Job Purpose

The Financial Controller is responsible for maintaining the integrity of British Sugar’s financial records, ensuring robust financial control and compliance with ABF reporting requirements as well as relevant UK legislation, while leading the central finance operations team. The role reports to the Finance Director and works closely with the business.

BS is a complex business, so maintaining strong financial controls is key to providing the assurance needed. The role operates within a complex ERP and manual process environment, ensuring appropriate controls, reconciliations and governance are maintained across both system and spreadsheet-based processes.

You will lead and inspire a finance team, looking after financial controls and compliance, credit control, accounts payable, and tax and treasury, and will also interact with functional specialists in ABF and AB Sugar who provide technical support and knowledge.

Core Accountabilities

• Lead the financial accounting and shared finance operations teams, including accounts payable, credit control and master data governance, ensuring strong operational discipline and service to the business, and be an active member of the BS Finance Leadership Team. 
• Provide confidence in the integrity and accuracy of BS’s financial records by ensuring that the business has strong financial controls in place, and challenge how these controls can be enhanced and/ or be performed more efficiently.
• Drive the risk management agenda in BS, ensuring that the functions consider their key risks and how they may be mitigated (including those for finance)
• Proactively manage the relationships with our internal and external audit and ensure any issues raised are swiftly resolved.
• Ensure that ABF’s internal reporting requirements (such as year-end packs) and BS’s statutory accounts are accurately prepared on a timely basis. Act as the primary liaison with AB Sugar and ABF controllership teams on financial reporting, governance and technical accounting matters.
• Provide technical expertise and input on accounting issues, working closely with AB Sugar/ ABF on key issues.
• Review and challenge the period end and budget/ forecast working capital figures to ensure they are reasonable and suggest ways in which working capital can be reduced and more accurately forecast.
• Oversee the preparation and maintenance of accurate short- and medium-term cash flow forecasts to support liquidity planning and financial decision-making.
• Undertake various compliance activities, including acting as the Anti-Bribery & Corruption officer.

Skills, Knowledge & Competencies

• Curious, with a strong sense of ownership, and takes the initiative to investigate and challenge when differences and/ or unexpected results occur.
• Strong influencing skills and the ability to build constructive relationships across the business but can flex style to be robust in ensuring compliance when needed.
• People leader, who succeeds through the performance of their team.
• Keeps up to date on technical accounting knowledge, and can show how material changes may affect BS.
• Strong technical accounting capability with the ability to interpret and apply IFRS and UK statutory reporting requirements within a complex manufacturing environment.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to maintaining high standards of financial control, governance and compliance.