Revenue Controller

Taylor Wessing

Taylor Wessing is a global law firm that serves the world's most innovative people and businesses. Deeply embedded within our sectors, we work closely together with our clients to crack complex problems, enabling ideas and aspirations to thrive. Together we challenge expectation and create extraordinary results. By shaping the conversation in our sectors, we enable our clients to unlock growth, protect innovation and accelerate ambition. 

With 1200+ lawyers, 300+ partners, 28 offices and 17 jurisdictions we are looking to expand our Finance  team, with the addition of a Revenue Controller.

Key responsibilities

This role is to join our Revenue Control Team within the Finance department. The Key responsibilities and areas that this person will manage and maintain include WIP management and analysis/full Billing process and Credit control. This will include:    

• Overall control and responsibility for driving the WIP management for one practice area initially to ensure WIP is actively managed by partners and WIP days and lock up are kept under control. 
• Through WIP meetings, seek in-depth knowledge of client agreed fee arrangements (e.g., fixed fee/volume discount/contingent/conditional/capped) and track and monitor WIP and billing activity to ensure compliance.
• Information gathering on key matters/clients and follow up on action points.   
• Monthly/two weekly meetings with Partners to review WIP/disbursements and debtors and follow up on action points.
• Timely updating of matter notes ensuring WIP reports are current with the latest information to include expected recovery rates, billing dates, areas of concern which should be flagged and monitored and any aged WIP is recoverable. 
• Timely preparation and distribution of client WIP/Debtor statements and exposure/accrual reports as and when required by the client/fee earner.
• Client reconciliations and analysis.
• Actively identify areas of work where automated reports and alerts can assist or process improvements can be made.
•  Actively chase missing timesheets within the department to ensure all WIP is captured and promptly billed and assisting fee earners with any time queries they may have.
• Preparation and processing of the departments bills and credit notes when required throughout the month and at month ends which may include complex multi matter, pro-rated and foreign currency billings.
• Action write offs/transfers/fee earner matter amends/time and narrative amends.
• Monitor the regular billing of large external disbursements to ensure payment liability is covered.   

Key responsibilities

• Review and ensure the billing guide adequately supports time or disbursements removed and the fee allocation shown is in line with the firm’s policy, the VAT treatment is correct before posting to ledger and all necessary compliance checks are completed.
• Providing guidance to fee earners and secretaries on billing best practices, whilst resolving queries and identify and assist areas that would benefit from extra training. Review billing profile for practice area with a view to improve bill generation timing where possible.
• Monitor high value exposure items, ensuring timely billing from start to end.
• Chasing client invoices via telephone and email and actively prompting fee earners to follow up when required.
• Assist office cashiers with reconciling bill payments, ensuring remittance advices are requested from clients and forwarded in a timely manner.
• Updating the credit control system with detailed notes on reasons for non-payment/payment dates/contact details etc.
• Detailed analysis when dealing with queries on unpaid debts to resolve client and fee earner issues and ultimately ensure this is resolved and payment is received. 
• Dealing with fee earner and secretary queries and report requests on an ongoing daily basis on all credit control, revenue and billing related issues and any further ad hoc queries/reports raised and requested by the Finance Management team.
• Reviewing client account monies held monthly and liaising with partners regarding whether these can be used for future/existing bills or needs to be returned.

Knowledge, skills and experience

Key skills/capabilities necessary for the role include:

• Experience of working in a revenue/billing/credit control environment in the legal sector.
• High degree of inputting accuracy required.
• Tenacious, self-motivated, confident, knowledgeable, proactive and assertive attitude when dealing with fee earners a must in some of our most challenging departments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate at all levels and think outside of the box.
• High attention to detail and confident in working with excel in order to provide data analysis and reconciliations.
• Understanding of the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules and relevant VAT legislation.
• Effective planning and organisation skills.
• Aderant experience preferred.
• Intapp time experience beneficial.

Benefits

Here are a select few benefits that Taylor Wessing offer; 

• Hybrid working (Offering the opportunity to work remotely, while maintaining a social boundary by working from our award-winning offices for 3 days a week) 
• Holiday (Our basic annual holiday entitlement starts at 25 days, with a further discretionary day of paid leave in December. You may also purchase up to five extra days each year (pro rata). 
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity leave (After one-year service, you are entitled to up to 26 weeks leave full pay if you or your partner give birth or adopt a child). 

Along with these there are many more benefits we offer, with the addition of a comprehensive flexible benefits package available. 

Our culture

Nurturing a diverse, inclusive culture allows all of our talent to flourish, sparks creativity and powers innovation.  We continue to build a team that exemplifies inclusivity and reflects the firm's core values: creative, excellence, integrity, responsible, respect and team.  We value and celebrate the differences in who we are, what we have experienced and how we think, so all candidates will be treated fairly regardless of age, caring responsibilities, disability, gender identity, marital status, neurodiversity, pregnancy, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and socio-economic background.

The way we work

At Taylor Wessing, we never settle for average. We're creative thinkers, problem solvers and continuous learners who excel at what we do and believe our best work is still ahead of us. We are a firm that's large enough for you to achieve your ambitions, but connected enough to be a true community.  

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