Financial Controller in Dublin

Established in 1992, Applegreen is a leading convenience roadside retailer in the Republic of Ireland, the UK and the US in both large-scale Motorway Service Areas and Travel Plazas, as well as smaller petrol stations. The business has grown to over €3BN in annual revenue, operating over 600 Motorway Service Plazas and forecourt sites internationally and employing over 15,000 people. Our products and services include large scale food and beverage operations, convenience stores, roadside refuelli

Established in 1992, Applegreen is a leading convenience roadside retailer in the Republic of Ireland, the UK and the US in both large-scale Motorway Service Areas and Travel Plazas, as well as smaller petrol stations. The business has grown to over €3BN in annual revenue, operating over 600 Motorway Service Plazas and forecourt sites internationally and employing over 15,000 people. Our products and services include large scale food and beverage operations, convenience stores, roadside refuelli Show more

• Proven track record of delivering to tight deadlines
• Demonstrate strong analytical capability

Role Introduction:

Established in 1992, Applegreen is a leading convenience roadside retailer in the Republic of Ireland, the UK and the US in both large-scale Motorway Service Areas and Travel Plazas, as well as smaller petrol stations. The business has grown to over €3BN in annual revenue, operating 600 Motorway Service Plazas and forecourt sites internationally and employing over 16,000 people.

Financial Controller ROI is responsible for core finance deliverables of ensuring financial results are robust and accurate and provide assurance on Policies and Procedures to ensure compliance with corporate and statutory financial policies. They will lead all Internal & External Audit Support, Balance Sheet Reviews and Control to ensure accurate management accounts for all ROI Retail Operations. This role will form part of the ROI Finance Leadership Team and reports to the Finance Director ROI.

This is very much a hand's on leadership role and will cover all aspects of the ROI Operations. As such candidates need to be comfortable working with multiple stakeholders over all aspects of the business. The role will have 3 direct reports and an overall team of 7 including working closely with our SSC partners in India.

Key Responsibilities:

As Applegreen expands, the responsibilities will evolve and change over time. The core responsibilities will centre around the following areas:

Business Support & Assurance

· Review of period end close to ensure SAP best practice is applied for postings to GL and ensuring all required reconciliations are in place.

· Control and assurance over all provisions for ROI and management of issues as they arise ensuring issues are identified early and mitigated.

· Identification and mitigation of risks to the business and reported numbers.

· Lead cost reviews and analysis to support reducing operational costs and support the establishment and enforcing of policies and procedures at Head Office.

· Lead the annual audit process for ROI coordinating close and audit completion with Group Finance Audit team ensuring deadlines are adhered to.

· Coordinate any internal audit reviews as they arise and review of any findings and action points are addressed.

· Lead reviews and preparation for Audit Committee Meetings working closely with Finance Director ROI and Head of Internal Audit.

· Review balance sheet reconciliations and follow-up action points bringing reviews and actions to Finance Director for Review.

· Lead preparation and submission of any Tax/Revenue reporting including VAT returns for ROI.

· Act as a professional accounting focal point within the business ensuring best practice is implemented across the businesses financial processes.

Governance, Policies and Procedures

· Ensure the division adheres to all Group Policies as set out by Group Finance Team.

· Lead review and compliance for RBAC (roles-based access control) for SAP ensuring IT general controls around provisioning, access and segregation of duties are enforced.

· Ensure the ICFR (Internal Control & Financial Reporting Control) and Financial Basics Policy is enforced and reviewed for ROI.

· Review with Finance Director key accounts and judgement areas to ensure reporting numbers are robust and reliable, ensuring no surprises in reported numbers.

· Completion of quarterly self-assessment of controls and balance sheet and report any issues that arise.

Cash Forecast & Working Capital

· Lead preparation of monthly cash flow and forecast for ROI ensuring a robust process in place to support cash reporting and review of working capital.

· Monitoring and review of working capital balances ensuring working capital is maximised.

· Accelerate initiatives to maximise working capital across stock, debtors and creditors reporting progress monthly.

Payroll

· Lead the Payroll team for ROI/UK for sites payroll ensuring controls are in place over the preparation, processing and payment of payroll weekly.

· Ensure that Success Factors (Core Connect) is fully embedded in the business and that the payroll process is well controlled and robust.

· Monitor the performance of outsourced payroll provider ensuring controls reliance and adequate segregation of duties in place.

P2P Process

· Work closely with Financial Controllers, Accounts Payable Manager and Finance Director in reviewing P2P processes and improvements and aligning deliverables to support project with SAP COE Team.

· Oversee day-to-day financial operations focused initially on P2P and accounts payable and associated general ledger activities.

· Ensure timely and accurate processing of financial transactions in accordance with established policies and procedures.

· Monitor financial performance metrics and KPIs to identify areas for improvement and drive operational efficiencies.

Team Management

· Manage team objectives and ensure coordination and alignment with full ROI Team and Group Finance Teams for month end reporting and year end.

Projects and Ad hoc

· Support key projects as required across the business to ensure

· SAP developments Identify and drive process improvements, including the creation of standard and ad-hoc reports within SAP and Excel dashboards to support business insight and control.

· Optimise reports produced by team to ensure they are accurate and deliver insightful analysis for business users.

The Candidate should have the following:

Qualifications, experience & skills

An accountancy qualification (ACA, CIMA or ACCA) with significant PQE in a similar role.

Additional key skills & attributes:

· A dynamic individual who adapts well to change and can thrive in a rapidly growing organisation that continues to evolve.

· Proven track record of delivering to tight deadlines.

· A highly organised individual with ability to plan and prioritise workloads effectively for maximum impact and adapt around changing priorities as required.

· Ability to execute directly at high quality and pace.

· Excellent drive, enthusiasm and commitment and a keen interest in developing a career in Applegreen.

· A 'can do' attitude and a positive solution focused mindset.

· Demonstrate strong analytical capability to interpret and challenge data and to interrogate financial systems.

· Has strong commercial acumen and a focus on delivering value to the business.

· Exceptional interpersonal skills, and ability to engage and develop relationships with individuals at all levels of the organisation.

· Be a self-starter, and also be able to work collaboratively as a member of a highly interdependent team across many parts of Applegreen.

· Is resilient and calm under pressure.

· Has sound judgement and objective logical decision-making skills.

· Has strong leadership potential and management skills, who will be a role model for the people and culture at Applegreen.

· Willing to travel ad hoc if required.

Illustrative Application & Screening Process (subject to change):

o Please submit an up to date tailored CV (max 2 pages) and cover letter.

· Interview & Selection Process:

o Two interview rounds will be required for this role

Applegreen Stores is an Equal Opportunity Employer