Group Financial Controller - Maternity cover from March 2023

£80,000 - £100,000 Per annum plus car allowance and company bonus

Location: Rowan House, Swindon. 

At Smiths News we are a PLC business where every employee makes a difference and has a chance to make an impact. Our history carries through to our 21^st century operations, where our values of Creative, Fair, Friendly, Open, Quick and Trusted are as true for our customers as they are for our employees. If you want to work for a business where you’re valued, trusted and empowered to develop – we’re the business for you!

What you’ll do:

This is a leadership position for a publicly listed company. Reporting to the CFO, the Group Financial Controller is responsible for leading a multi-disciplinary finance team with responsibilities for group financial reporting, group tax, operational treasury and the finance shared service centre. The role requires the ability to develop strong working relationships with senior managers and have the gravitas to influence the executive team. Key responsibilities include;

• Member of the Smiths News PLC senior finance leadership team driving the group’s culture and behaviours across the wider organisation
• Lead, manage and develop the finance teams, identifying and nurturing internal talent
• Lead the group tax function ensuring full compliance and the development of appropriate tax risk management strategies. Manage the group’s relationship with HMRC
• Consolidation of the group financial data and overseeing the generation of the plc Report and Accounts including business performance analysis, financial statements and corresponding notes
• Lead the relationship with the external auditors and oversee the interim and full year audits for the group
• Lead the finance shared services outsourced to Tech Mahindra, ensuring the service meets the needs of the business
• Lead the operational treasury activities including cash-flow management and forecasting
• Lead the external advisors and foreign entity reporting for group consolidation and local authority submissions
• Take a lead role in implementing change and finance process improvements across the team and wider function, championing and driving continuous re-engineering activities
• Ensure a robust financial control environment throughout the group
• Enhancement of existing finance processes, finance systems and procedures to ensure best practice is achieved
• Ensure group accounting policies are fit for purpose and reflect changes to accounting standards and business practices

What we can offer you:

Not only do we offer free onsite parking, 4x salary life assurance and 5% match pension but you’ll also have access to:

• £562 per month car allowance
• Company bonus
• Company funded Health Cash Plan – providing cash back for everyday healthcare costs such as dental, optical and physiotherapy
• 25 days holiday plus holiday buy scheme
• 24/7 E-Learning modules, Training and Development opportunities
• Sharesave Scheme, Cycle to work schemes, Tastecard, Health cash plan
• Private medical insurance
• Colleague Assistance Programme & Colleague referral scheme

About you:

• ACA Qualified with a ‘Big 4’ audit background
• Drive and tenacity to develop a best-in-class finance function that can support the ambitions of the group
• A rounded understanding of best practice in financial control built from experience
• An innovate and forward-thinking approach
• Credibility and gravitas to work effectively with both finance and non-finance teams.
• Self-starter requiring minimum supervision and with drive for change within the business

About us

Smiths News is the UK’s largest news wholesaler. Our colleagues serve 24,000 retailers every day of the year, operating from 37 distribution centres. Service and efficiency put us at the forefront of our industry and, with 55% market share, we are the leading player in one of the world’s fastest moving supply chains.

Inclusion and diversity are really important to us. Through our Everyone In initiative, we are working together to build and shape a culture that embraces people from all backgrounds, experiences and orientations. Smiths News is dedicated to creating an authentic workplace where everyone can thrive.

If you are excited about this role but feel your experience doesn’t align perfectly with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be the right candidate for this or other roles!