Senior Manager – Compliance

Reports To Partners

Direct Reports None

Location Auckland

Employment Type Permanent, Full Time

Qualification Requirement Chartered Accountant or equivalent

Practising Requirement Current Public Practice Certificate (PPC) with ability to review and sign o client work

Role Purpose

The Senior Manager – Compliance is responsible for the e ective planning, coordination, review and delivery of the firm’s compliance programme.

The role will take ownership of compliance scheduling and workflow across the firm, ensuring work is progressed e iciently, completed to the required technical standard and delivered within agreed filing deadlines.

This is predominantly a review, quality control and workflow management role rather than an accounts preparation position. The Senior Manager will work closely with the Partners, Senior Managers and outsourced accounting provider to ensure compliance work moves e iciently through the business.

A key objective of the position is to enable the Partners to step away from the day-to- day management and delivery of compliance activity.

Key Accountabilities

Compliance Planning & Workflow

 Take ownership of the firm’s annual compliance programme, including scheduling and monitoring workflow.

 Maintain clear oversight of upcoming filing requirements, deadlines and priorities.

 Monitor progress against agreed compliance and filing targets.

 Identify potential workflow issues or delays and take appropriate action to keep work progressing.

 Ensure work is appropriately allocated between the internal team and outsourced accounting provider.

 Maintain visibility over the status of compliance work and provide regular updates to the Partners and wider team.

 Ensure outstanding matters are actively followed through to completion.

Review & Quality Control

 Review financial statements, income tax returns, GST returns, workpapers and supporting documentation prepared by others.

 Ensure work is technically accurate, complete and consistent with firm standards.

 Review and update resolutions, minutes and other associated statutory documentation as required.

 Identify and resolve technical or quality issues.

 Sign o client work where appropriate and within the scope of the position holder’s Public Practice Certificate.

 Maintain appropriate quality control processes across the compliance function.

Outsourced Provider Management

 Coordinate workflow with the firm’s outsourced accounting provider, Connect.

 Ensure work provided externally is appropriately scoped, prioritised and scheduled.

 Review the quality and completeness of work returned.

 Monitor turnaround times and address issues that impact the e iciency of the compliance process.

 Identify opportunities to improve the e ectiveness of the outsourced relationship.

Process Improvement

 Review existing compliance processes and identify opportunities to improve e iciency, consistency and throughput.

 Develop practical processes and controls that provide greater visibility over compliance workflow.

 Support the use of technology, automation and AI-enabled tools where these can improve the quality or e iciency of compliance delivery.

 Promote consistent ways of working across the firm.

Team & Stakeholder Support

 Work collaboratively with Partners and Senior Managers to ensure compliance requirements are appropriately prioritised and delivered.

 Provide technical guidance and support to other members of the team where required.

 Influence workflow and outcomes without relying on formal reporting lines.

 Build strong working relationships across the firm and with external service providers.

 Contribute positively to the firm’s collaborative and team-based culture.

Key Measures of Success

 Full ownership of the firm’s compliance schedule and workflow.

 Compliance work completed in line with agreed internal and statutory filing targets.

 Clear visibility across the business of compliance progress, priorities and outstanding work.

 Reduced Partner involvement in the day-to-day management and delivery of compliance work.

 Consistent quality and accuracy of reviewed compliance work.

 E ective utilisation and management of the outsourced accounting provider.

 Improved e iciency and consistency of compliance processes.

 Strong follow-through, with work progressed and completed without unnecessary delays.

Experience & Qualifications

 A current Public Practice Certificate, with the appropriate experience and authority to review and sign o client work.

 CA qualification or equivalent.

 Significant experience within a New Zealand chartered accounting or professional services firm.

 Strong working knowledge of New Zealand accounting, taxation and compliance requirements.

 Demonstrated experience reviewing financial statements, tax returns, GST returns and associated workpapers.

 Experience managing or coordinating a significant volume of compliance work.

 Experience working with outsourced or o shore accounting providers would be advantageous.

 An understanding of how technology, automation and AI can be applied to accounting and compliance processes.

Skills & Capabilities

 Strong planning, organisation and workflow management capability.

 Excellent attention to detail and commitment to quality.

 Strong technical accounting and tax judgement.

 Ability to prioritise and manage multiple competing deadlines.

 Strong follow-through and a focus on completing work.

 Ability to identify issues early and take practical action to resolve them.

 Confident reviewing the work of experienced accounting professionals.

 Collaborative and able to influence others without formal authority.

 Pragmatic and commercially minded.

 Comfortable working within a flat organisational structure.

Key Relationships

Relationship Key Stakeholders

Internal Partners; Senior Managers; wider accounting team

External Connect outsourced accounting team; clients as required; other professional advisers and external parties where relevant

Organisation & Team Structure

The firm comprises approximately 18 employees, including 12 accounting professionals and two Partners

The organisational structure is deliberately flat, with experienced Senior Managers responsible for their own client portfolios and no traditional junior or intermediate accounting layer. Preparation-level work is largely supported through the firm’s outsourced accounting provider.

The Senior Manager – Compliance will not have direct reports but will play a key role in coordinating compliance activity across the wider team.

Role Context

The role has been created to support the ongoing growth and development of the firm and the addition of new client portfolios.

The firm is also progressively refining its client base, with a focus on reducing unnecessary compliance volume while increasing the quality of clients and the level of value-added advisory support provided.

Current service delivery is approximately 60% compliance and 40% advisory, including business planning, forecasting, monthly / quarterly client advisory meetings, valuations, succession planning and CFO type services.

The firm predominantly works with privately owned businesses, typically with annual revenue of approximately $1 million to $10 million.

Remuneration

Indicative remuneration is expected to be in the range of $160,000–$180,000, depending on experience and the overall remuneration structure agreed.

Alternative remuneration structures, including performance or profit-related components, may be considered.

Equity is not currently part of the position.