Finance Business Partner

Overview:
**Position Description: Finance Business Partner / Reporting Analyst**

**Location**: Adelaide, South Australia
**Role Type**: Permanent, Full-time (Hybrid)

**Role ID**: 2025-2745

**Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world**

Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company, listed on the London Stock Exchange. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world.

**Role Purpose**

50% | The role is responsible for the timely and accurate delivery of financial and operational reporting. This role supports the finance team in preparing key insights for business performance reviews, forecasting processes, and cost control, enabling effective decision-making across the organisation.

50% | The role is also responsible for the accuracy of project and regional financials, delivering forward-looking insights and supporting the business in making data-driven decisions. This role partners closely with project managers, and senior stakeholders to ensure forecasts are robust, revenue is accurately recognised, and opportunities and risks including working capital are actively managed.

**Key Responsibilities**

**Reporting Analyst (50%)**
- Lead the development, enhancement, and ongoing maintenance of the global reporting suite to ensure accuracy, consistency, and alignment with business needs
- Manage the preparation and continuous improvement of the Group Performance Pack, ensuring timeliness and clarity of insights for senior stakeholders
- Coordinate the Group forecast process, including development of models, timeline management, and consolidation of regional inputs
- Coordinate the annual budgeting process, supporting model development and ensuring clear communication of timelines and deliverables
- Prepare and maintain the Global Orderbook and Pipeline Phasing reports, supporting forward visibility of revenue and resource planning
- Identify and communicate key trends, risks, and opportunities, providing actionable insights to drive performance improvements
- Analyse and explain material variances, unusual transactions, or misclassifications, with recommendations for corrective actions where required
- Perform detailed analysis across payroll, overheads, and project delivery costs using TGK data and other sources as appropriate
- Support finance and operational leaders with ad hoc reporting and analysis, tailored to evolving business priorities
- Work collaboratively with finance teams globally to drive consistency in reporting and forecasting practices
- Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives, including automation of manual processes and enhancements to reporting tools and templates

**Business Partnering (50%)**
- Partner with regional stakeholders to update forecasts and explain changes from previous forecasts or budgets
- Provide commercial support for tenders and contracts, including first-pass financial reviews, identification of red flags, and review of key terms and conditions
- Lead the Results Analysis process, ensuring timely delivery in line with the monthly timetable, and coordinate follow-up on risks, opportunities, and agreed actions
- Support strategic decision-making by providing clear, concise financial insight and challenge, focused on driving business performance
- Work closely with delivery and operations teams to review project performance and ensure the accuracy and integrity of financial information
- Support the Financial Controller on the preparation of statutory reporting and audit deliverables, including timely and accurate completion of the Stat Pack
- Oversee working capital management through review of invoicing, WIP, and debtor positions, and by partnering with operational teams to drive timely cash conversion
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of forecasting and reporting processes, ensuring they are robust, efficient, and meet stakeholder needs
- Build strong relationships across finance and the business to enhance financial understanding and drive a culture of accountability and performance

**Key Attributes**
- Analytical, organised, and detail-oriented with a strong sense of ownership.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate financial data into actionable insights.
- Continuous improvement mindset with a focus on streamlining processes and improving reporting outputs.
- Ability to work effectively with stakeholders across disciplines and geographies.

**Qualifications and Experience**
- Part-qualified or qualified accountant (CPA or CA).
- 5+ years' experience in a financial analysis or reporting role.
- Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills; Power Query and S