Financial Planning & Analysis Section Manager - Motorcycles & Power Products
At Honda we embrace inclusion in our policies, so whilst our contracts state that the hours are as required to fulfil the role with a minimum of 35 hours per week, we offer flexibility for when you work. The regular office hours are 08:00 – 16:00 Monday to Thursday with a half hour lunch break and 08:00 – 13:00 on a Friday. Flexible start times are available between 07:00 and 11:00, subject to business requirements. There is no contractual right to work from home, but you may request to work from home 2 days per week, again subject to business requirements.
Role
The HME-Finance European FP&A team is responsible for the analysis of monthly results, budgeting and forecasting (short and long term), and general commercial finance decision support for the European business. The team supports both Head Office and the wider European region, aiming to maximise profit and achieve budget accuracy. This role sits within the management reporting and analysis section and is responsible for delivering these requirements for the Motorcycle (MC) and Power Products (PP) divisions. Responsibilities include budgeting & forecasting, monthly analysis of results, and ad hoc financial support to the Head Office business. It manages one Finance Specialist. The team collaborates with Finance Operations on the month-end process and highlights areas requiring attention.
Main Responsibilities
* Analysis of Actual Results: collaborate with Financial Operations to ensure accuracy of period-end closings for Head Office/HME-Central, provide business expertise, and support the Department manager in reviewing final output; deliver timely performance analysis and reporting to senior stakeholders; work with Business Planning teams to understand division results and identify improvement opportunities (including Balance Sheet).
* Ensure data quality with the wider Finance team; highlight key business performance risks, issues and opportunities and interpret results to enable decision-making and target achievement.
* Work with BP to understand root causes of issues and propose improvements to performance and control; conduct FX impact analysis as directed; contribute to Sox controls related to analysis and reporting; circulate monthly MC PCA and PP equivalents as required and summarise for leadership.
* Produce Monthly Operating Report (MOR) content, particularly MC content.
Budgeting and Forecasting
* Coordinate MC and PP budgeting processes for the European region with FP&A and BP teams, ensuring alignment with division objectives and guiding budget preparers.
* Support Head Office MC and PP teams in budget preparation; contribute to MC and PP GA budgets for Head Office; ensure branch GA is prepared accurately and consistently.
* Monitor budget performance, review SGA budgets for quality, and challenge assumptions where appropriate; perform GP accuracy checks and model scenarios to test robustness and identify profit opportunities.
* Support Balance Sheet budgeting, including loan forecasts; assist in preparation of budget packs and leadership presentations; collaborate with central FP&A to finalise the European region budget pack.
* Identify root causes of budget variances to improve forecasting accuracy and promote tools to increase budget precision (e.g., ABB, risk and ops logs).
Performance Management
* Support business reviews with HME divisions; prepare financial projections using Niguri (sales and supply planning tool) as required; consider rolling forecasts where applicable.
* Work with Department Managers, HME divisions and FP&A to develop profit-improvement plans and follow up with entities; monitor KPIs across branches; promote understanding of cost drivers and cost control.
* Partner with the Finance team to drive process improvements in working capital management.
Commercial Finance Support
* Act as the key Finance contact for MC and PP divisions; contribute financial expertise to relevant projects; assess ROI for investments and support internal/external audits; participate in projects such as trade S4 and budget software replacement as directed.
Leadership and Improvement
* Lead, manage, motivate and develop the FP&A team (managing 1 direct report); continuously improve systems and processes, pursue automation and self-serve capabilities, stay current with industry trends, and propose FP&A improvements.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience
* Qualifications: Qualified accountant – CIMA/ACCA/ACA
* Skills: Strong team player, ability to motivate under pressure; excellent communication and presentation; detail-oriented; able to bridge finance/non-finance gaps across Europe; well-organised with a flexible approach; pan-European experience desirable; proven record of FP&A process improvement; proactive in identifying customer requirements.
* Experience: FP&A tasks; SAP/ERP and advanced Excel skills desirable.
* Additional attributes: Industry experience or strong product interest; curiosity for new tech solutions (Power BI, Power Query, RPA, AI); some European travel may be required but not frequent.
Honda is committed to equal opportunity and fosters a diverse, inclusive workforce. We recruit, hire, train and promote based on qualifications and merit, without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or any other protected characteristic.
Seniority level Mid-Senior level
Employment type Full-time
Job function Finance and Sales
Industries Motor Vehicle Manufacturing
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