Finance and Administration Manager

Promoting excellence in cultural trading is at the heart of the business of the Association for Cultural Enterprises. We are an association of Members and Associate Members who are passionate about their work in the cultural and heritage sector. This is an exciting period of growth for us, with a new base in County Durham and a growing staff team. You can find out more information about the Association, its members and its activities here.

We are an inclusive, equal opportunity employer and value diversity. All employment is decided on the
basis of experience, merit and organisational need.

Job Summary:-
The Association for Cultural Enterprises is a well-established charity and trading company. It is a membership organisation whose charitable objective is to train and connect entrepreneurial people working in the cultural sector, helping them to generate commercial income which boosts the resilience of their organisations.

ACE is run by a Board of Trustees who represent significant institutions in the sector and by a small team of staff. The post holder will manage established financial processes on a day to day basis to ensure the smooth running of the organisation and will provide financial insight and forecasts to the Executive team and / or Board of Trustees.
The post holder will line manage an Administrator (0.6 FTE).

The purpose of this role is to provide sound financial management for the Association (and associated trading company) through:

• Statutory financial reporting in line with SORP/UK GAAP as appropriate; and all associated compliance regimes including annual returns to Companies House and Charity Commission
   
• Management accounting, reporting and analysis to funders, management, staff and Trustees/Directors
   
• Preparation and maintenance of budgets, forecasts and plans including cashflows and project budgets
   
• Contract and relationship management for financial services, including bookkeepers, external audit, banks, investment managers, etc
   
• Ensuring that financial processes are effective and efficient, and that data integrity is maintained.
   
• Ensuring the Association has sound financial policies and procedures that are up to date and reviewed regularly.
   
• To be the first point of contact for external financial queries

Main Duties

• Monitor income and expenditure, liaise with external bookkeepers, payroll providers, banks etc to ensure accurate financial record keeping, including correct coding and allocations between the Association and the trading company, bank/payment reconciliations, and tax accounting.
   
• Ensure invoices are raised on time and are accurate, oversee the debt recovery processes.
   
• Provide financial authorisation for payments and staff expenses.
   
• Produce regular management accounts on an accruals basis, providing sound advice, insights and interpretation for the Executive team, the Finance & Administration Committee, and Trustees/Directors and external funders, including analysis against budgets/forecasts.
   
• Oversee the production of annual budgets and longer-term financial plans, including project specific budgets as necessary). Review budgets regularly, and re-forecast as appropriate (eg quarterly). Monitor actuals against budget and forecast.
   
• Line manage the Administrator, who oversees the Association’s CRM database and provides general administrative support to the wider team.
   
• Prepare statutory accounts in line with SORP and applicable standards: lead on year-end planning and liaison with external auditors and the Association’s Treasurer to prepare statutory report and accounts.

The role of the external bookkeeper
For clarity, the services currently provided by our external bookkeeper include monitoring financial transactions against expected behaviour and financial controls, company expenses, invoicing and invoice reconciliation, accounts management, payroll & NI, tax returns, VAT returns, input into annual accounts and other statutory reports, and debt management. The Finance and Administration Manager will manage the relationship with the bookkeepers.