Jonathan Knowles Email & Phone Number

London, England, United Kingdom

- One of the largest mental healthcare operators in England and Wales, previously owned by private equity; now a subsidiary of Ramsay Health Care, an Australian listed group- Played a leading role in the due diligence and exit process when private equity sold their shares- Assisted in the implementation of a new 'single ledger' system, whereby 19 sales and purchase ledgers were consolidated into one single ledger- Involved in system and process improvements: sales, agency, fixed assets- Improved and streamlined monthly reporting outputs: consolidation spreadsheet, bank reports & various internal reports- Manage the group reporting, accounts receivable, accounts payable, cash management and fixed asset functions: 5 direct reports (30 indirect reports)- Contact person for accounting-related queries from Australian owners- Lead the annual audit process- Responsible for technical accounting issues, including Ramsay acquisition accounting

London, United Kingdom

- PE backed business- Multi-currency with sites all around the world- Group reporting, consolidation & preparation of internal reports- Improved financial reporting process with a review process and new reporting templates and timetables- Bank & covenant reporting- Collated and maintained group secretarial and banking details- Set up intracompany loan agreements- Set up an online data room for storage of various documents which will be required upon a PE exit- Involved in significant group transactions: acquisitions, equity contributions & credit agreement amendments; and wrote summary papers in support thereof- Wrote accounting policy and technical papers which supported the group’s accounting stance on transactions into which it entered - Lead the annual US GAAP audit process, including fee negotiation, goodwill & investment impairment tests, going concern analyses, and summaries on M&A activity & other significant transactions undertaken- Designed new audit consolidation & entity reporting packs- Prepared consolidated US GAAP financial statements - Prepared the invitation to tender documents when it was decided to put the audit out to tender - Close liaison with PE owners, Chicago-based lenders, external management companies (in Bermuda & Netherlands), tax advisors & auditors- Responsible for the accounting of the holding companies: bookkeeping, creditor payments, payroll, intergroup loans- Provided assistance & accounting guidance to the group’s UK finance team based near Portsmouth

Moorgate, London

- Privately owned business- Multi-currency with operations in 8 countries- Managed a team of 4 individuals- Solely responsible for all group reporting, the consolidation and various internal & third party reports; and respected as being the custodian of accurate financial results of the entire group with in-depth knowledge of the group’s history & structure- Designed both the automated monthly reporting pack submitted by the various countries & the group consolidation report- Reviewed monthly P&L and balance sheet reporting packs submitted by countries & discussed results with local financial controllers- Resolved technical accounting queries & ensured that relevant IFRS standards had been correctly followed & applied- Implemented & lead fortnightly conference call meetings with the group’s financial controllers around the world; and lead the twice-yearly financial controllers’ conferences in London- Lead the IFRS group audit - Set up the automated year end IFRS reporting & audit pack- Prepared various well-written reports for the auditors which documented the group’s technical accounting stance on transactions into which it entered and reasons why a particular accounting treatment had been followed- Prepared the 80 page consolidated IFRS financial statements & all subsidiary financial statements in accordance with IFRS, UK GAAP (FRS 101) & Dutch GAAP where applicable- Responsible for the accounting transactions of the group’s head office/management company- Bank & covenant reporting- Maintained the group’s accounting policies & chart of accounts

Kew, London

- 50% owned by a Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed company- Managed a team of 5 individuals- Reviewed and timeously submitted the group’s monthly IFRS financial reporting packs to shareholders- Reduced the time taken to prepare the consolidation and group results from over 12 days to the ninth working day after each month end- Resolved the problems inherent in the accounting of the group’s Opco/Propco split and allocation of goodwill- Created an effective Opco consolidation which was previously lacking and managed the transfer thereof onto the group’s accounting system- Bank & covenant testing- Resolved technical accounting queries- Reviewed M&A activity and applied the relevant IFRS to ensure that the group’s acquisitions were correctly accounted for- Responsible for the audit- Prepared consolidated IFRS financial statements within 4 weeks of year end- Managed the preparation of 70 subsidiary UK GAAP financial statements within 3 months of year end- Assisted in the preparation of information for both the short-form and long-form reports, participated in various meetings with external parties and prepared 3 years’ of Opco IFRS financial statements when it was thought that the group would go through an IPO

Cape Town Area, South Africa

- Detail reviewed audit working papers of junior members in terms of IAS- Acted as the main contact person between the client and the audit partner- Resolved various audit-related matters and technical queries- Prepared audit committee papers and actively participated in audit committee meetings- Counselled junior staff members and assisted in both their personal and career developments- Presented various training courses, including accounting technical updates and the first-year intake programme

Cape Town Area, South Africa

Chartered Accountant

Passed Board Exams first time

Audit Training Contract

Post-Graduate Diploma In Accounting

Bachelor Of Commerce (Honours)

Bachelor Of Business Science With Distinction In Financial Accounting & Auditing (First Class Hons)