Financial Accountant required with accounting responsibility for the Regulated companies within the company.

Main duties:

Production of monthly management accounts – profit & loss, balance sheet, cash flow and financial commentary Periodic forecasting, variance analysis and budgeting

Monitoring of regulatory capital and cash flow

Preparation of half year and year end accounts packs

Calculation and submission of IPT return

Calculation of Enhanced Capital Return and Individual Capital Assessment

Completion of annual FSA return

Completion of statutory returns to the NSO and ABI

Other adhoc tasks, projects and support as required

Responsibilities:

Monthly management accounts and reports:-

Completion of monthly company accounts pack by working day 7 ensuring supporting schedules are consistent with, cross referenced with and enhance the core trial balance figures generated from the accounting system.

Management accounts to include, calculation and posting of key warranty journals including accruals and prepayments, reviewing bank reconciliations and liaison with Underwriters and Claims Assessors to discuss and account for subjective areas such as IBNR provisioning
followed by -

Completion of the monthly board pack, including Board Report which analyses KPI variances, cash flow movements and obtaining information and explanations necessary through liaising with other Accountants and Underwriters to understand the variances.

Monthly warranty headcount reporting and Training and Learning & Development spend by cost centre reporting for the HR Director
Daily / weekly reporting.

Liaison with Credit Controllers to review actual weekly cash movements and to forecast monthly sales and expense items; namely premium, claims, marketing expenses.

Periodic forecasting, variance analysis and budgeting:-

Forecasting of business performance and cash flow on a periodic basis to enable measurement against debt and banking covenants. Involvement in the quarterly forecasting process and annual budget process.

Half year and year end audit packs:-

Completion of the half year end and year end audit file for review and audit, including full cross referencing, explanation of key variances and KPIs, drafting of financial statements, consolidation adjustments and regular liaison with external auditors and non-Finance colleagues.

Insurance Premium Tax return:-

Generation of monthly reports to calculate the IPT liability and aggregate to produce quarterly IPT return to be submitted to HMRC.

Capital adequacy / monitoring of regulatory capital and cash flow:-

Obtain an understanding of the factors affecting the insurer’s regulatory capital requirements and measure the admitted capital resources.
Calculate the regulated insurer’s Enhanced Capital Requirement on a quarterly basis using FSA prescribed parameters.
Understand and assess the Group's risk profile and calculate risk charges to assist in producing the firms Individual Capital Assessment report.

Financial Services Authority return:-

Following completion of the annual year-end accounts, prepare and submit the insurer’s returns to the FSA.

Statutory Returns:-

Periodic completion of returns for the NSO and the ABI which generally report on Premium written by type of business and the asset base of the regulated business.

Qualifications, Experience and attributes expected

Qualified accountant – ACA/CIMA/ACCA

Experience in Insurance and regulatory reporting an advantage

Strong Excel skills

Experience of Word, AS400 based systems; experience of data interrogation tools and Cognos planning is desirable

Clear written and oral communication skills

Ability to work/communicate with staff at all levels of the business including Board level

Ability to advise / influence non-Finance personnel

Ability to work to strict deadlines

Ability to make day to day accounting decisions and solve accounting issues and problems

Pay close attention to detail and have strong organisational skills

Have a naturally challenging and questioning persona and be willing to put forward ideas as to how systems and procedures could be updated / improved.