What will you contribute? The Group Reporting Lead reports to the Head of External Reporting. You will join a high performing team that encompasses External Reporting, Subsidiary Reporting, Accounting, Finance Shared Services and Finance Transformation. You will be a highly driven individual committed to continuous improvement for yourself, the role and the team, and you will maintain the high reputation of the Reporting team across the organization. Located in our Paddington, London office the role is part of a team of 4 split between the US and the UK. Responsibilities & Deliverables: Your responsibilities and deliverables will include, but are not limited to, the following: External and Management Reporting Assist with the preparation of timely and accurate monthly, quarterly, and annual statutory reporting Completing key working papers as part of the month end close process and taking ownership for particularly complex areas including the production of the cash flow statement (statutory and management views), exceptional costs and provisions Support the Head of external reporting in the preparation of the Annual Report, Financial Statements and footnotes, and the quarterly abbreviated Financial Statements Support coordinating the annual external audit process with both auditors and Finastra employees ensuring that all deliverables are clearly defined and delivered to timetable Work with finance business partners and general counsel to ensure group bonus accruals, restructuring and legal provisions are complete and accurate Prepare the Lender and Covenant reporting provided to Investor Relations each quarter. Provide insight into key items such as cashflow and working capital where required by the Investor Relations team Complete the annual goodwill impairment testing and technical memo. Act as the lead for this area of the external audit, including liaising with the external audit technical team and external valuation experts where required Oversee the quarterly “future revenue” reporting by partnering with teams globally to aggregate the data and provide meaningful insight to Investor Relations Be an expert user of all group accounting software used for consolidation and reporting Daily interfaces with colleagues across Finance including Treasury, Tax, FP&A, Accounting, Investor Relations, Internal Audit, Procurement and Finance Shared Services providing real time data and insight to drive business performance Act as a mentor to junior team members and contribute to the “Drop Everything And Learn” monthly development meetings Change In partnership with Accounting, assessing, documenting and resolving the accounting impacts of significant and complex transactions in advance of publishing disclosures in external reporting Monitoring reporting policy developments from the IASB and FASB, assessing any impact on the group and recommending accounting policies and disclosure improvements through the quarterly Accounting Committee Assist the CAO and the Head of external reporting with ad hoc special projects as required Controls Approve journal entries for exceptional items, capitalization, and group adjustment entries Work with finance business partners to ensure exceptional items are correctly captured and restructuring projects are appropriately signed off We are looking for a candidate who: Is naturally optimistic, is inquisitive and operates with urgency and confidence Takes pride in delivering a high quantity of high-quality output that drives performance Enjoys working in a fast-paced constantly changing environment and works well under pressure and to inflexible deadlines Is confident leading change by influencing others to a particular course of action Has superb project management skills and can ensure that internal teams and third parties hit deadlines without fail. Possesses excellent communication skills (written and verbal) Has advanced excel skills (macros, pivot tables, vlookup etc) Required Experience: Qualified Accountant with in-depth working knowledge of IFRS 3 to 4 years of relevant work experience including public company accounting and controls Experience of software, financial services and private equity will be a significant advantage