RTR - Finance Controller

AA Confidential – Internal

AA Standard Job Description

Job Title:	Finance Manager – Operations
Dimensions:	Patrol operations revenue, costs and balance sheet
Reports to:	Roadside Financial Controller
Department:	Finance
Grade:
Function:	Finance
Date:
Location:	Basingstoke

Job Description Summary

This role will be responsible for the financial accounting of one of the AA’s largest business units and operational cost centres, Roadside Patrol Operations (£300m+ costs and 3,000+ headcount in FY25). This role will work within the Financial Control team, supporting the Roadside Financial Controller to ensure accurate management accounting and financial reporting across the Roadside Patrol Operations division and governance over its numbers. In addition, the role will support the Fleet commercial team within Roadside to provide analytical insight supporting decision making on the Group’s Fleet strategy that is being undertaken.

Responsibilities

1. Managing the completion of month end for the Roadside Patrol Operations division and the Group’s leased vehicle Fleet (including Patrol vehicles, Driving Schools tuition vehicles and company cars). Posting journals and reviewing those posted by others, controlling accruals and prepayments and analysing actuals. Ensuring accuracy of the month end and reporting process and achieving all deadlines.
2. Act as key member of the Roadside Patrol Operations Finance team, including supporting the Fleet commercial team within Roadside to provide analytical insight supporting decision making on the Group’s Fleet strategy that is being undertaken.
3. Preparing month end reports with analysis and commentary on the results (financial, KPI, balance sheet and cashflow). Ensuring the validity, accuracy and integrity of the monthly accounts.
4. Completion of all balance sheet reconciliations and financial control requirements for the role, review of balance sheet reconciliations prepared by others.
5. Reviewing, understanding, robustly challenging and ensuring documentation of all Roadside Patrol Operations and Fleet financial processes including manual month end processes, as well as those performed by the direct report to this role.
6. Act as the Key Roadside Patrol Operations finance lead when partnering into the central Controls team with the rollout of the Controls framework.
7. Ensuring correct accounting governance adhered to within the department (e.g. revenue recognition, lease accounting, provisions, changes in accounting guidance/standards etc). Handling technical accounting queries for the Roadside Patrol Operations division.
8. Consolidating forecast and budget submissions from the business and controlling their input into the planning and consolidation system, ensuring accuracy and timeliness achieved. Forecasting the Roadside Patrol Operations and Fleet balance sheet and cash flows.
9. Working with the wider finance teams to continually improve processes, automate and align reporting.
10. Cash flow reporting and work alongside the Treasury function to develop cash reporting processes.
11. Ensuring month end and reporting tasks are achieved within allowable deadlines.
12. Being the primary Roadside Patrol Operations finance contact for external auditors both at year end and interim audits. Providing technical accounting responses to auditor challenge and dealing with audit requests.
13. Managing, training and reviewing the work from the direct reports.
14. Supporting the Group’s ongoing controls project and implementation of the resulting new/improved processes.
15. Ad hoc projects and involvement to support the wider Finance team.

Job Ref:
To be completed by HR

Evaluation date:
page 1 of 3

Health and Safety Requirements

Conduct yourself, and carry out work, to ensure compliance with the Company’s Health, Safety and Environmental Policies.

Conduct Risk

All employees must strive to manage conduct risk in order that the AA can continue to deliver good outcomes for our customers. For guidance on managing conduct risk, please refer to the AA's Conduct Risk Policy, found in the policy library on the internet.

The Individual

Capability, Knowledge and Experience:

• Advanced professional knowledge of accounting principles and practices
• Advanced understanding and experience of lease accounting
• Highly numerate and analytical with good communication skills, both verbal and written
• Highly IT literate and forward thinking when it comes to technology adoption
• A background of technical skills (e.g. Excel, VBA, SQL) and of working with ERP systems (e.g. SAP, BPC)
• Commercially minded
• Enthusiastic and ambitious, with lots of energy
• Proactive approach to problem solving and drives issues to conclusion
• Have excellent interpersonal skills and be able to work well in a team environment
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to work independently
• Ability to manage and train other finance staff
• The successful candidate would build knowledge and experience in understanding the drivers of AA Products performance whilst grounding knowledge of core controllership in accounting

Education and Qualifications:

• Graduate level education
• Chartered accountant with at least 3 years experience in an accounting environment.

Personal Characteristics:

• Adaptable and flexible, with the ability to prioritise, manage and deliver under tight or conflicting deadlines
• An innate curiosity & desire to understand and challenge
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy
• Tough and resilient
• Initiative to find solutions and improve ways of working

Job Ref:
To be completed by HR

Evaluation date:
page 2 of 3

Main Tasks:

• Month end: Journals preparation and review
• Managing month end process ensuring deadlines are hit
• Variance analysis and explaining results
• Month end commentary, P&L, Balance Sheet and cashflow
• Managing direct reports
• Balance Sheet reconciliation both preparing and reviewing
• Audit: Completing audit requests
• Managing audit to ensure deadlines are maintained
• Partnering with our internal controls team
• Managing any adhoc projects

Job Ref:
To be completed by HR

Evaluation date:
page 3 of 3

AA Confidential – Internal