Austin Rose Associates
Head of Finance
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Head of Finance – Ealing
Reporting To: Managing Director / SCG
Package: Competitive Salary + Benefits (Commensurate with experience)
Contract Type: Full-time, Permanent
As a Private Equity asset-backed operational business, we operate at the intersection of media infrastructure, real estate, and hospitality. Following recent capital investment and redevelopment, we are seeking an agile, commercially minded, and hands-on finance leader to drive our day-to-day finance function and shape our future operational standards.
The Opportunity
This is a pivotal finance leadership role within an active, multi-tenant operating environment. You will be responsible for stabilising and elevating the core financial control environment while taking ownership of an exciting finance transformation agenda.
With an ongoing external review of our finance function, you will have a direct mandate to modernise our systems, automate manual processes, and build a best-in-class reporting framework for both internal management and PE sponsor stakeholders.
Note: We are open to shaping this role around the right individual — whether you are a proven, hands-on Financial Controller or a Head of Finance ready to drive full operational change.
Key Responsibilities
1. Financial Reporting & Core Control
- Lead the end-to-end month-end close process, ensuring accuracy, robust review controls, and balance sheet reconciliations (bank, debtors, creditors, accruals, prepayments).
- Prepare high-quality management accounts, variance analysis, operational KPIs, and executive board/sponsor reporting packs.
- Ensure reporting is fast, reliable, and directly aids commercial decision-making.
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2. Operational Finance, Rents & Service Charges
- Oversee rent invoicing, debtor ledger management, credit control, and arrears management.
- Reconcile finance inputs against lease agreements (rent reviews, break clauses, expiries, short-term production licences, and key billing terms).
- Lead service charge budgeting, expenditure tracking, yearly reconciliations, and tenant recovery processes on a timely basis.
- Track occupancy metrics, void exposures, and licence arrangements from a finance perspective.
3. Cash, AP/AR & Procurement
- Manage short-term cash flow forecasting, daily liquidity visibility, and payment run approvals.
- Strengthen purchase ledger controls, delegated authority limits, supplier onboarding, and payment governance.
4. Compliance, Tax & Audit
- Prepare, review, and submit accurate VAT returns directly to HMRC.
- Oversee corporate tax compliance and annual statutory accounts/audit processes alongside external advisory partners.
5. Transformation, Systems & Commercial Insight
- Evaluate existing finance software, data flows, and Excel workarounds; identify gaps and lead technology implementations to automate processes.
- Develop intuitive reporting dashboards that clearly translate operational drivers into commercial insight.
- Support budgeting, reforecasting, capital expenditure monitoring, and cost allocation models.
- Direct, coach, and develop the finance team to foster a high-performance culture.
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What We Are Looking For
Essential Qualifications & Experience:
- Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA): with 8-12 years’ experience with demonstrable ownership of finance processes in an SME or asset-backed business.
- Excellent academic background:
- Core Financial Control: Strong discipline in month-end management, balance sheet reconciliations, cash management, and financial control environments.
- Tax Compliance: Solid practical experience preparing, reviewing, and filing VAT returns.
- Mindset: Hands-on, detail-oriented, pragmatic, and comfortable taking full ownership in a lean, fast-paced environment.
- Stakeholder Management: Confident communicator capable of acting as a finance partner to non-finance operational teams, executive management, and external stakeholders.
Highly Desirable:
- Background in Property, Real Estate, Media Studios, Facilities Management, Leisure, or Multi-Tenant environments.
- Clear understanding of lease structures, service charge budgeting, and tenant/licence billing.
- Track record of process improvement and system implementations (transforming manual workflows into automated solutions).
- Advanced Excel skills and experience building operational financial models/dashboards.
Why Join Us?
- Iconic Brand & Location
- Direct Impact
- PE Exposure
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