Finance Business Advisor - Senior Associate (Level 2) - London or regional

at  EY

FINANCE BUSINESS ADVISOR – SENIOR ASSOCIATE

The Finance Business Advisor (known internally as Mercury Business Advisor (MBA)) is a finance professional with end-to-end system, process and policy knowledge who provides expert advice on how to maximise the economics of our engagements and partners with other functions to address the issues facing the business. This is an internal finance support role supporting our client serving engagement teams and it should be noted that this is not a technical accounting role.

SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES FOR SUCCESS

• Professional approach with a strong understanding of the client server perspective and able to view issues empathetically
• Ability to solve problems and provide a credible solution
• Confident to challenge where appropriate
• Strong analytical and numeracy skills, with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail
• Vigorous time management skills and able to balance multiple priorities by considering risk, importance, and level of urgency
• Eagerness to learn quickly, be proactive and share knowledge
• Experience in translating technical system “jargon” into business relevant terms so that concepts are understandable to client serving teams
• Well-developed listening skills to provide focused advice, combined with the capability to apply judgment and seek guidance when escalation to a functional expert is appropriate
• Continuously building and expanding internal networks
• Excellent written, oral, and virtual communication skills with the confidence to assist with delivering presentations, training material and knowledge sharing
• Strong communication skills, ability to select the most effective method and displaying the ability to communicate desired actions and highlight urgency/ get the hook whilst challenging, flexing style as required for best results
• Assurance to deliver challenging messages and drive communication to a mutual understanding in a professional manner
• Demonstrate the ability to become an effective change advocate

YOUR KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• You will outreach to client teams based on analysis of generated and customised reports and take responsibility for ensuring all queries are resolved to suitable completion to mitigate financial risk
• Ensure effective and efficient completion of prevent controls tickets, escalating where appropriate
• Spend scheduled time, taking calls / chats / reviewing tickets in ServiceNow (ticketing system) - which includes activities such as:
• Reviewing pricing and engagement budgeting
• Explaining downstream financial impacts of engagement structure and budget
• Provide instruction and guidance on estimate to complete (ETC) processes and corresponding financial impacts
• Maintaining compliance with the highest standards and best practices required for On Demand services.
• Support on; billing related queries, engagement set up queries, risk, local policies
• Facilitate training for client serving team on our financial system Mercury and financial best practice
• Contribute to continuous improvement by sharing knowledge and providing support to other team members across borders and service lines and constantly leverage leading practices

ANALYTIC AND DECISION-MAKING RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Make relevant decisions to ensure client servers receive a timely and accurate response such that questions / issues are resolved in a one-stop basis where possible - and where that is not possible, prioritise and escalate to the appropriate functional expert quickly and effectively.
• Manage new user lack of knowledge / frustration and direct the interaction to the best outcome for the end-user, leveraging strong soft skill abilities and global mindset to adapt personal style where needed
• When working on client server portfolios, leverage system and finance expertise to prepare the discussion: making judgments regarding the topics to address and their prioritisation - understanding when to reach out to other functional experts to help prepare for the interaction.

TO QUALIFY FOR THE ROLE, YOU MUST HAVE

• Experience in a client driven professional environment in a financial/business capacity
• Proven stakeholder management and delivering of exceptional client service
• Experience working with customers remotely in a hybrid working environment
• Used to working in a fast-paced environment with a strong work ethic
• Ability to interact well with people at all levels within the firm and build strong relationships
• Strong IT skills – Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and SharePoint
• Desire to thrive in and adapt to a fast changing and high activity environment
• Be innovative, confident, and creative thinker with ability to make quick decisions as an individual
• Can think on your feet, use initiative and judgement to make informed decisions

There are two main components to this role:

• Providing first line on-demand financial advisory support to engagement teams reaching out through a variety of technological conduits (online chat, phone line or by logging a ticket)
• Impactful proactive outreach to engagement teams where financial risks have been identified through exception reporting to develop a strong culture of financial awareness and accountability