Head of Financial Compliance in Chester House, Epsom Ave, Handforth, Cheadle, Greater Manchester, SK9 3DF

Whilst we have been established for over 30 years, our evolution continues on our journey to be the best pet care business in the world. Combining new business leadership with new clinical leadership, our ambition to become a lead authority in petcare, both internally and externally is core to our brand.

Key to this are our veterinary teams who operate independently through our unique Joint Venture (JV) model. Our unique model enables our JV Partners to own their practices whilst benefitting from continued investment in practice facilities, clinical equipment and a clinical focus underpinned by evidenced-based medicine and continuous improvement.

We are looking for a talented Head of Financial Compliance to join our Veterinary business, reporting to our Finance Director.

About the role

As Head of Financial Compliance, you will be responsible for overseeing the Veterinary business compliance and joint venture management accounting functions.

You will ensure compliance with complex accounting standards, oversee monthly accounting for joint venture & group owned veterinary practices and provide technical advice & guidance to the team.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Acting as main point of contact for matters in relation to Vet Group related complex accounting standards and their application at a PLC level – including but not limited to IFRS9/10/15/16
• Ensuring all statutory filings are accurate and submitted/paid on a timely basis for group entities and Joint Venture Partnerships, along with being the main point of contact for the external auditors and ensuring a smooth audit process
• Overseeing the monthly accounting for circa 500 joint venture and group owned veterinary practices, and subsequent periodic management accounts
• Ensuring all transactions within the veterinary practice companies are correctly accounted for in line with both UK GAAP and IFRS and provide technical advice and guidance to the team as needed

About your experience

This is a fantastic opportunity for a qualified accountant who holds several years post qualified experience (PQE), a relevant technical background and has spent time in a leadership role.

The Head of Financial Compliance role requires the following skills and experience;

• A detailed knowledge and demonstrable experience of applying both IFRS and UK accounting standards – existing and new implementation
• Experience with small company accounts, including corporate structures and Companies Act compliance
• Stakeholder management – Internal and External
• Working VAT and tax knowledge
• Team management – development of a small team, including Apprenticeship mentoring
• Technical Finance – An expert in Audit & Accounting
• An established background of Business Partnering
• Planning and monitoring ability

Our diversity and inclusion vision is that everyone is welcome and feels part of our group. If you think you’re a good match to what we are looking for, and you share our belief that together ‘we’re better with pets’, we’d like to hear from you, whatever your background or circumstances.

About our purpose

Far more than a retailer, Pets at Home Group is the UK’s leading pet care specialist, fulfilling every possible pet and owner need, from food and accessories to grooming and vet services. Since 1991, we’ve been building a business around pets and their owners and we’ve set our sights on becoming the best pet care business in the world. Join us now and you can be part of that journey, developing your future as we develop ours. This is a place where you can take pride and passion in your work within an inspiring, professional team that’s focused on supporting pets and their owners to live happier lives together.

We’re driven by the wellbeing of pets and we make sure we look after our people too. We depend on your commitment and innovation, and reward it with competitive pay and comprehensive benefits. Together we’ll create the future of pet care.