ACA Qualified Finance Manager (Financial Services)

Profile.

Education / Qualification

Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA), ICAEW – Admitted September 2023

Level 7 Apprenticeship (Master’s degree equivalent) – Accounting & Tax  Dec 2019 – Aug 2023

MSc Money, Banking and Finance: Merit

BSc (Hons) Economics and Political Science: 2:1

A-Levels: AAA (Economics, Government and Politics, Mathematics), A in AS General Studies

GCSEs: 9 A*-B including Mathematics (A*), English (AB), and Sciences (AAA)

Technical

Financial reporting (management and statutory, IFRS and GAAP), budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management, treasury and liquidity management, investment reporting, process and control improvement, audit management (practice and industry), advanced Excel (XLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables, data analysis, model interrogation, workpaper presentation), Microsoft Office.

About

ACA‑qualified finance professional with 6+ years’ experience (2+ years PQE) across fund and portfolio finance, financial reporting, management information, treasury and process improvement within financial services audit and real estate private equity.

Currently take full ownership of portfolio finance operations at a European real estate private equity manager with c. €2.5bn AUM, taking end‑to‑end ownership of cash flow forecasting, liquidity management, budgeting, investor and lender reporting, and audit across multiple fund and SPV structures.

Originally from Wrexham, I am relocating from London to the Chester area with my young family and am now seeking a finance role in the North West within private equity, financial services, real estate or other asset‑heavy / PE‑backed businesses. I bring a combination of strong technical grounding, rigorous control mindset and commercial awareness, and I am keen to build a long‑term career in the region, adding value quickly while continuing to develop.

Career Summary.

Finance Manager – Jan 2026 – Present

Finance Associate – Mar 2024 – Dec 2025

• Led a comprehensive review and formalisation of finance and portfolio management processes, streamlining workflows, strengthening controls and enhancing reporting accuracy for senior management and the Board.
• Developed and implemented robust financial controls and process enhancements across multiple structures, improving data integrity, reducing operational risk and increasing efficiency.
• Lead all external audits across Valesco’s (€2.5bn AUM) asset and SPV portfolio from client side.
• Primary point of contact for auditors, third-party administrators and outsourced functions.
• Cash Flow / Treasury Management – full ownership and management of quarterly and annual cash flow forecasting across multi-entity portfolio.
• Maintaining cashbooks, tracking monthly cash availability, managing treasury and recommending/approving all payments.
• Recommending investor distributions, monitoring and updating forecasts with actuals and explaining variances to SLT.

• Providing accurate and timely financial and management information to Senior Management and the Asset Management and Investment Teams.
• Preparing and reviewing monthly and quarterly reporting packs for investors, the Board and various lending banks, including review and monitoring of external debt financing covenants.
• Overseeing outsourced accounting, VAT and tax compliance functions, coordinating information flows and ensuring high‑quality outputs.
• Preparing annual budgets and forecasts and performing analysis of actual vs budget at asset, fund and platform level, providing clear commentary and insights.
• Performing asset and fund level investor returns analysis to support performance monitoring and decision‑making.
• Calculating and reviewing capital calls and distributions to investors, ensuring full alignment with fund documentation, covenants and tax/regulatory requirements.
• Liaising with third‑party administrators, external auditors, managing agents, banks and lenders, acting as a key interface between external providers and the in‑house finance function.
• Leading liquidity management and cash flow forecasting, including daily cash monitoring, payment approvals, short‑ and medium‑term cash planning and optimisation of surplus liquidity.

Audit Assistant Manager – May 2023 – Mar 2024

• Promoted pre-qualification due to strong performance covering AMs and job‑leading an audit from start to finish, effectively acting as Audit Manager. I was the first in the Banking and Capital Markets audit service line to achieve this.
• Managed audit engagements for banking and capital markets clients, including planning, execution, and final reporting.
• Delivered full banking & capital markets audits end-to-end as Audit Assistant Manager
• Led audit teams, coached junior staff, and acted as primary client contact for deliverables and queries.
• Conducted business process walkthroughs, risk assessments, and prepared strategy memoranda and completion reports.
• Worked on enhanced and significant audit risk areas such as credit risk, valuations, and IT.
• Developed strong technical skills in financial reporting, controls testing, and compliance in a fast-paced, multi-client environment.

Audit Senior – Sep 2021 – Apr 2023

• Planned and executed audit fieldwork for financial services clients, including testing of controls, substantive procedures and review of financial reporting under IFRS.
• Supervised and coached junior team members, reviewing workpapers and ensuring quality, accuracy and compliance with methodology.

Audit Assistant – Dec 2019 – Aug 2021 Gained broad grounding in audit