Finance Manager

people2people; Sydney; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

people2people in Sydney is partnering with a high-growth professional services business to appoint a Finance Manager. You will own the end-to-end finance function, drive a streamlined operating model and lead a small team, collaborating with senior leaders to push for commercial outcomes.

You’ll balance hands-on finance with strategic partnering, shaping processes and controls while delivering top-tier management reporting and governance.

Qualifications

• CA or CPA qualifications required.
• Strong technical accounting capability.
• Experience with management reporting, budgeting, forecasting and cash flow.
• Financial controls and compliance experience.
• Previous team leadership experience.
• Experience working with cloud-based finance systems such as Xero.

Responsibilities

• Ownership of month-end reporting, reconciliations and management reporting.
• Budgeting, forecasting and cash flow management.
• Accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing and expense management.
• Commission calculations and oversight of outsourced payroll processes.
• Financial controls, governance and compliance coordination.
• Board reporting and management insights.
• Business partnering with operational leaders.
• Process improvement, systems optimisation and workflow automation initiatives.
• Supporting finance transformation and embedding best-practice processes across the business.

Skills

Management reporting

Budgeting

Forecasting

Cash flow management

Financial analysis

Leadership

Education

CA or CPA qualifications

Tools

Xero

Job description

Finance Manager | Build & Lead a Global Finance Function | Sydney

Some Finance Manager roles are about maintaining what's already in place.

This one is about building something better.

We're partnering with a highly successful, specialist professional services business with a global footprint and an established reputation within its niche market. As the business continues to evolve, they're creating a newly established Finance Manager position to centralise finance operations, strengthen reporting and build a more scalable finance function.

For the right person, this is a genuine opportunity to take ownership. You'll have the autonomy to shape processes, improve systems, build a team and become a trusted commercial partner to senior leadership.

If you enjoy creating structure, solving problems and leaving businesses stronger than you found them, this role will be hard to overlook.

About the Role

Reporting directly to senior leadership, you'll take ownership of the end-to-end finance function while helping transition the business towards a more streamlined and efficient operating model.

This is a hands-on Finance Manager position suited to someone who enjoys being close to the detail while also contributing commercially and strategically.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Ownership of month-end reporting, reconciliations and management reporting
• Budgeting, forecasting and cash flow management
• Accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing and expense management
• Commission calculations and oversight of outsourced payroll processes
• Financial controls, governance and compliance coordination
• Board reporting and management insights
• Business partnering with operational leaders
• Process improvement, systems optimisation and workflow automation initiatives
• Supporting finance transformation and embedding best-practice processes across the business

You’ll also play a key role in the ongoing development of systems including Xero and other cloud-based finance platforms, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, reporting capability and automation.

Leadership & Growth

One of the standout features of this role is the opportunity to build and lead a small finance team.

You’ll be involved in recruitment, mentoring and development while creating clear processes, accountability and service standards across the function. Rather than inheriting a mature structure, you’ll have the chance to help design it.

For finance professionals who enjoy building capability and influencing how a function operates, that’s often where the real job satisfaction comes from.

About You

We’re open to talented Finance Managers, Financial Controllers or commercially minded accounting professionals who enjoy balancing operational finance with continuous improvement.

Ideally you’ll bring:

• CA or CPA qualifications
• Strong technical accounting capability
• Experience across management reporting, budgeting, forecasting and cash flow
• Financial control and compliance experience
• Previous team leadership experience
• Confidence pairing with senior stakeholders
• A track record of improving processes and driving efficiencies
• Exposure to professional services, multi-entity environments or growing businesses will be highly regarded
• Experience working with cloud-based finance systems such as Xero

Just as importantly, you’ll be pragmatic, hands‑on and comfortable working in an environment where you can influence outcomes rather than simply follow established processes.

Why This Role?

Strong Finance Managers are increasingly looking for more than a standard reporting role.

This opportunity offers:

• Ownership of a newly centralised finance function
• The chance to build and lead your own team
• Significant systems and process improvement exposure
• Direct access to decision-makers
• A blend of financial control, commercial finance and business partnering
• The opportunity to shape how finance supports the wider business
• A global organisation with an entrepreneurial and collaborative culture

For someone motivated by autonomy, influence and the opportunity to build something meaningful, this represents a genuinely compelling next step.