Regional Finance Controller
Purpose of the role
The Regional Financial Controller is a senior level manager responsible for the full spectrum of accounting, financial reporting, statutory audit, tax, cashflow and working capital planning and management. This is a crucial role and is responsible for enhancing and improving financial data accuracy and operations, overlooking governance to enhance the accuracy of the month-end and quarterly flash reporting by schools with the provision of meaningful business anecdotes.
Reports to:
Regional Finance Director
Location:
Bangalore/ Hyderabad
ISP Principles
Begin with our children and students.
Our children and students are at the heart of what we do. Simply, their success is our success. Wellbeing and safety are both essential for learners and learning. Therefore, we are consistent in identifying potential safeguarding and Health & Safety issues and acting and following up on all concerns appropriately.
Treat everyone with care and respect.
We look after one another, embrace similarities and differences and promote the well-being of self and others.
Operate effectively.
We focus relentlessly on the things that are most important and will make the most difference. We apply school policies and procedures and embody the shared ideas of our community.
Are financially responsible.
We make financial choices carefully based on the needs of the children, students and our schools.
Learn continuously.
Getting better is what drives us. We positively engage with personal and professional development and school improvement.
ISP Key Responsibilities
Statutory Reporting
- Review and control to ensure financial transactions are recorded accurately in the ISP Group transactional and consolidation system NetSuite, in accordance with IFRS
- Review financial statements produced by the schools, P&L, Balance sheet and cash flows, in a statutory format, including regular reconciliation to internal management reporting
- Conduct quarterly balance sheet reviews, providing useful explanations for significant variances
- Review intercompany balances, to ensure full counterparty elimination, where possible, on regional and group consolidation
- These duties are performed in collaboration with local School Finance Managers for all schools, and in direct responsibility for the management entities.
Control and Compliance
- Establish and maintain an adequate internal control and compliance environment to ensure external and internal reporting is free of material misstatement
- Maintain ISP accounting policies, ensure implementation in schools and communicate updates when applicable
- Maintain a documented system of policies and procedures across the schools in the region
- Establish and maintain strong control around credit collections for the schools
- First point of contact with Group and support for School Finance managers with the annual audit of the legal entities.
- Monitor and follow up on external audit issues and implement recommended improvements
- Ensure accounting treatment is consistent and aligned with Group accounting policies. Where there are local differences, maintain a reconciliation of locally reported figures to Group reported
- Ensure all external statutory, financial and tax filings are made in accordance with required deadlines
- Ensure schools have an accurate and updated fixed asset register
Cash Flow and Capex
- Collate and report local bank balances weekly
- Consolidate and report cash collections weekly
- Review cash collections against targets
- Collate, review and report cash flows on a monthly basis
- Responsible for ensuring that local cash management is optimised
- Ensure cash pooling is in place where possible
- Ensure capital expenditure are recorded and reported for all major projects and assess the impact of significant cash outflows on cash forecasts
- Working with the ISP Group Head of Treasury to ensure that cash flows are forecast accurately, and that surplus cash is repatriated to Group as needed
Tax
- Assist to develop strategies, policies and plans to ensure that the schools are fully tax compliant
- Work with ISP Group Head of Tax on group tax matters such as transfer pricing and tax reporting, ensuring that the tax profile of the region is optimised
- Ensure the policy, procedures and practices relating to taxation comply fully with all legal and regulatory requirements and codes of practice /conduct
- Liaise with external tax advisors as appropriate
- Maintain a good technical knowledge of relevant tax policies and processes
Systems
- Assist in the implementation and adoption of the ISP core accounting platform, NetSuite, and support other key ISP core system implementations.
- Provide feedback, suggestions and input from the region to help develop the systems and facilitate efficient and consistent finance processes and reporting across the region.
- Be the NetSuite super user for the region being the first point of contact for the school
- Ensure schools use NetSuite properly and in line with group policies and procedures. Liaise with ISP NetSuite team to organise training when needed.
Onboarding
- Work closely with the ISP group finance team ensure that acquired schools are integrated into ISP processes and ISP reporting in a timely manner
- Implement ISP’s accounting policies and other group policies
- Assist in gathering sufficient information to support calculations and accounting entries for Group acquisition accounting for new acquisitions.
- Maintain Fair Value accounting
Safeguarding
- A key finance representative for ISP in the region
- Manage the network of School Finance Managers and support controlling processes. Help organize common processes and guide a team to perform according to deadlines
- Develop a partnering approach to the school teams, providing guidance, training and technical accounting support
- Ensure that finance control capability in the region and schools is continually improved
Skills, Qualifications And Experience
- Qualified Chartered Accountant
- Strong understanding of tax, statutory accounting and financial control best practices for the region
- Strong technical accounting skills including a good knowledge of IFRS
- Fluent in English.
- Comfortable in setting policy and direction Flexibility, multi-tasking mindset and an ability to deal with shifting priorities
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships at senior levels of the organisation and influence key stakeholders.
- Ability to understand the business context to draw an appropriate balance between control and giving schools freedom to operate
- Ideally will possess some international experience
- Flexibility and willingness to travel across the region
ISP Commitment to Safeguarding Principles
ISP is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.All post holders are subject to appropriate vetting procedures, including an online due diligence search, references and satisfactory Criminal Background Checks or equivalent covering the previous 10 years’ employment history.
ISP Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
ISP is committed to strengthening our inclusive culture by identifying, hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing teammates regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender expression, age, disability status, neurodivergence, socio-economic background or other demographic characteristics. Candidates who share our vision and principles and are interested in contributing to the success of ISP through this role are strongly encouraged to apply.
