Finance Business Analyst

Job Purpose

The BA will form an integral part of the Finance Systems Team and focus on delivering change and ensuring continuity. Change will be driven by the needs identified and sanctioned by Management and supported by the BA’s knowledge, observations and experience. The types of projects will range from implementing accounting policy and best practices to specifying development requirements for both the accounting system and other integrated finance systems, including systems upgrades and implementations. Continuity will involve providing appropriate support on a “business as usual” basis to ensure that standard day- to-day operations are maintained and run smoothly. This will involve assisting individuals within the Global Finance Team and other Business Services functions by answering questions and resolving issues.

This position also requires strong technical, organisation, administration and analytical skills together with close attention to detail. The jobholder needs to have strong communication skills, both written and oral, with the ability to forge relationships with key stakeholders and senior members of the Finance and IT team.

Key Responsibilities

As a position in the Group Finance team, this role supports the implementation of global business objectives. This means working on specific projects from start to finish and translating ideas into tangible outcomes as well as dealing with day- to-day operational issues. This involves the following:

• Delivering solutions to decision makers and Finance clients in keeping with internal or external accounting policies and business drivers
• Promoting HFW’s on-going compliance with global fiscal and regulatory frameworks in current and future territories of operation
• Developing and implementing operational change across the Finance function whilst promoting best practices and maintaining internal controls
• Supporting the Finance leadership and Finance teams across the network in meeting key objectives
• Sharing knowledge with internal and external clients through formal and informal means

Principal Duties

• Project Delivery, Stakeholder Engagement & Business Analysis
  • Contribute to or manage ad hoc Finance or Finance-impacted projects outlined by Finance management, working from initial ideas and concepts through requirements gathering to proposal, design and delivery. Success will involve forming an understanding of the conceptual and practical implications of the need and applying critical thinking in a collaborative environment. The BA will often ‘own’ the change from inception to outcome.
  • Work closely with the finance systems developers and act as the key conduit between them and the key finance and IT personnel requesting the development change.
  • Partner with teams throughout the global Finance function and other Business Service departments to understand business needs with the aim of improving accuracy, efficiency and controls.
  • Contribute to the opening and setting up of new operations in the HFW network and restructuring of existing business units.
  • Work with the FP&A team to guide the direction of internal reporting output and the Group Financial Reporting team in respect of statutory external reporting and consolidations.
  • Collaborate with and cover for other Business Analysts.
  • Build and maintain relationships with Finance staff and other key stakeholders, to be able to assist with their education and to promote best practices and procedures in line with global finance policies.
  • Maintain relationships with relevant external suppliers and service providers.
• Finance Systems Expertise, Configuration & Reporting
  • Participate in accounting system and other finance systems upgrade projects (on premises or to the Cloud), including testing, training and documentation.
  • Write software test plans, carry out methodical testing and document results in close collaboration with the relevant SMEs.
  • Develop in-depth functional and operational knowledge of finance systems and policies to provide subject matter expertise to stakeholders across the business.
  • Research and understand current and future accounting and tax requirements in jurisdictions around the world and be able to interpret these into practical procedures and system processes.
  • Assist with accounting system configurations, which determine how transactions post to general and sub-ledgers and ensure integrity of data used for management reporting.
  • Understand the budgeting process and software tools and month-end & year-end management / financial accounts preparation process to be able to support the Finance Team.
  • Complete a matching exercise between existing customisations and new functionality on the latest version of the 3E accounting system in preparation for the cloud migration of 3E.
  • Perform month end reconciliations between the 3E Sub-ledger and the 3E general ledger. Also, review reconciliations between the 3E accounting system and other integrated finance systems.
  • Drive the direction of the systems design using industry best practice and specific 3E knowledge to inform discussions.
  • Review and document all existing accounting systems and other finance systems customisations.
• Training, Documentation, Controls & Governance
  • Support and train finance and other personnel globally on specialist finance and systems subject areas.
  • Update Elite 3E functional process documentation, including the 3E security process.
  • Document the overall IT systems environment and in particular any third-party applications that integrate with Elite 3E accounting system.
  • Perform regular analysis of reporting and dashboard output and design reviews and critically assess KPI / reporting specifications and ensure that all aspects are considered.
  • Review and implement the security requirements across all finance systems in line with the firm’s internal controls and policies.
    

Key Skills & Experience Required

• An experienced finance BA with a transactional systems background or a qualified accountant with a strong aptitude for finance systems
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in a similar role
• Understanding of accounting principles and group structures
• Good IT skills, including experience of, for example, MS Project and/or Visio, to create Gantt charts, flowcharts and process mapping etc. to document processes
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present to senior stakeholders
• A good knowledge of law firm finance systems. Ideally, Elite 3E and Chrome River
• Competent understanding of legal IT
• Good fact finding and investigation skills in particular round project issues
• Problem-solving skills with focus on creative, yet pragmatic solutions
• Flexibility to handle multiple projects simultaneously in an environment with shifting priorities
• Aptitude for learning and using financial and management information systems
• Essential knowledge of process management and standardisation
• Ability to adapt to and implement change, including interpreting requirements to deliver outcomes in line with the Firm’s policies
• Accuracy, timeliness and consistency
• Ability to train & empower finance and other staff on Finance-related topics, including policies and systems
• Initiative and desire to get the job done, with commitment to a high standard
• Proven stakeholder management, demonstrating the ability to work efficiently and effectively under pressure.
• Capable of building credibility, developing relationships and effectively communicating with law firm management by written and oral means

Additional Information

Kindly note that this job description is not contractual. It will be reviewed periodically and may be amended or altered to meet the needs of the firm.

HFW aims to ensure equality of opportunity and we are actively working towards improving the diversity of our staff.  All applications will be considered only on merit and the applicant’s suitability to meet the requirements of the role.

HFW collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants to manage its recruitment process.  The firm is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.  For information on how the firm will process your data, please see our Privacy Notice on our website (www.hfw.com/Privacy-Notice), in the section “What we collect and how we use it”.