Finance Manager

**Job title** _Finance Manager _(Benelux)

**Location** Paris

**About us**

We are an entrepreneurial integrated communications agency that has gone from start-up to multi-national in just 22 years. We have grown every year since foundation due to a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. We have a network of 24 offices, 700+ employees worldwide. Not bad for an agency that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

What’s behind our success? Well, we’re independent so we can continually reinvest the majority of our profits in the company to propel development. We invest wisely in growth areas such as our social, digital and content teams. We challenge ourselves to stay one step ahead of the competition by delivering innovative solutions for clients which can be activated at pace and scale.

We are agile, bold, collaborative, inquisitive and spirited. We are TEAM LEWIS. And we believe that we are on the cusp of something truly remarkable in our industry.

**Purpose of role**

The purpose of the Finance Manager (Benelux) role is to oversee and control the financial operations of the Benelux region. This person will work closely with the regional office heads as well as the regional finance and operations staff to ensure the finance tasks and responsibilities are completed in a timely and accurate manner.

**Key relationships**
- Financial Controller (Paris) - line manager
- CCO / Head of Finance (London)
- Regional Finance/Operation Executives (local offices - Benelux)
- Office Heads & MD’s (local offices - Benelux)
- Local advisors
- External parties: suppliers, customers and auditors

**Responsibilities / tasks**
- Month end and management accounts_
- Prepares revenue analysis for the region ( France, Netherlands and Belgium) in line with month end timetable
- Reviews expenditure for all offices in the region against forecast/prior month and explain all variances sufficiently
- Reviews and finalises revenue and expenditure analysis for the region
- Reconciles Balance Sheet accounts for all entities on a monthly basis and ensures all amounts are current and accurate
- Support Financial Controller along monthly closing
- Accounts payable and accounts receivable cycle_
- Reviews and approves all retainer and project invoices. Ensures all retainer invoices are prepared on ‘billing day’ and project invoices are raised weekly
- Takes ultimate responsibility for the aged debt ledgers, reviews aged debt report and supports debt chasing where required. Alerts account teams of potential problematic debts in a timely manner. Coaches' debt chasers on effective collection techniques. Steps in and helps immediately when a debt becomes difficult to collect
- Ensures all purchase invoices are input on a timely basis by local finance/ops staff
- Reviews all client and supplier business partners on a monthly basis, ensures balances are fully reconciled and any issues are dealt with in a timely manner
- Reviews and approves bi-monthly payment runs. Approves ad-hoc payments as and when required
- Reviews and approves monthly employee expense report for the region, investigates any unusual claims. Reviews employees BP to ensure no debit balances are held on account
- Treasury and cash management_
- Monitors cash balances on a regular basis. Ensures sufficient funds are available for payment of suppliers, taxes and monthly payroll
- Reviews fortnightly bank reconciliations prepared by Finance Executives ensuring reconciling items are cleared off and bank reconciliations are accurate, ensures any issues are dealt with in a timely manner
- Team support_
- This role has two direct reports (Finance Executives). You will be required to ensure all finance related tasks are completed for the region
- Ensures Finance Executives are supported and receive relevant training to fulfil the finance aspect of their role in line with expectations
- Provides feedback to their line manager prior to bi-annual appraisals being held
- Provides support and guidance to junior members of staff within the region as and when required
- Provides training on finance processes to all employees across the region
- Payroll_
- Ensures payroll is processed and paid for all markets on time
- Ensures all social security and other payroll taxes are paid on time
- Posts monthly payroll journal and ensures all payroll accounts are reconciled on a regular basis
- Investigates any differences with payroll advisors and challenges anomalies in the payroll and quickly resolves queries
- Other responsibilities_
- Reviews and approves monthly and quarterly VAT returns, ensuring returns for both markets are submitted and payments are made on time. Ensures the VAT account is reconciled on a monthly/quarterly basis
- Supports preparing monthly ClickTime reports
- Assists in the group year-end audit process being the first point of contact for all queries for the region
- Assists in the preparation of local annual accounts and tax returns
- Completes ad