Hester James Email & Phone Number

Sheffield, GB

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

I lead a team of 4 who are responsible for the accounting, associated financial controls and management reports for the UK firm (the largest country in the group) and the international firm’s centrally managed indirect cost base.

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

• I led a team of 4 staff supporting finance teams outside of the UK, troubleshooting problems, increasing data accuracy and improving processes. I built close working relationships with the central finance leadership.
• Turning around backlog of work and regulatory non-compliance.
• Group year end reporting and liaising with auditors.
• Reconciliation between IFRS and local GAAP reported results.
• Instigating an e-learning package to improve use of finance system.
• Organising a 4 day long virtual finance conference for 80 Finance Managers in EMEA, Asia and Australia during COVID.

Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Key contact between central finance and European finance teams (27 entities in 15 countries) for monthly management accounts, budgets and reforecasts and year end audit.Monitored control environment.Contributed to board level reporting.Prepared statutory accounts for UK registered entities.Line managed an assistant accountant.

Sheffield, United Kingdom

Worked on a range of clients from small owner managed businesses to PLCs and multinational partnerships, in a wide range of sectors with group turnover ranging from £3m to £553m. Audits including statutory financial statements (under both IFRS and UK GAAP), Pension Schemes, Solicitors Accounts Rules, Sarbanes-Oxley and group reporting to parent companies.

Member of the telephone banking call centre’s senior management team with responsibility for 5 telephone team managers and 60 customer service advisors.

Managed customer service advisor and administration teams of up to 16 staff.Resolved escalated customer complaints.Led projects to improve advisor training and competence and to reduce customer complaints.

Completed rotations in branches, head office and call centres to gain exposure to multiple aspects of retail banking.Passed mortgage qualifications CeMAP paper 1 and bridge paper.

Aca

First time passes

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, French Studies

3rd year spent living in Normandy, France teaching English in 3 different schools while writing my undergraduate dissertation.