Financial Reporting Manager

We are Lick

We are building a people-powered decorating movement where everyone feels supported and inspired to transform their space with our unique pigment-rich colours and high quality products. All with consideration to your and our home; planet Earth.

We’re a business that believes in building confidence in our decorators. Seeing their bright ideas and making them happen. We do this by giving our do-er uppers access to inspiration, advice and how-to guidance from our experts and wider community. As well as making our range of (water-based, low VOC) paint, (FSC-certified) wallpaper, and eco-supplies with real people and real homes in mind.

It's why we curate a selection of pigment-rich paints with unique depth of colour and their own individual identity, and high-quality designer wallpapers. It's why we have an expert team of colour consultants on-hand to help with any decorating question, big or small. It's why we're building a supportive community of decorators to inspire each other with their projects.

Because we know that a small change in colour can have a huge impact on the way we feel.

Gone are the days of too much choice, feeling like you’re doing it alone, and messy, expensive sample pots.  This is a fresh look for decorating.

Decorator success starts at home...our home. That is why we are also on a mission to be the definitive people-powered company. Building an environment where individuals thrive and collectively transform an entire category.

About the Company

Lick was founded in 2019 by Lucas London and Sam Bradley - both experienced startup entrepreneurs - targeting the $1trillion global home decor market. The business has raised over $29m since inception. OMERS Ventures led our Series A round in June 2021 with participation from existing investors Felix Capital and contributions from entrepreneurs and PE investors including Magnus Rausing, Alex Chesterman and Kathaka, the family office of Caroline Rupert of Richemont.

Since launching in 2020, we have evolved tremendously and, since then, Lick has expanded into 3 separate brands:

• Lick: for the DIY customer
• LickPro: for the Trade customer
• Lick Tools: our own range of sustainable tools

We have continually developed our product range, developed new sustainability initiatives, and grown our community of decorators. Successful campaigns such as the Heinz x Lick collaboration & Soho Home range, as well as our huge partnerships with Screwfix & diy.com are leading us in the right direction, and it’s really a very exciting time to be joining us on this journey!

Take a peek at our recent Lick x Heinz collaboration 🍅

Have a read about our partnership with diy.com (B&Q online) 🟠

Check out our Lick X Soho Home collaboration from August 2022 🏡

Read about our exclusive wholesale partnership with Screwfix which launched August 2022 🔧

Check out our UK retail store, which opened September 2022 🛍️

Check out The Times coverage of our Series A investment round 💸

Get the headlines from our record breaking £1M Decorator powered crowd funding campaign 📣

Read what our investors think about our mission and vision as we redefine a category

💓 MOST IMPORTANTLY 💓 Read what our decorators have to say in our Trust Pilot reviews

Our Office

Our beautiful office is in the heart of Brixton in south London - just 3 mins walk from the tube station. It has everything you need to collaborate, learn and form great relationships!

We are a hybrid working team and we believe in the value of getting together offline and online. For this reason, we are focused on hiring candidates who can easily work in London. We see huge value in our team sharing an office together and strongly encourage everyone to use it as often as they can, and the minimum expectation is 3 office days per week.

We provide tea, coffee, milk (dairy & plant-based), fruit, snacks and soft drinks, a stunning communal outdoor terrace area, our own private breakout space, private meeting rooms, bike storage, showers, and additional communal breakout spaces throughout the building.

Sustainability at Lick

🌍 Reducing our environmental impact is at the forefront of what we do and how we do it 🌍

Supercharging a fresh look for decorating means fixing the home decor industry’s environmental footprint. This is why we've put sustainability at the top of our agenda. We’re constantly working to lower our impact on the planet, and create a better future for our kids.

We're on our way...thousands of people are using our peel and stick samples (95% less waste than sample pots) and our low VOC water-based paints (fewer harmful chemicals and a more easily biodegradable end product). Our packaging is 100% biodegradable. We use sustainably farmed bamboo in all our supplies, and are moving to recycled paper in all our printed materials. We partner with charity:water, a non-profit organisation who brings clean and safe drinking water to those who need it; for every tin of paint we sell, we donate 178 litres of clean water to communities.

In 2022, we announced that we are B Corp™ certified - a real milestone moment. You can read more about it here!

🍃 You can find out more on our sustainability hub on our site 🍃

Wellbeing at Lick

We are building a team filled with incredible human beings and it is our collective unique spirits that make Lick very special. We're cultivating an environment where we can all truly be ourselves (on the good days and the bad) and make an authentic impact. Growing and thriving as individuals and achieving something very significant together.

We want it to be easy to openly discuss how you are feeling. We want it to be easy for you to do the things you know will help you thrive. We want to empower you to own your mental health and wellbeing, and we want to ensure you feel supported in doing so.

Our goal is to empower you to own your time and impact. We aim to provide you with the information and support you need to empower you to do fulfilling, impactful work and build relationships that matter.

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Lick

People are at the centre of everything we do at Lick. We work hard to make sure that we're amplifying diverse voices externally within our amazing community of decorators. Equally, we are on a mission to make Lick a company where every member of our team feels they can truly be themselves and genuinely make an impact. We will continue to work on ways to be able to formally follow through on this commitment, such as our team led Lick Belonging Group, and using an individual approach for each team member.

As a team, we are committed to educating ourselves and sharing important resources within the business to inform what we do and how we do it, and to always keep learning and improving. We have been lucky to have some amazing speakers on the subjects of LGBTQ+ Pride History, and Inclusive Design Processes.

Our Culture

Having launched in 2020, our culture will continue to evolve just like everything else we do. To give you a sense of what to expect, we can confirm it's fast and very ambitious, with high expectations. We believe a great team can do great things and we work hard to ensure you have what you need to thrive and make a real impact. We put a huge emphasis on information sharing, communications and relationships. We use data and customer insights to improve what we do and how we do it.

We have ambitious business goals, and are equally ambitious about what we achieve as how we achieve those goals. We don’t just do things a certain way because that’s how it’s always been done. We’re here to transform an entire category, this means developing new and better ways of doing things. You can see this in our team everyday and in all aspects of our culture and commitments to Sustainability, Wellbeing, DEI and the decorator experience.

As a team, we are focused on building a team that really cares and supports one another, one where everyone has the opportunity to build real friendships. We encourage and support this informally each day and always have a range of events from yoga sessions to movie nights, Thursday Drinks and sporadic office events to bring everyone together outside of the work environment.

About The Role

Reporting to the Finance Director this role will be based in London and have responsibilities across all key financial control activities of the company.

Over the past three years the business has enjoyed incredible success and has grown both in scale and complexity. This growth has increased our reporting and compliance obligations, both internally and externally. We are looking for someone who can take responsibility for managing day-to-day financial management, reporting, internal control and compliance management. 

The company has very recently implemented NetSuite and is in the process of fully embedding the system across the business. This role will be expected to take the lead  in continuing to improve processes and workflows on the system, build-out and improve our reporting capabilities and act as an escalation point for other users across the business. In addition, they will also support the Finance Director in managing a planned Phase 2 of the project during 2024.

This is a very visible role and will be a key business partner across the business, particularly within the Supply Chain team who they will work very closely with. They will also provide support to the Finance Director across various ad-hoc and BAU projects, including budgeting and treasury management. 

The ability to thrive in an evolving environment will be key to success in this role, along with a desire to seek innovation and efficiency in everything that we do. It will suit somebody with a growth mindset who is excited by overseeing and delivering best-in-class operational effectiveness within a finance function. They will have the opportunity to drive core work forwards and be strategic in planning and strengthening internal finance processes and reporting capabilities. 

The role will suit an existing Finance Manager with aspirations to grow into a Financial Controller in the future, a technically strong and experienced Financial Accountant looking to take the next step in their career or an ACA coming from practice who has had exposure to retail or inventory accounting. 

We would love to hear from you if you are excited about joining a fast-paced and entrepreneurial environment, motivated to challenge yourself to grow and learn and if you are passionate to help build the foundations of a first class finance team.

Responsibilities

What you will be doing:

• Ownership of the month-end process and accountable for ongoing timeliness and accuracy of reporting - supported by a very capable accounts assistant. 
• NetSuite: key owner of the system and responsible for ongoing process improvements and efficiencies. 
• Preparing and delivering initial commentary and analysis of financial performance to the Finance Director each month, and to the wider business when required.
• Monthly review of costs vs target with key budget owners and preparation and posting of appropriate accruals and prepayments each month.
• Responsibility around inventory and COGS reporting.
• Expected to take the initiative in identifying and investigating any anomalies or unexpected deviations in key cost centres.
• Management of day-to-day finance operations, including AP and AR.
• Responsible for tax compliance across all jurisdictions, including VAT.
• Completion of the annual statutory accounts and delivery of the audit process.
• Monthly review and reconciliation of Balance Sheet accounts including inventory, bank, fixed assets and month-end provisions.
• Stakeholder happiness - enthusiastic about building confidence within the Lick family around all things finance by facilitating proactive communication.
• A good understanding of our diverse decorator community and of the issues critical to our business along with an ability to build and design inclusive and tailored solutions that work for all.
• Continuous process improvement and automation to enable the finance function to scale and to provide best in class services to teams across the business.
• Maintaining appropriate documentation of internal processes and development of our control framework.
• Embedding a culture of best financial practice throughout the business.

Requirements

Experience:

• 2+ years’ experience of working in a finance team within a retail environment. 
• Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA)
• Proven experience of performing a month-end management reporting process.
• Exposure to eCommerce and/or multi-channel retail will be beneficial.
• Extensive hands-on experience working with NetSuite.
• Experience of inventory accounting.
• Strong and demonstrable knowledge of accounting first principles.
• Strong Excel and Google Sheets - advanced Excel will be very beneficial.
• Previous experience of working in a start-up or high-growth business is preferred.

Qualities

• An aptitude for numbers and an attention to detail.
• A multi-tasker. As part of working in a fast-growth start-up, the ability to manage competing priorities with evolving levels of importance will be crucial. You will be someone who is comfortable with change and pace.
• Fun, kind and personable.
• A warm and articulate communicator.
• Good commercial awareness and ability to understand stakeholder challenges.
• Willing to roll your sleeves-up and get stuck into the small details.
• Quick learner who is curious and inquisitive with a proactive mindset.
• Enthusiastic and comfortable managing projects with autonomy.
• Humble and willing to admit mistakes.
• An Accounts Assistant will report directly to this role and you will be expected to provide mentorship and guidance, alongside day-to-day management.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and share option grants
• A generous Annual Leave allowance: 26 days per year, plus a day off for your birthday, plus up to 5 additional days off at the end of the year (and more days available at your manager’s discretion!)
• Vitality Health Insurance with an enhanced Mental Health package (which gives you access to unlimited therapy!)
• Flexible Working - once you deliver on your role requirements as expected, you can start earlier, leave earlier, take a shorter lunch, leave a bit later - it's totally up to you!
• Hybrid Working - team members will be required to spend at least 3 days per week at the office
• £300 allowance for Lick products
• Private pension scheme
• Generous Primary Caregiver and Secondary Caregiver Leave allowances
• Monthly Deep Dive sessions from your fellow teammates; these sessions aim to get the wider company up to speed on a particular project or topic
• Lots of amazing opportunities to get to know other members of the team at different team events and to have an impact on our culture through our Lick Belonging Group and beyond
• Contribute to building a culture where well being is part of how we do things & not just a bonus, and first-hand experience of being part of, and growing with, a fast-moving and ambitious company
• You are hopefully reading this and thinking I can't wait to be part of the team that makes this even better as the company grows ;)
  
  Lick is an equal opportunity employer and committed to creating an inclusive environment for all of our applicants. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, colour, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. If you would like to request any accommodations from application through to interview, please email us at emma.bailey@lick.com
  
  

As this role is based in London UK, candidates must have the right to live and work in the UK. Candidates without these rights will not be considered.