Financial Controller

Location: London, England

Hybrid work: Employees work in a hybrid model balancing collaboration in our office and remote work.  

Find a job that let’s your imagination run wild!  

Join our WildBrain CPLG team, part of the global WildBrain organization, to make us part of your story! WildBrain CPLG is a world-leading entertainment, sport and brand licensing agency, with offices in the UK, Europe, India, the Middle East, the US and Asia. With over 45 years of experience in the licensing industry, WildBrain CPLG provides its clients with dedicated licensing and marketing professionals and fully integrated product development, legal and accounting services. WildBrain CPLG believes that collaboration is about clarity, openness and trust, and is widely known for its no-nonsense, straightforward approach. The agency’s ASPIRE division is a leader in Corporate & Lifestyle brand representation and management.

About the Role 

Reporting to the VP Finance and Operations, the Financial Controller will be responsible for accounting, treasury, control and compliance for all entities and branches within the WildBrain CPLG group. They will be the super-user for the accounting system (Great Plains) and responsible for bringing use into alignment with other teams in the WildBrain group; in charge of all internal and external financial reporting for WildBrain CPLG; manage the transactional functions (AP and AR), general accounting (Management Accountant) as well as directly manage banking and cash flow. Responsible for the control environment withing WBCPLG, developing best practice alongside the corporate risk team.

This role is an opportunity to significantly contribute to the transformation of the divisional finance function. The right candidate will be excited to be part of a change journey and be able and willing to be hands on while building team processes, best practice and capabilities.

Accounting operations management

• Supervise and manage accounting operations (Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and General Accounting)
• Ensure accuracy, efficiency, and compliance in financial transactions
• Credit checks and credit approval of new business
• Vendor setup and management

Financial reporting

• Manage monthly close (maximum 10 days, including full analysis and reporting pack reviewed by leadership)
• Revenue recognition, accruals, prepayments, intercompany, payroll accounting, revaluations
• Prepare and review adjusting journal entries in accordance with company/parent company polices
• Responsible for the preparation of the month end P&L management information packs covering revenues and costs
• Conduct monthly consolidation of CPLG group accounts and responsible for all reporting of financial monthly actuals to WB Toronto head office including quarterly notes package
• Maintain general ledger chart of accounts, superuser of the accounting system (Great Plains)
• Research and address technical accounting issues

Internal Controls and Risk Management

• Design, implement and monitor effective internal controls
• Ensure the completion and review of all account reconciliations
• Maintain and develop safeguards over assets, revenues and cash
• Ensure compliance with parent company established corporate and accounting policies

Compliance

• Manage all statutory, corporate tax and sales tax filings for entities and branches in UK and Europe, oversee compliance in China and APAC (Finance Managers in place locally)
• Onboard accounting currently performed by third party accounting firms
• Manage internal and external audit requirements
• Responsible for the submission of accurate and timely WBCPLG corporation tax, payroll taxes and withholding taxes across the group
• Corporate tax planning in conjunction with Group Tax team

Treasury

• Manage cash balances and administration of company bank accounts
• Prepare and manage 13 week cash flow forecasts
• Manage employee expenses process (personal expense claims and corporate credit cards), including implementing Concur in all territories (with assistance of Corporate team)
• Ensure financial transactions and reports are prepared in accordance with IFRS

Leadership

• Management of 3 direct reports (AP, AR/accounts assistant, Management Accountant)
• Key member of WBCPLG finance leadership team (along with Head of Partnership Finance, and Heads of Finance in China and APAC)

• Qualified accountant – ACA, ACCA or CIMA
• 5+ years of experience
• IFRS accounting knowledge
• Experience of managing a team essential
• Great Plains experience beneficial but not essential
• Strong MS Excel skills (VLOOKUP, Pivot tables)
• Demonstrated ability to juggle multiple tasks within a fast-paced environment
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills
• A strong attention to detail, organisation and prioritisation skills

What We Offer  

Working at WildBrain is more than a job — it’s the opportunity to join forces with extraordinary, insightful and imaginative people who will recognize your talents and encourage your professional growth and development in a work environment that promotes creativity and individuality. We offer competitive family-focused benefits, we invest in our people and their future with generous RRSP matching, plus bonus time-off, because you deserve it!  

Our Commitment  

Diversity and Inclusion are in our DNA. As a global leader in kids and family entertainment, we strive to reflect and honour the diversity of our audiences around the world. We believe that creating diverse and inclusive content & brands begins with fostering a culture of belonging at WildBrain. To us, a culture of belonging is one where we celebrate and welcome the diversity of all employees, stakeholders, and external partners and strive to create an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and brings their authentic self to work.   

We demonstrate our commitment to this by striving to provide a supportive work environment and a corporate culture that welcomes and encourages equal opportunities for all employees. We recognize that people bring experience and talent that goes beyond the technical skills and requirements of a job. If you possess similar experience that is close to what we’ve listed here, we encourage you to please still consider applying. We strongly believe that diverse experience, transferable skills, and passion are key! WildBrain accommodates people with disabilities throughout the recruitment and selection process. Applicants are encouraged to make their needs known in advance if accommodation is required.  

About WildBrain:  a parent company of Wildbrain CPLG

At WildBrain we inspire imaginations through the wonder of storytelling. As a leader in 360° IP management, we are experts in content creation, audience engagement and global licensing, cultivating and growing love for our own and partner brands with kids and families around the world. With approximately 13,000 half-hours of filmed entertainment in our library—one of the world’s most extensive—we are home to such treasured franchises as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Inspector Gadget and Degrassi. WildBrain’s mission is to create exceptional entertainment experiences that captivate and delight fans both young and young at heart.  

Our studios produce such award-winning series as The Snoopy Show; Snoopy in Space; Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City; Sonic Prime; Chip and Potato; Teletubbies Let's Go! and many more. Enjoyed in more than 150 countries on over 500 platforms, our content is everywhere kids and families view entertainment, including YouTube, where our network has garnered over 1 trillion minutes of watch time. Our television group owns and operates some of Canada’s most-viewed family entertainment channels. WildBrain CPLG, our leading consumer-products and location-based entertainment agency, represents our owned and partner properties in every major territory worldwide.   

WildBrain is headquartered in Canada with offices worldwide and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: WILD). Visit us at wildbrain.com.