Finance Business Partner

THE ROLE

Reporting to the Head of FP&A for International, this position in the FP&A team will play a critical role as the company goes through an exciting period of transformation.

The Finance Business Partner will work alongside different departments, providing financial information and analysis to senior management, helping them make more informed decisions and driving business strategy.

A Finance Business Partner is a financial professional who collaborates closely with various departments or business units within an organization. They bridge the gap between finance and operations, providing financial insights, analysis, and strategic guidance to support decision-making.

This role involves helping business units meet their financial goals, optimizing resources, and aligning financial strategies with overall organizational objectives.

The role is suitable for a candidate with 2 plus years post qualifying experience as a finance business partner, with exposure to supporting a sales team. Prior industry experience is not required to be considered for the role.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as the key finance business partner for the APAC region, communicating effectively with all key stakeholders, within and external to finance, to provide insight, analytics and support to improve the performance of the business – including creation of own insight, additional to supporting inbound requests.
• Production of monthly revenue reporting, working with the sales team to ensure accurate and consistent reporting.
• Ownership of budgeting and forecasting processes for the whole P&L, including detailed modelling, analytics and presentation packs to senior members of the regional and global team.
• Production of monthly P&L packs, to provide insight on business performance, including presentation of monthly figures back to regional MDs.
• Presenting financial performance, full-year forecasts and budget variances, including understanding financial opportunities and risk
• Work closely with the sales team, to ensure data is accurate, and provide analysis to support decision making.
• Support the implementation of new systems, such as our new CRM, working to validate the integrity of the new system, and ensuring other linked systems produce accurate and insightful information.
• Challenging current ways of working.
• Driving efficiencies and cost savings wherever possible by identifying financial risks and working with business units to develop mitigation strategies.
• Understanding the cost drivers of the business and providing insight to non-finance members. Provide financial input into strategic plans, helping identify opportunities for growth and cost optimization.
• Ensure compliance with financial regulations and reporting standards.
• Support internal and external audits and address financial compliance issues.

SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES

• Being recognized as an expert financial advisor who is open and approachable in their demeanor and adapts their communication according to the stakeholder and is able to communicate complex financial information to all levels.
• Positive in their outlook – focuses on identifying solutions to problems.
• Interpersonal skills and ability to motivate and develop staff.
• Thrives on the challenge of adapting quickly to a fast-paced environment in processes and/or systems and is comfortable working with information from multiple and sometimes complex sources.
• Working off own initiative, in a fast paced environment, and being proactive to foresee what needs to be done vs it being prescribed fully.
• Excellent attention to detail including strong organizational skills.
• Analytical skills - Proficiency in data analysis and financial modelling to dissect complex financial information and extract actionable insights.
• Communication - Exceptional communication skills are vital for conveying financial information clearly to non-financial stakeholders, fostering collaboration, and building relationships.
• Strategic thinking - The ability to align financial strategies with organizational goals and contribute to long-term planning is essential.
• Problem solving – You must be adept at identifying financial challenges, proposing solutions, and adapting to changing circumstances.
• Teamwork - Collaborating with cross-functional teams and fostering a sense of partnership is important for successful financial integration.
• Adaptability - The financial landscape evolves, so Finance Business Partners must stay flexible and open to change.

EDUCATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Experience as a finance business partner, with multiple examples of working with finance and non-finance stakeholders, and being able to influence and support them and their decisions in a positive manner.
• Specific experience as a finance business partner supporting a sales team, with multiple examples of challenge, support, and influence leading to increased revenue and improved margin.
• Strong financial modelling and advanced Excel knowledge, must be proficient and able to work independently with Pivot Tables, VLookups and SUMIFS.
• Experience with using BI dashboards as the source of data and insights, and a strong ability to create and adapt reports within Power BI specifically.
• Highly IT literate, comfortable operating and learning new systems
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Relevant work experience in finance, accounting, or business analysis is crucial, often gained through working in Financial Analyst or Accountant positions.
• Experience implementing and maintaining financial controls.
• Experience of revenue and P&L reporting.
• Experience of being heavily involved in the budgeting process.
• A finance qualification is required (CIMA/ACCA /ACA qualified).
• Experience with Microsoft D365 and IBM is an added advantage.