Head of Accounts

Reports to: Fractional Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and COFA

Direct reports: Legal Cashier (although likely to grow in next 1-2 years)

Hours: Full-time (9am-5pm, 35-hours per week), with external hours/overtime may be required

Salary: £48,000 plus discretionary bonus

The firm is a well-established Cotswolds practice of approximately 50 staff. Financial strategy of the firm is guided by the fractional Chief Finance Officer, who reports to the Managing Partner; operational strategy is led by the fractional Chief Operating Officer.

The Head of Accounts/Finance Manager leads the firm's in-house finance function and is responsible for the integrity of all financial and accounting operations, including strict compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules. Working under the direction of the fractional CFO, the role holder owns the operational delivery of the finance function: the accuracy of the ledgers, the safety of client money, the timeliness of reporting and the smooth running of the accounts team, and provides the reliable financial data and analysis on which the CFO's strategic advice to the partners depends.

Because the CFO is fractional, the role holder is the senior full-time finance presence in the firm: they must be capable of exercising sound day-to-day judgement, dealing directly with the directors, partners, the COFA, external accountants, auditors and the firm's bank, and knowing when to escalate matters to the CFO.

• Ensure full compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules at all times, including the proper operation and segregation of client and office accounts.
• Oversee daily, weekly and monthly client account reconciliations (including three-way reconciliations of client ledgers, cash book and bank statements) in accordance with Rule 8.3, and ensure any discrepancies are investigated and resolved promptly.
• Identify, record and rectify any breaches of the SRA Accounts Rules without delay, maintain the firm's breach register, and report material breaches to the COFA.
• Support the COFA in the discharge of their statutory duties, including the preparation of information for reporting to the SRA where required.
• Manage the annual SRA Accountant's Report process, acting as the primary liaison with the firm's reporting accountants and ensuring timely delivery of all required records.
• Ensure compliance with anti-money laundering obligations relevant to the finance function, including source-of-funds procedures, cash receipt policies and suspicious transaction escalation to the MLRO, in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (as amended).
• Administer residual client balances in accordance with SRA requirements, including tracing and returning funds or applying to charity where appropriate.
• Oversee the proper treatment of interest on client money in line with the firm's interest policy.

• Work with the CFO as necessary to prepare accurate and timely monthly management accounts for the CFO and partners, including profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, work-in-progress (WIP), lock-up, debtor and disbursement analysis, to an agreed reporting timetable.
• Work with the CFO as necessary to prepare annual budgets and rolling forecasts under the direction of the CFO, monitoring performance against budget and reporting variances with commentary.
• Work with the CFO as necessary to provide fee earner and departmental performance reporting, including billing, realisation, recovery rates, utilisation and matter profitability.
• Manage cash flow, including banking relationships, deposit arrangements for client money, and short- and medium-term funding requirements.
• Oversee year-end procedures and the preparation of statutory accounts, liaising with the firm's external accountants and auditors.
• Support the fractional CFO with accounting for directors.
• Support the fractional CFO with financial analysis, modelling and ad-hoc reporting for strategic projects (e.g. pricing reviews, investment decisions, recruitment business cases), and implement agreed changes to financial processes and policies.
• Act as the CFO's…