Head of Financial Reporting

Job Description

This will be Smiths Detection’s first Corporate and Financial Reporting expert. The successful candidate will be the internal financial reporting specialist with crucial responsibilities in preparing the Detection business for independent financial reporting outside of Smiths Group plc, following the recent announcement that the Detection business will be sold to CVC during the second half of this calendar year.

Smiths Detection will be the size of a FTSE 250 listed business, may have listed debt and we require someone with an excellent technical understanding of the reporting requirements that will be needed. Under PE ownership, clear, accurate and purposeful financial reporting will be required from the outset. Additionally we are looking for a leader with skills and experience of change, able to design for an evolving finance organisation looking to the future.

The role is to manage the end to end review, reporting and audit process, beginning by prepare internally though creating new processes and policies, in readiness for external reporting and requires someone with a strong understanding of the corporate reporting environment and audit requirements, who is able to research technical questions and work in a matrix organisation to augment the existing team.

The Smiths Detection Finance Team, of circa 150 people, operates through a matrix structure. This role will not have direct line management responsibility over the preparers of the accounting and financial reporting information but will have ultimate financial reporting responsibility for the entire business.

The role is based at the Smiths Detection headquarters in London, subject to hybrid working arrangements.

The main purpose of the role is both to manage the external review, reporting and audit process and also to drive an efficient close process and consistent application of accounting policies through the Smiths Detection group of companies (the “Group”), preparing disclosures for half-yearly reporting of results externally under Internal Accounting Standards. Historically, as part of Smiths, the Detection business has not owned the preparation for external reporting.

In preparation for separation, specific thought must now be given to the Group’s future corporate reporting processes.

The main areas that this role will be responsible for:

• Setting the timetable, framework and reporting responsibilities. This role will not have direct line management responsibility over the preparers of the accounting and financial reporting information but will need to design the framework to ensure accurate, complete and balanced financial reporting for the Group.
• Managing the Group’s end to end external review, reporting and audit processes for consolidated historic financial information.
• Managing the process for the preparation of financial statements and notes to the accounts including disclosures.
• Creating a new fit-for-purpose corporate reporting process, leveraging existing people and processes where possible, and building and documenting that required with all our compliance obligations in relation to financial reporting.
• Substantive analysis and investigation on complex financial reporting areas, such as the SOCIE, cashflow statement, pensions, share-based accounting, EPS, financial risk management etc with the focus on areas that require corporate reporting expertise. A good understanding of IFRS and UK public listed company reporting is essential.
• Responding to and advising on technical and commercial accounting queries.

In addition, this role will also be responsible for:

• Developing and maintaining a new Group Accounting Manual, including ensuring that the Group’s policies are appropriate, relevant, robust and consistently applied. Shaping new policies where appropriate, in readiness for Separation and beyond.
• Facilitating the delivery of training on financial reporting issues to the Group’s global finance teams.
• Understanding, improving and explaining internally and externally the processes to validate financial information included within the external reporting.
• Preparing papers that can be relied upon by the Audit…