Head of Finance
Occupying a position below the board but with a huge amount of responsibility, the head of finance for a company is mainly responsible for gathering financial information from the business and reporting the data to the board. They might also be involved with decision making where finances are concerned, but they will usually have to defer to the CEO, COO or CFO, and might therefore be employed in an advisory role.
The head of finance will also be involved with forecasting, both in the company’s own activities and with regard to the region or wider world. While forecasts are not always strictly scientific, they must be informed and educated enough to make a case for the board to make spending and investment decisions on their basis.
In some head of finance jobs, there is, however, a good deal of autonomy to make decisions without daily reference to the board, within certain budgetary and projected constraints. It depends on the size and structure of the business.
Head of finance skills
As head of finance, you’ll have to be extremely adept at all manner of accountancy, bookkeeping, forecasting and reporting. Experience at a senior level within the financial department of a large business will stand you in good stead, although everyone has to start somewhere, so a specific head of finance title is not always requested, as long as you have a proven track record of financial management.
As far as qualifications are concerned, a BSc/BA in accounting or finance will often be a minimum requirement, but other related qualifications and experience will also be considered in many cases.
Head of Finance Jobs in Poole
If you think the word Poole has the same roots as the word “pool”, you’d be absolutely right, of course. The Devon town is on the South coast of England and is merged completely with Bournemouth to its east. In fact, the Bournemouth Arts University and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are located in Poole, although they are definitively two separate towns.
The west side of Poole faces a natural harbour (Upton and Creekmore Lakes) within a larger natural harbour, and ferries leave the south of the town for St Helier (Jersey), Cherbourg and St Peter Port (Guernsey). Shipping, sailing and ferries are therefore important industries in the town, and this inevitably leads to Head of Finance positions becoming available on a regular basis.
Although much of the town is now employed in the service industries, Poole does have a strong manufacturing heritage, and this still accounts for nearly a fifth of its employment. Again, this is good news for logistics, supply chain and procurement employment. The town is the base of motor yacht builder Sunseeker, which employs nearly 2000 people. Several companies have their HQs in Poole, including, bathroom consumables company Lush, lighting company Mathmos, plastics company sealed air and Hamworthy Heating and Combustion. Siemens also has a large presence in the town.
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Head of finance recruitment at Cast UK
When looking for the right person to fill such a key role in a business, you need as relevant a shortlist as possible so you can decide on the perfect one. That’s where Cast UK comes in. We only work with recruits at senior levels, so you can be sure that any candidates who have been through our filter will be relevant and ready to make a difference. Call 0333 121 3345 to speak to one of our experts.
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