Head of Finance & Accounts (Family Office)

Role & responsibilities

Finance Leadership and Governance

• Establish and lead the family offices finance and accounting function.
• Develop accounting policies, financial controls, approval authorities, reporting standards and operating procedures.
• Oversee finance operations across family members, trusts, companies, SPVs, partnerships and investment entities.
• Establish segregation of duties and maker-checker controls for payments, investments, banking and reporting.
• Advise the Family Principal, CIO and senior management on financial, liquidity, tax, control and governance matters.
• Lead periodic reviews of the family offices finance processes, systems, risks and service-provider performance.

Accounting and Cashflow

• Oversee the maintenance of books, ledgers and accounting records for all relevant family and group entities.
• Review and approve monthly, quarterly and annual management accounts.
• Prepare consolidated financial statements, family-level balance sheets, cash-flow statements and net-worth reports.
• Review bank, investment, loan, credit-card, payroll and inter-entity reconciliations.
• Ensure accurate recording of capital contributions, distributions, related-party transactions, loans, guarantees, expenses and asset transfers.
• Coordinate audits, reviews and financial information requests.
• Ensure financial records are maintained in accordance with applicable accounting standards and internal reporting policies.
• Prepare rolling short-, medium- and long-term liquidity forecasts.
• Oversee annual budgets for family expenses, properties, employees, philanthropy, education, travel and capital projects.
• Monitor cash balances, committed obligations, debt service, taxes, capital calls and anticipated investment requirements.
• Establish banking structures, cash controls, payment workflows and bank-signatory protocols.
• Ensure sufficient liquidity is maintained without unnecessary cash balances or unplanned asset sales.

Tax and Regulatory Compliance

• Lead the coordination of tax compliance for individuals, companies, trusts, estates, partnerships and investment structures.
• Manage the consolidated tax calendar for income tax, withholding tax, advance tax, indirect tax, payroll-related obligations and other applicable filings.
• Review tax schedules and information prepared by internal teams and external advisors.
• Coordinate responses to tax notices, audits, assessments and information requests.
• Monitor changes in tax, accounting, foreign-exchange, corporate and regulatory requirements affecting the family office.
• Ensure appropriate documentation and approvals for cross-border transactions, inter-entity funding, loans, guarantees and distributions.
• Assess the financial and compliance implications of new entities, investments, restructurings and asset transfers.

Investment Finance and Reporting

• Oversee the complete investment accounting and reporting process.
• Maintain accurate registers of public-market investments, private equity, venture capital, real estate, debt, funds, structured products, digital assets and other investments, where applicable.
• Review records of acquisitions, valuations, capital calls, distributions, dividends, interest, fees, taxes and unrealised gains or losses.
• Review investment data received from asset managers, custodians, brokers and fund administrators.
• Ensure reconciliation of investment statements with internal books and portfolio records.
• Support the CIO and investment team with portfolio analytics, investment cash-flow planning and decision support.

Legal Documentation and Entity Management

• Maintain oversight of the family offices entity, ownership and legal-document framework.
• Ensure investments and inter-entity transactions are supported by approved agreements, resolutions, mandates, guarantees and service contracts.
• Maintain an entity matrix covering ownership, directors, trustees, beneficiaries, authorised signatories, tax status and governing documents.
• Review the financial implications of shareholder agreements, loan agreements, trust deeds, pledge documents, side letters and investment contracts.
• Ensure contractual obligations are recorded and monitored within the finance function.
• Reconcile legal ownership records, cap tables, registers, trust deeds and partnership interests with accounting records.
• Identify and escalate inconsistencies between the legal, tax, investment and accounting views.
• Coordinate with legal team on transaction closing, documentation, entity restructuring and governance matters.
• Maintain a central, controlled repository for executed legal and financial documents.

Insurance and High-Value Asset Oversight

• Lead the financial and administrative oversight of insurance for family assets and high-value valuables.
• Maintain an inventory of art, jewellery, watches, classic cars, antiques, designer goods and high-value household contents.
• Ensure asset registers include ownership, location, acquisition cost, valuation, custody, provenance and supporting documentation.
• Coordinate with specialist insurance brokers on agreed-value, fine-art, worldwide all-risks, transit, exhibition, storage and motor insurance.
• Review policy schedules, deductibles, exclusions, limits and renewal requirements.
• Ensure insurance coverage is updated when assets are purchased, sold, transferred, pledged, relocated or inherited.
• Reconcile insurance records with accounting records, legal ownership and succession arrangements.
• Oversee the financial documentation of claims, settlements, recoveries and asset replacement costs.

Estate, Succession and Family Governance

• Maintain asset-by-owner, asset-by-entity and asset-by-beneficiary schedules.
• Ensure financial records reflect approved ownership transfers, distributions, gifts, settlements and succession arrangements.
• Prepare periodic financial and obligation reports for the Family Council, trustees, board or family representatives.
• Coordinate with executors, trustees, legal counsel, tax advisors and family representatives on estate-related financial matters.
• Maintain records of succession-related commitments, restrictions, pledges and beneficiary rights.

Preferred candidate profile

• CA, Inter-CA, MBA (Finance) with experience in family office, private wealth, or multientity groups; familiarity with SPVs, trusts, and crossborder structures preferred.
• Proficient in excel and accounting & wealth software; strong analytical and reconciling skills.
• Ability to work confidentially with highnetworth families and coordinate with legal, tax, and investment teams.
• Basic understanding of art, luxury, and highvalue asset insurance markets is a plus.