Job Purpose: The Financial Controller NW Europe (UK, Ireland & Israel), is the top finance role in this £100 million region of the Smiths Detection global business and plays a key member part of the Northwest Europe leadership team, reporting to Finance Director, Global Financial Services (Division) along with business partnering with the Northwest Europe Market Head.
The region is trail-blazing with significant contracts for UK MOD, Israeli government and many of the major UK & Ireland airports. The business is both a sales & service hub and also a technology development centre and manufacturer of certain Detection products.The primary task is to have full financial responsibility by overseeing all financial all financial planning and analysis activities, maintaining strong Internal Controls and is an enabler and advisor to add insight, challenge and help shape the business.  The Financial Controller is the lead finance business partner for the region’s commercial team, with ownership for financial reporting, financial analysis, business insight and strategic planning. This will include driving the strategic plan, rolling forecast and annual budget preparation, as well as supporting the team with on major bids and program & service contracts. The role is also responsible for financial and other assessments of capital expenditure and investment proposals.The role has complete responsibility for the financial stewardship of the accounting & financial operations for the region. This includes production of the financial reports, maintenance of the accounting records, controls and budgets in order to ensure that the reported results comply with company policies and international financial reporting standards.The role will be a member of the Hemel Leadership Team (HLT) with accountability for local site- and employee-engagement activities, and should also act as a role model to their finance team by exemplifying high motivation and standards, collaboration, and be an agent for positive change. A key focus will be developing and growing the diverse talent in the finance team.Duties:Financial leadershipMember of the Detection Northwest Europe Senior Leadership Team and responsibility for Detection Northwest Europe financial leadership.Communicate and present financial results and plans to Smiths Detection management and other stakeholders, Conduct Commercial / Market Review on monthly basis.Provide financial leadership to NW Europe reporting on order intake, revenue, profitability & cash – both the historic & forecast position, ensuring finance is represented appropriately on all key project boards and decision-making panels.Finance Stewardship and Team ManagementDrive financial priorities on working capital, pricing or margin improvement and cost saving targets, ensuring the senior management team are provided with quality navigation, forecasting and business planning information that focuses decision making to maximise profit and cash.  Ensure focus on targets to drive process changes to optimise outcomes, including inventory.Ensure that a robust internal control framework, consistent with Group policies, is in place for financial reporting and to protect company assets and Intellectual Property. Fully support the modernisation & improvement of the controls in accordance with the global framework.Run the Detection Northwest Europe finance team and provide finance advisory services to Detection UK, Detection Ireland and Detection Israel, applying Smiths values and setting a tone of continuous improvement.   Supervise, manage, and develop finance team members.  Proactive talent coaching and succession planning, to ensure that the finance team develops the skills, experience and expertise to drive business forward.Business PartnerLead the financial value assessment and review of all commercial activities for the UK, Ireland & Israel region: bids, tenders, program & service contracts, execution and delivery to budget, deep dive management & operations reviews. Ensure close commercial interaction between the finance function and the regional leadership, in order to understand, influence & ultimately approve commercial activities, business decision-making and risk management to secure anticipated margins.  Review cost sheets and review packs and present them to Divisional SLT alongside the Market Head.Business Case responsibility for the verification of major capital expenditures requests, benefit assumptions and post completion reviewsContribute proactively and creatively to the development of business strategies, consistent with Smiths Detection objectives & strategy, and convert these strategies into executable plans, including tools such as benchmarking. This includes demand and resource allocation processes, market, customer and product pricing assessments, and profitability or channel to market value assessment. Assess on a regular basis whether the region has sufficiently aligned its resources in order to achieve its strategic and commercial objectives.Accounting & Financial OperationsFinancial Reporting responsibility (both internal and external) for timely & accurate month, interim and year end close activities for each entity in the UK, Ireland & Israel region including Division/Group reporting and related disclosures in the Oracle consolidation system. Ad hoc reporting such as Treasury (Bonds & Guarantees, Hedging, FX, and Cash Pooling), UK GAAP, IFRS and FRS disclosures & analyses, Tax and Compliance. Understand and explain results, produce management KPI reports and ensure required functions are provided with quality navigation, forecasting and business planning tools and procedures that focus on decision making to maximise revenue, profit and cash.Preparation and management of the entity planning and forecasting process and annual budgets (in co-ordination with Sales, Service, Program, HR) and ensuring timely submission into Onyx. Ownership of strategic plan along with Market Head. Understand and explain commercial drivers and financial impacts in the monthly Market Reviews, annual Strategic Plan and Budget processes to senior leadership.Compliance and Process ImprovementDrive process and system improvements and create a continuous improvement culture to aid transparency and decision-making.Responsibility for establishing, implementing, and maintaining financial reporting systems and processes to comply with local regulations and divisional policies.  Ensure the companies within the region are compliant with accounting, tax (both direct and indirect) regulations (filings, assessments) and act as a leader for compliance activities within the market, alongside the Market Head and working closely with Legal and HR.Ensure that there is an effective risk management process in place to mitigate key problems and issues and fulfil all statutory reporting & filing requirements for the legal entities in the region.Management within Global and Cross-Functional TeamAudit: Primary responsibility for managing the UK, Ireland and Israel entities' relationship with external and internal auditors, and tax advisors.Treasury: manage portfolio of bank guarantees, hedging and basic cash management.Tax: Implement recommended tax structures including VAT and lntrastat reporting, for all entities and Israel & Irish Branches within the region, including Irish RCT compliance.Policies & Procedures: Ensure the business is compliant with all of Smiths Group and Smiths Detection policies and procedures, such as delegation of authority, expense procedures, capex applications, foreign exchange, etc. Complying with and promoting all relevant legal requirements & Smiths policies and procedures, including business ethics, data protection and health & safety.
