Senior Financial Accountant

Senior Financial Accountant

Speciality Insurer

London 2 days / home 3 days

Excellent +Exceptional Benefits

The role

This role will be part of a dynamic, busy and adaptive commercial financial control team that puts a lot of emphasis on supporting each other and helping each other grow along with supporting the wider finance team and company. This role will be joining a new team and so will be part of helping shape how the team looks and evolves as it takes on more responsibilities.

The Senior Financial Accountant is responsible for ensuring that branch financial reporting is completed to a high quality and in a timely manner.

The role also has an emphasis on developing and improving the underlying processes and controls, in line with the policies and standards of the company. The job holder must have a strong sense of accountability and ownership of the work assigned and should be able to deliver results under tight deadlines, whilst showing flexibility and tenacity when required.

Key accountabilities

Financial Reporting (Technical)

• Responsible for preparing and delivering accurate quarterly and annual financial reporting requirements for the UK branch / New Co
• Manage the preparation and review process of branch financial results
• Ability to develop a detailed understanding of the technical result of the UK Branch
• Support the establishment of the ability to analyse the UK Branch IFRS 17 result
• Maintain a clear overview and understanding of the translation of operational data into financial results
• Analyse changes in regulations (statutory, legal, etc), and the potential impact on the UK Branch
• Responsible for maintaining and communicating a clear understanding of the key interfaces across the technical result of the UK Branch
• Delivery of the UK Branch technical result, by ensuring systems and processes are in place to transform operational data into transparent financial results
• Implementation of process improvements to improve efficiency within scope of responsibility
• Lead the deliveries of interim and annual audit for the company
• Oversee and support other members of the team in their deliveries
• Design, deliver, develop and analyse reports, identify and recommend solutions to reporting issues in line with group/branch requirements
• Coach, manage and mentor less senior staff
• Adhere to all local and group guidelines

Technical Revisions

• Monitoring the regulatory framework, both accounting and insurance aspects
• Analyse and understand the impact of any changes in the regulatory frameworks in advance, and communication of key aspects to senior management
• Represent finance regarding any anticipated system or process changes as required
• Contribute to the continued development of the general ledger and underwriting system

System

• Develop and maintain a detailed understanding of the underwriting system and its impact on the financial results
• Key individual for analysis between general ledger and underwriting system
• Establish a detailed understanding, and provide visibility of data transfer between underwriting system and general ledger
• Ensure the appropriate systems evolve as needed to ensure compliance with all financial regulatory and accounting standards
• Key contributor to design and roll-out of new company general ledger system

Process Improvement

• Identify opportunities for processes improvements to enhance the efficiency, quality and value of processes within the scope of responsibility
• Manage system improvements and documentation of controls in respect of branch reporting processes
• Perform detailed validation work and analytical review on the data and address or escalate any unexpected results or inconsistencies in data

Project Management

• Support end to end project management for functional projects including delivery of changes to meet new regulatory requirements, and changes to increase automation and drive efficiency
• Contribute to company-wide projects impacting finance

Risk and Controls

• Design, implement and maintain the process manual and controls to ensure the quality of the output for your area/team
• Ensure documentation of the processes and output is accurate, up-to-date and accessible
• Adherence to all relevant regulatory requirements

Skills & experience

• Qualified accountant with experience within Insurance.
• Strong technical accounting skills
• Understanding of the current insurance industry financial reporting standards and external statutory and regulatory requirements (solvency II)
• Experience and knowledge of general ledger systems
• Demonstrate evidence of interpreting and manipulating data clearly and accurately
• Advanced excel skills
• Desire for continuous improvement of self, team members and the departments 'service'
• Knowledge of insurance taxation reporting would be advantageous