Finance Business Partner - London

We are looking for a Finance Business Partner to join our team in London. This is an exciting opportunity for an ambitious individual who wants to be part of a progressive, customer-centric team which works closely with the business to provide budget assurance and performance improvement whilst challenging and influencing the leadership teams in managing their areas., This role sits within the Finance Business Partner team which supports CMS leadership teams with accurate, timely, insightful and relevant financial planning advice to ensure the business is making informed business decisions to support its strategic growth plans. We aim to be an effective and efficient business partnering service, working in conjunction with other colleagues across the professional leadership team to drive strategy and deliver operational excellence.

In this role, you can expect to get involved in a variety of work including:

Financial Planning

• Annual planning and budgeting


• Quarterly reforecasting


• Executive Reporting to Senior Management in the Firm at regular Business Review Meetings


• Longer term strategic reviews of offices and teams to support profitable growth


Business Partnering

• Serving as the link between the Partnership and the Finance department.


• Proactively working with Office Managing Partners, Practice Group Leaders and their leadership teams and partners to provide financial expertise and support, e.g. attendance/presentations at partner and leadership meetings


• Providing financial mentoring and training to newly promoted partners/laterals/promotion candidates/new firm joiners.


• Engage with wider Finance projects/initiatives to be the PG/Region representative


• Providing necessary financial support to ensure strategic business development, client retention and increased client profitability within the practice groups (BD).


• In conjunction with the working capital team, keep abreast of any issues within the practice group and assist in resolution / meetings. Being able to articulate any budget risks of any significant working capital issues.


• Equity Review - understanding metrics


Financial Analysis

• Enabling the practice group and regions to achieve their objectives, make decisions and plan appropriately through the effective understanding and application of financial analysis.


• Delivery of monthly finance MI which contains insightful commentary and analysis. Monitoring performance against long-term strategic and short-term operational plans and assisting the partners formulate the necessary actions to be taken to achieve agreed financial targets.


• Effective presentation to practice group leadership teams. Conducting thorough annual financial reviews.


• Advising the practice groups in building business cases for required initiatives, such as lateral hires, practice area and geographic expansion


• In conjunction with Finance Business Partner colleagues, supporting the Financial Planning and Decision Support team in the overall financial management of the practice areas.


• Advanced ad-hoc analysis as required to help maximise profitability across the group around realisation, fee earner utilisation and working capital.


Commercial Finance Support

• Support the Commercial Finance team in executing the firm's pricing strategy through respective Practice Group stakeholders.


• Supporting the Commercial Finance team in key client reviews for client relationship partners who fall under respective practice group responsibilities.


Ad-Hoc

• Assisting in the design and evolution of Dashboards/MI


• Being the Finance lead on non-finance initiatives/projects


• Key part of recruitment process for all hires in your areas
  
  We will invest in your ongoing training and development to support your professional goals and help you to thrive in your role from day one. Our opportunities are open to all suitably qualified applicants, so to be considered for this role, you must meet the following skills and experience:



• ACCA / ACA / CIMA qualified with a minimum 4 years post qualified experience


• Experience with supporting and influencing senior stakeholders


• Advanced MS Office suite user (particularly Excel)


• Excellent written and verbal communication skills


• The ability to remain calm and focussed under pressure


• Excellent soft skills including the ability to influence or challenge senior stakeholders when necessary


• A continuous improvement mentality to support development of self, colleagues and business processes and interactions


• Attention to detail as well as an ability to see the bigger picture which considers any cross-business implications


• A collaborative team-player who is transparent and has a straight forward approach
  
  CMS is a Future Facing firm with more than 80 offices in over 45 countries and 5,800+ lawyers worldwide. We combine deep local market understanding with a global perspective. We are passionate about building strong relationships with our clients, our people, and the communities we work in.


We take a bold, dynamic, and agile approach to ensure our clients are able to face the future with confidence. We are driven by emerging technologies such as generative AI and readily embrace the possibilities it opens up for developing new and better ways of working. Our aim is to inspire, impact and support our clients and our people, helping them to maximize their potential and thrive.


• Competitive basic salary (reviewed annually)


• Flexible, hybrid working policy


• Generous bonus scheme


• Up to 25 days holiday (rising to 28 days with service)


• Holiday exchange scheme


• Private medical insurance


• Enhanced parental leave


• Reasonable adjustments and accommodation for disabled talent in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.