The Family Office
We are a single-family office serving a Monaco-based principal and his family. The office manages a portfolio of publicly listed and privately held assets across a number of asset classes, and provides financial, accounting and administrative support to the operating businesses held within it. The portfolio is truly global and has been relatively sector agnostic, with current holdings including businesses in marine, hospitality, oil and gas, and technology.
The office is intentionally lean. Alongside the Principal there is one other team member, based in Sydney, who manages the Australian investments. This role is the office’s finance function.
The Role
The Family Office CFO holds accountability for the treasury, accounting, reporting and compliance affairs of the family office and its holding entities, and for financial reporting and oversight across the portfolio companies. It is a broad mandate with genuine ownership, direct access to the decision-maker, and visibility across every asset the family holds. Corporate and personal affairs are handled together because the office manages the Principal’s own wealth.
The role has four pillars: portfolio reporting and investment analysis; treasury and liquidity; group accounting, reporting and administration; and tax, legal and compliance, working with external advisers in each jurisdiction.
Reports to: The Principal, directly.
Location: Monaco or London, depending on the right candidate.
Hours: Forty per week, with flexibility around reporting cycles and transaction activity.
Travel: Between the UK and Monaco, in the order of once every six weeks.
Responsibilities
Portfolio reporting and investment analysis
- Produce the quarterly consolidated performance and valuation pack across all listed and private holdings, attributing returns between capital, income and foreign exchange, and maintain the consolidated net worth and asset schedule
- Manage the primary relationships across a number of the family office’s investments, including fund managers and co-investment partners, tracking capital calls, undrawn commitments, distributions and realisations
- Appraise new investment opportunities and lead due diligence using the office’s internal process, producing formal diligence memoranda
- Prepare the analysis underpinning the Principal’s decisions, and support the establishment of a new fund vehicle currently in development
Treasury and liquidity
- Own accountability for the portfolio’s liquidity forecast, ensuring forthcoming commitments are funded: the Principal’s personal and household expenditure, portfolio and office running costs, investment funding, fund capital calls, and loan principal and interest
- Lead the weekly liquidity review with the Principal, and set the annual liquidity budget ahead of the 31 December year end
- Model the forward liquidity and cash flow consequences of prospective decisions
- Instruct payments and trades, and manage the banking and lender relationships
Group accounting, reporting and administration
- Own the accounting, payroll and compliance for the UK entity and the Monegasque holding company, working with external accountants in both jurisdictions through to filing
- Support the portfolio companies’ accounting and reporting: preparing or reviewing their accounts, actualising their financial models, producing monthly management reporting and cash flow forecasts, and attending management meetings. The depth of involvement varies by company, from full bookkeeping and local payroll and indirect tax filings through to review of a local accountant’s work
- Prepare the annual budget for each operating company
- Administer the Principal’s UK and Australian properties, and maintain the central documentation register
Tax, legal and compliance
- Work with the UK accountant on the Principal’s personal tax return and the UK corporate return, and with Monegasque counsel on the Monaco structures
- Review contracts, NDAs, leases and employment documentation, and advise on the points that matter before signature
- Own the group compliance calendar, and manage KYC, bank onboarding and entity administration
The Working Environment
- Combines strategic and hands-on work. The same person who presents the portfolio review to the Principal also maintains the underlying records
- Covers the family’s personal and household affairs alongside corporate matters, and calls for complete discretion
- Decisions rest with the Principal. The value of the role lies in the clarity and rigour of the analysis presented to him
- Scope to grow the mandate: building out support in the operating businesses, standing up the new fund vehicle, and taking a lead role in new investment activity
Candidate Profile
Essential
- Treasury and liquidity management capability: cash flow forecasting, collateral and margin monitoring against secured borrowing, and scenario modelling of financing and disposal decisions
- Strong practical accounting across the full cycle, from bookkeeping and reconciliation through month-end close and management accounts to statutory filing with external accountants
- Excellent Excel financial modelling, and the judgement to interrogate models built by others
- Experience across multiple entities, currencies and jurisdictions, and a track record of operating autonomously
- Clear, concise reporting to a single decision-maker, complete discretion and sound personal judgement
Desirable
- An accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or local equivalent) or the CFA charter. Neither is a prerequisite, and strong practical experience will be considered on its merits
- Family office experience, and funds experience relevant to the vehicle in development
- Familiarity with Lombard and portfolio-secured lending, and investment analysis and due diligence experience
- UK compliance knowledge: VAT, PAYE and RTI, auto-enrolment, Companies House filings, corporation tax and Self Assessment
- Monaco, Swiss or other offshore experience; French and/or Italian; Xero and FactSet
Package and process
Remuneration: Competitive, and determined by reference to the experience of the successful candidate.
Process: The search is being run through retained recruiters in London and Monaco. Candidates should expect to meet the Principal directly. All applications are treated in the strictest confidence.
