Legal Finance Manager – Finance & Compliance Lead

About the role

You will take ownership of the organisation’s day‑to‑day finance function while playing a key role in maintaining regulatory and compliance standards. Reporting to senior leadership, you will oversee financial controls, reporting, billing and risk‑related activities, providing trusted financial insight across the organisation.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee the complete billing and credit control process, including invoicing and collection of outstanding balances.
• Supervise the accounts function and maintain accurate financial records.
• Monitor income, expenditure and performance against agreed budgets.
• Prepare monthly journals covering accruals, pre‑payments and payroll.
• Complete VAT returns, bank reconciliations and other routine accounting activities.
• Manage payroll processes alongside PAYE and National Insurance payments.
• Produce financial information and analysis to support senior‑level decision‑making.
• Coordinate SAR audits and maintain relationships with banks, HMRC and other external parties.
• Support compliance requirements across SRA regulations, AML, GDPR and COFA responsibilities.

Required profile

• Strong finance experience within legal or professional services.
• Solid understanding of SRA regulatory requirements.
• Excellent attention to detail and stakeholder communication skills.
• Ability to work independently, take ownership and provide financial guidance to senior leadership.

Required skills

• VAT returns
• Bank reconciliations
• Payroll processing
• PAYE
• National Insurance
• Financial analysis
• SAR audits