectives of the RAF Association is to build an organisation based on quality. Accordingly, there will be an ongoing need to review the training requirements of employee to meet the changing demands of the organisation. Training requirements will be discussed at the review meetings.

Review procedures

There will be an annual review of the post and job contents. In addition there will be an interim review 6 months after the annual review.

Key Performance Indicators:

Annual Key Performance Indicators will be defined by the Secretary General and Trustees. These are cascaded to relevant Directors who will inform employee of their own objectives and assess these in an annual appraisal.

FINANCE MANAGER

Person Specification

Essential / Desirable
Knowledge and Experience / Qualified Accountant (ACA,ACCA,ACMA) with a minimum of 3 years PQE
Preparation of statutory accounts for not for profit reporting entities
A working knowledge of FRS102 and the Charity SORP
A detailed working knowledge of the mechanics of recording and recovering Gift Aid
Preparation of Government returns including the Charity Commission and HMRC. Government returns to include Gift Aid
Use of accounting software such as SAGE/Exchequer
Knowledge of BACS system and direct debit collection processes
Evidence of continuous professional development
Ability to meet tight deadlines / Qualification gained in Practice
Knowledge of Pension Fund accounts
A working knowledge of FRS102 and the Charity SORP and a broad understanding of FRSs
An understanding of partial exemption (for VAT) in so far as it relates to Charities
The development and innovation of accounting software packages
Awareness of the work of the RAF Association
Communication and Relationships / Able to communicate at all levels of the organisation and explain financial information to non-financial users / Experience of working with a trustee body
People Management / Experience of managing a small finance team
Decision Making and Problem Solving / Evidence of involvement in decision making.
Evidence of ability to solve problems
Financial & Physical Resources Responsibility / Experience of working in a finance team within a similar sized organisation
Experience of processing large volumes of transactions
Experience of use of Microsoft Office package and high competence in Excel
Responsibility for Information / Experience of producing financial information for decision making purposes
Working Conditions / To be prepared to work, on occasions, weekends and evenings to meet business priorities. Also to attend Association functions and events that take place throughout the UK
To be prepared to undertake some unpaid overtime on occasions
Physical/
Mental Effort / Able to concentrate for lengths of time to produce accurate reports
Insured for, and able to use own car for business use

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