Head of Artist and Client Finance

Job title: Head of Artist and Client Finance

Reporting to: Chief Financial Officer

Working hours: 10.00am - 6.00pm, Monday to Friday

Location: White Cube Bermondsey

About White Cube

White Cube is one of the world's leading contemporary art galleries, representing internationally recognised artists across locations including London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong and Seoul. The Finance team supports a complex global business operating across multiple legal entities, currencies and jurisdictions.

Role Overview

This is a key operational finance role responsible for the end-to-end management of artist reporting, artist and consignor payments and global sales invoicing. The role acts as a critical link between Finance, Sales, Registrars, Artist Liaison teams and external Artist Studios, ensuring that artists receive accurate, timely and transparent financial reporting whilst supporting our invoicing processes globally. The successful candidate will combine strong financial controls, excellent organisational skills and a service-oriented approach, helping to drive process improvements and support ongoing finance transformation initiatives.

Key accountabilities

Artist reporting and settlements

• Own the monthly artist and consignor statement process across all represented artists and estates ensuring all reporting and payments are on time in line with our obligations
• Own the transformation of artist reporting working across finance, sales and artists teams
• Act as the senior finance point of contact or artists, estates, studios and their accountants, and build trusted relationships with them.
• Partner with artist and sales liaison teams as required.

Global invoicing

• Provide strategic oversight and support for global invoicing across all White Cube entities, working in partnership with the Associate Director, Global Invoicing, who leads and is accountable for the day-to-day global invoicing operation.
• Provide senior-level cover and support for the Associate Director, Global Invoicing during periods of absence or annual leave, ensuring continuity of the function.
• Support the Associate Director, Global Invoicing in the development and consistent application of invoicing policy, standards and controls across all entities.
• Alongside the Associate Director, Global Invoicing, act as a senior escalation point, for particularly complex or non-standard transactions where additional input is required.
• Support the consistent application of Group revenue recognition policy across entities, working with the Associate Director, Global Invoicing and relevant Finance stakeholders.

Transformation

• Own the transformation roadmap for the artist-to-cash cycle, including automation, standardisation and system enablement.
• Act as the process owner for Sage Intacct and inventory system functionality relating to sales, invoicing, artist reporting and settlements.
• Support the end-to-end sales commission process ensuring commission calculations are accurate and paid out in line with policy
• Review and approve commission calculations prior to payment
• Partner with Management Accounting on commission accruals, forecasting and reporting.
• Act as the finance escalation point for commission queries from the commercial teams.

Cash collection and receivables

• Own aged debtor reporting, supporting the commercial teams
• Own PCI compliance for credit cards

Audit

• Act as the primary contact for external audit on revenue, receivables and artist balances, and resolve audit queries directly.

Team management

• Coach and develop both direct reports (2) and the broader team, working towards a best in class artist-to-cash function
• Foster a culture of accuracy, ownership, service and continuous improvement.

Skills & Experience

• Significant experience in artist accounting, royalty accounting, settlements, receivables or a closely related finance function.
• Experience operating within a multi-entity, multi-currency international environment.
• Demonstrable experience of leading and developing a team.
• Track record of delivering process improvement and system-enabled change.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build credibility with senior commercial colleagues and with artists and their representatives.
• Comfortable interpreting contracts and commercial terms and translating them into financial outcomes.
• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA) or equivalent qualification.
• Experience with in the art market, auction house, luxury goods, publishing, music or licensing sectors.
• Knowledge of artist agreements, commission structures and royalty-based payment models.
• Familiarity with Artist Resale Right and related obligations.
• Experience of Sage Intacct or a comparable ERP system.