Who are we?
Howden is a collective – a group of talented and passionate people all around the world. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 18,000 employees spanning over 100 countries.
People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.
What is the role?
We are looking for a Senior Finance Manager to join our Group Accounting team. This is a new role that will support increased demands arising from US GAAP and SOX implementation. The role would suit a person who would enjoy solving complex accounting questions in collaboration with other teams (e.g. local and divisional finance, legal, Tax IT, operations) both in the UK and internationally to find scalable solutions.
This is ideal for someone who understands what “good” looks like but can also find pragmatic, scalable solutions where feasible and think creatively while understanding, respecting, and clearly explaining constraints. You will be comfortable navigating complexity to bring clarity and invest effort to suggest and implement simplifications where possible. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants to participate in developing a finance function in a growing company as it matures, while retaining its entrepreneurial spirit.
Please note that this is a full-time, permanent role based in our Central London office. Following a hybrid-work pattern, the expectation is for you to be onsite 3 days per week on average.
What will you be doing?
1. Accounting papers, research, guidance and advice (US GAAP and IFRS):
Project manage, prepare and/or review accounting papers and advice for complex transactions or topics such as:
Business combinations (sometimes including reorganisations) – Howden Group is acquisitive, completing multiple transactions every quarter.
Intangible assets capitalisation (software implementation costs).
Involvement in various valuation elements like discount rates (helping with debt, equity and lease discount rates) and adjusting for local circumstances when needed; review of valuation prepared internally or by external experts; and valuation of minority equity interests and other FV instruments.
Impairment assessments (e.g. Goodwill, Intangible assets, investments in subsidiaries).
Lease accounting for non-standard/complex leases.
Financial instruments and share based payment - Potential involvement in policies and transactions related to financing, hedging, share based payments etc.
Review work prepared by other finance teams or junior colleagues with coaching and mentoring opportunities.
Potentially be involved in transactions structuring.
2. Accounting policies, GAAP, Chart of accounts:
US GAAP – participate in understanding, documenting, tracking and quantifying differences between IFRS and US GAAP.
Update and enhance accounting policies and keep track of differences between IFRS, US GAAP and FRS 102, and support others with application.
Build FAQs and track frequent questions which need to be corrected within the reporting process or answered / clarified within policies, and support subsidiaries with accounting and reporting queries and guide them through differences between local and Group accounting, helping them navigate reporting impacts.
CoA - Help maintain the Group chart of accounts (definitions, interaction with accounting policies and Key performance indicators KPIs).
FRS 102 – you may be involved in supporting local teams with guidance and pragmatic solutions for adopting changes to FRS 102 (mainly impacting leases and revenues) and aligning these to group accounting polices where possible.
Training and updates - provide training to divisional and local finance teams, helping them meet CPD requirements.
Contribute to preparation of financial reporting updates (key changes during the quarter, CPD resources etc).
3. Reporting and controls:
As part of strengthening our controls and uplifting documentation to a SOX standard, you will help us in transitioning parts of reporting into a more formally controlled processes, providing visibility of controls execution status.
Assist in monthly, quarterly and annual reporting and review of leases (entire Group).
Provide guidance to other teams to solve Group reporting and local application requirements.
Promote best practice control procedures and documentation with more junior team members and be proactive in suggesting control improvements.
Assist in providing post implementation support to local teams (IFRS16 reporting module).
Help with developing and testing additional and new reporting solutions.
Intangible assets – Assist in quarterly CAPEX analysis and help local teams critically assess and document capitalised costs against the accounting standards requirements and group accounting polices.
Business combinations – help with enhancing controls execution and documentation on acquisition process (mainly post-acquisition).
Group accounts - Assist in preparing / reviewing sections of Group accounts (annual and interim) e.g. M&A and lease disclosures and explore opportunities to simplify and enhance speed and quality of financial reporting processes.
Audit - Help proactively manage the audit process, support auditors and drive efficiencies in audit requests e.g. reducing number of emails, escalating issues and finding effective and efficient solutions with audit senior team members when required. Manage the flow of audit requests amongst the group accounting team.
Group support on statutory reporting - Support local teams with parental guarantees assessments and going concern support letters.
What are we looking for?
Expert knowledge of IFRS and good command of UK GAAP (and relevant UK Law to a lesser extent).
Experience with US GAAP and SOX would be highly valued.
Experience with large group consolidation in multi-currency environment.
Previous exposure to preparation or audit of consolidated accounts - understanding differences and connections between local (statutory) and group reporting.
Experience working with general ledger or consolidation systems would be very beneficial.
Plus significant working experience with majority of following topics:
Business combinations (IFRS 3 - determining consideration, review opening balance sheet, understanding fair value adjustments, determining goodwill)
Leases IFRS 16 (and differences with IAS 17)
Intangibles assets (IAS 38 internally developed assets, software implementation costs)
Equity investments and assessing different level of control / influence
Valuations (concepts and interaction with different standards)
Financial instruments (IFRS 9)
Share based payments (IFRS 2)·
What do we offer in return?
A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:
Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new
We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges
We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond
Reasonable adjustments
We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.
If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.
*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.
Permanent
