Credit Controller

We are recruiting an experienced Credit Controller to join our Finance department.

About Macfarlanes

Macfarlanes is a pre-eminent law firm that serves a global client base in Private Capital, Private Wealth, M&A and Disputes. Personal connection, an entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to excellence are at the heart of our firm. These values drive our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients.

We are big enough to undertake the most complex and demanding mandates yet small enough to know each other well and to be agile, adapting to the needs of our clients. We seek to strengthen the firm by recruiting talented people from all backgrounds who want to build long-lasting and impactful careers with us. Our culture is challenging and supportive, creating an environment where individuals can thrive.

What this means for you

Joining Macfarlanes means being part of a collaborative, approachable team who want you to succeed. You’ll be encouraged to get involved and recognised for your contribution.

We take your development seriously. Our learning and development programmes are second to none and are designed to help you strengthen your skills.

Above all, you’ll be part of a firm where we all work together as part of a cohesive and supportive team, value your efforts and help you to thrive.

The team

The Revenue team sits within the wider Finance department and consists of one Senior Revenue Controller, one Senior Credit Controller, six Revenue Controllers, two Revenue Executives, one Credit Control Executive, one E-Biller, one E-Billing Assistant and five Revenue Assistants, all reporting to the Head of Revenue.

The role

The Credit Controller takes a pro-active approach to assisting the Head of Revenue with collections support.  This will be a busy and demanding role and a high standard of performance and accuracy is expected. The position requires dealing with large client group debts, a portfolio of aged debts and monitoring of legal proceedings in relation to unrecoverable debts.  Responsibilities include working on complex billing matters and related requests to meet the firm’s cash collection targets.

Key duties will include

Credit control

• pro-actively chasing a portfolio of large clients group debts to ensure prompt settlement of invoice’s including preparing of client statements in line with the credit control procedure;
• organise and attend regular debt meetings with Partners;
• dealing with an aged debt portfolio of debts greater than one year;
• take ownership in resolving issues/queries around unpaid invoices – escalate where necessary, monitor progress and pursue until resolved;
• process invoice write offs in line with the firm’s policies and VAT rules;
• ensure a full log of credit control notes and status is maintained in the collection’s application;
• produce regular reports on debt to identify issues for escalation;
• working with Revenue Controllers to deal with complex debt issues;
• liaising with Cashiers regularly on allocation of unapplied or unidentified monies as required and investing any errors that occurred; and
• support and mentor junior members of the team fostering a collaborative and high-performance work environment.

Specialist skills and experience

• where required, preparing and monitoring files for debt recovery, in relation to debts that have been deemed unrecoverable.

This job description encompasses the main duties of the role and is by no means exhaustive. It is anticipated that duties may vary from time to time according to the needs of the department.

The candidate

The successful candidate will ideally possess the following

• be an experienced and credible credit controller working in a law firm or professional services environment, with exposure to VAT disbursements and credit control, that can hit the ground running in a target driven environment;
• knowledge of Aderant and High Radius (or other collections software) is advantageous;
• excellent inter-personal communication skills (both written and verbal), demonstrating experience of liaising with clients, partners, fee-earners, secretaries and finance colleagues;
• team player who supports and motivates their colleagues. Follows instructions, but is confident to query instructions when unsure;
• demonstrate a clear track record of commitment to the highest level of customer service;
• a high level of numeracy is required together with a good understanding of financial workings; and
• it is essential that the candidate will have an eye for detail, be solution orientated and the ability to act positively, creatively and intuitively when presented with challenges. The job holder is expected to work within the established billing and debt collection procedures.

Application screening

Any offer of employment with us is subject to our pre-employment checks which are conducted by a third-party screening provider. These checks will be initiated with your consent, and your CV will be sent to the provider by us. The screening will include but is not limited to your employment references, professional and academic qualifications including grades and any criminal records. Your offer will be subject to the successful completion of these checks.

Our commitment to inclusion

Inclusion is one of our key priorities and it is a goal we are actively working towards. We believe that an inclusive, forward-thinking culture is intrinsically important and enables us to provide innovative solutions to our clients.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, bringing different perspectives and experiences, making Macfarlanes an exciting and stimulating place to work. We seek to recruit the best candidates, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, social or economic background, religion, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.

As part of this commitment, we will ask you certain diversity data questions. We would really appreciate you and/or your recruiter completing these questions when submitting an application to Macfarlanes as this data enables us to measure our progress and identify any actions needed to continue to support an inclusive culture. This data is anonymised to maintain the privacy of applicants. If you have any questions relating to how this data is used, please contact a member of the recruitment team.

Should you require any adjustments during the application and/or interview process, please do not hesitate to inform your recruiter or a member of the recruitment team. Please note, the job description is available in other accessible formats (for example, large print).

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme, please email the recruitment team at recruitment@macfarlanes.com.