Head of Accounts
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Key skills for this role
About the Role
The employer is seeking an experienced Head of Accounts to ensure full compliance with CMA/SCA prudential requirements, including capital adequacy, client money segregation, and regulatory reporting.
Key Skills for This Role
Responsibilities
- Monitor the Firm's capital adequacy ratio daily/weekly against CMA / SCA minimum requirements and internal buffers
- Support the Risk Manager in the annual Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP)
- Ensure all client cash amounts are deposited in designated 'Client Bank Accounts' within one business day of receipt
- Perform daily reconciliation between total credit balances of all clients and total balances in all client bank accounts
- Prepare and sign the Accounts Segregation Report monthly
- Prepare interim (quarterly) financial reports reviewed by the external auditor within 45 days of quarter end
- Prepare the annual audited financial report within 3 months of the financial year end
- Enforce strict payment authorization limits and implement dual authorization for all client and vendor payments
- Coordinate with the Fraud Manager and insurers to file fidelity bond / crime insurance claims
- Act as the primary point of contact for external auditors on all financial and client asset matters
- Ensure that quarterly account statements are provided to each client within 45 days of quarter end
- Lead and develop the Accounts/Finance team, ensuring segregation of duties
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field
- Master's degree (MBA, MA) or professional accounting certification (CPA, ACCA, CMA, CA) is mandatory
- Minimum 8–10 years of progressive experience in accounting and finance within the financial services industry
- At least 3–5 years in a leadership role
- Direct experience in an SCA regulated entity (brokerage, investment firm, or bank) is essential
- Deep understanding of CMA / SCA Decision No. (13/Chairman) of 2021
- Proficiency in accounting systems (Centralized Back Office Systems), reconciliation tools, and financial reporting software
- Advanced Excel skills required
Full Job Posting
Role Overview
- This role ensures that the Firm maintains full compliance with CMA / SCA prudential requirements (Decision No. 13/Chairman of 2021), including capital adequacy ratios, client money segregation, daily reconciliation, and regulatory reporting.
Key Responsibilities
- Monitor the Firm's capital adequacy ratio daily/weekly against CMA / SCA minimum requirements and internal buffers.
- Support the Risk Manager in the annual Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP), including stress testing, scenario analysis, and capital planning.
- Quantify financial losses from risk events, fraud incidents, or operational failures for ICAAP and regulatory reporting purposes.
- Prepare and submit monthly capital adequacy reports to Senior Management and the Board.
- Lead Capital Breach Escalation procedures: immediately notify the Risk Manager and CEO of any actual or projected capital breach.
- Ensure all client cash amounts are deposited in designated 'Client Bank Accounts' within one business day of receipt, strictly segregated from the Firm's own funds.
- Maintain separate bank accounts for clients vs. the Firm's own accounts in the Firm's financial statements.
- Ensure that client funds held in segregated accounts are held as trust and are not subject to mortgage, seizure, liquidation, or bankruptcy procedures against the Firm.
- Prohibit the use of client funds for any purpose other than those explicitly permitted by CMA / SCA regulations.
- Ensure no credit facilities or loans are guaranteed by client cash balances.
- Perform daily reconciliation at the end of each business day between total credit balances of all clients and total balances in all client bank accounts.
- Ensure that total client bank balances are not less than total client credit balances.
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
- Master's degree (MBA, MA) or professional accounting certification (CPA, ACCA, CMA, CA) is mandatory.
- Minimum 8–10 years of progressive experience in accounting and finance within the financial services industry, with at least 3–5 years in a leadership role.
- Direct experience in an SCA regulated entity (brokerage, investment firm, or bank) is essential.
- Deep understanding of CMA / SCA Decision No. (13/Chairman) of 2021, particularly Chapter 3 (Client Money), capital adequacy requirements, ICAAP, and financial reporting obligations.
- Proficiency in accounting systems (Centralized Back Office Systems), reconciliation tools, and financial reporting software.
- Advanced Excel skills required.
Key Competencies
- Regulatory Rigor – Ability to interpret and operationalize CMA / SCA client money, segregation, and capital adequacy rules into daily controls.
- Reconciliation Precision – Meticulous attention to detail in daily, weekly, and monthly reconciliations; zero tolerance for unreconciled differences.
- Integrity & Independence – Impeccable ethical standards; willing to escalate capital breaches or segregation issues even under pressure.
- Fraud Awareness – Understanding of payment fraud red flags, duplicate payment schemes, ghost vendors, and expense reimbursement fraud.
- Communication – Ability to present financial and capital adequacy information clearly to the Board, Senior Management, auditors, and regulators.
- Crisis Management – Ability to respond immediately to capital breaches, reconciliation failures, or fraud related financial losses.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Daily reconciliation completed with zero unreconciled differences; any differences resolved within 1 business day.
- Monthly Accounts Segregation Report submitted to CMA / SCA on time, with zero material errors.
- Capital adequacy ratio maintained above CMA / SCA minimum and internal buffer at all times.
- Any capital breach escalated to Risk Manager and CEO immediately (within 24 hours).
- Quarterly and annual financial reports submitted to CMA / SCA within required deadlines (45 days / 3 months).
- 100% of client payments subject to dual authorization; no unauthorized payments.
- Fraud related insurance claims filed within policy deadlines; claim acceptance rate tracked.
- Zero client fund segregation breaches or regulatory findings.
- Mandatory vacation compliance for finance team: 100%.
Authority & Decision Making
- Payment Authorization Authority
- Account Freeze Authority
- Bank Account Management
- Write Off Authority
- Capital Breach Escalation
Working Conditions & Special Requirements
- High attention to detail
- Regulatory deadlines
- After hours work
- Audit support
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