Finance Manager

The Business
AEI is a diversified multi-channel music group comprising record labels, publishing, events and communities management. Founded in electronic dance music, and with a 25 year history, AEI has become one of the UK's preeminent independent music companies, and a leader in global dance music. The founders of AEI are mapping out an exciting future for the business, with plans to expand its footprint on the music scene and build a substantial sustainable legacy within global music culture.

The Team
As a cornerstone to strategy and alongside an ambitious growth plan, the company is building a best in class finance function, to support the business both at the highest levels advising the board, and also working closely with every department across the organisation. To this end, we are seeking a dynamic Finance Manager to join an expanding finance team.

The Role
Finance Manager is a management role focussed on maintaining accurate, well structured accounting systems, and through efficient management and control of company finances, influencing commercial dealings and business planning. The role includes statutory reporting and compliance work: ensuring that laws and regulations are followed and business taxes managed. This is a critically important role which underpins financial reporting and allows the Directors to make strategic and operational decisions, which affect all business units of the AEI Group.

Financial systems are based on underlying data, transactions and documents which must be well organised, reconciled and maintained. The Finance Manager role includes all relevant accounting and book-keeping work, supporting the management reporting function, and working closely with finance and IT colleagues to ensure that good systems and processes are in place to allow high quality reporting, management and control.

The role also includes working with colleagues across the company as well as suppliers and customers, auditors and professional advisers, providing insight and advice on financial and commercial elements, deal making, efficiency, tax compliance and driving profitability.

Knowledge and Experience
To succeed in this role, candidates will possess and be able to demonstrate the following, with examples:

1. Experience supporting and working alongside the management reporting function.
2. Financial accounting and bookkeeping, the work of a finance team, including sales, purchase and general ledgers, banking, currency management, hedging, payroll, sales taxes, corporate taxes.
3. Preparation of statutory financial statements, audit packs, and dealing with audit processes.
4. Compliance with rules, regulations, tax authorities in the UK and internationally.
5. Integrating systems, migrating systems and developing systems for new business channels.
6. Working to tight deadlines, working irregular hours when needed.
7. Working with incomplete data, using estimates, working with live and non-static data.
8. Presenting financial reports to teams, interpreting commercial conclusions.
9. Supervising, teaching and training team members.
10. Working with entrepreneurs, owner managed businesses, and leaders in creative industries.

Knowledge
• Recording, publishing and other music related contracts and processes of licensing music rights
• Music rights management, metadata, royalties, monetising of music exploitation
• Digital music and streaming services
• Commercial dealings between music rights holders, artists, producers, songwriters, promoters etc
• Music industry knowledge in general, including specialist genres, music communities, media landscape, developments business models and standard industry practices

Skills and Qualities
• Honesty, commitment, loyalty, self-motivation, confidentiality, maturity, flexibility
• Ability to work alone, equally as within a team dynamic at all levels of seniority
• Comfortable managing upwards, presenting business cases to leaders, responding positively to challenge and sometimes pressure
• Determination to achieve targets and goals
• Desire to maintain the highest quality standards
• Aptitude and enjoyment from organising and analysing minutely granular data accurately
• Interpreting trends in data, and drawing commercial conclusions and recommendations
• Recognising that contributing to the success of the business is not only rewarding but also offers opportunities for personal growth, skill development, and career advancement.

Qualifications and Career
An accounting qualification is desirable but not essential. Experience is more relevant than qualifications, and we are seeking candidates with exposure to ideally all of the following career steps:

1. Time in a smaller organisation developing all-round accounting skills.
2. Time in a larger organisation, learning the techniques used by big business.
3. Time spent working directly in the recorded music industry and working with digital platforms.
4. Experience of international business, observing differing business cultures around the world.
5. Experience in an environment of rapid business growth and/or change.

Reporting Lines
The position of Finance Manager reports directly to the Financial Controller, and works closely with the Management Accountant, Senior Finance Assistant and two Royalty Managers.

Rewards, Benefits and Working Practices
We offer a competitive salary and employment package as follows:

1. Working hours: Minimum 7h/day, 4d/week (working 5th day or flexibly if needed).
2. Hybrid working: Minimum of 3 days in the office.
3. Paid Holidays: 20 days, plus bank holidays, with flexibility for additional unpaid leave.
4. Private Healthcare Scheme.
5. Standard Pension.
6. Tax efficient cycle to work benefits.
7. 25% staff discount in the on site cafe plus free fruit basket and snacks in the office.

In addition to the employment package, all team members enjoy a wide range of AEI social activities and informal benefits which includes tickets to music events, staff socials, massage therapy, games nights, networking evenings, running club and more. AEI is a vibrant, friendly business with community at its heart.

Reasonable Adjustments
At AEI Music Ltd, we're committed to making our recruitment process welcoming, inclusive, and accessible to everyone. If you have any specific needs or require adjustments at any stage, please don't hesitate to let us know. We're more than happy to make reasonable accommodations - whether that's providing the application form in a different format, ensuring wheelchair access for interviews, or anything else that might help. We believe everyone deserves an equal opportunity to showcase their skills, experience, and personality. So if there's anything we can do to make the process smoother or more comfortable for you, just give us a shout.