Head of Finance & Controlling (all genders)

Distribusion; Berlin; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Distribusion, the world’s leading ground transportation marketplace, seeks a senior finance leader to head accounting and finance operations in Berlin. You will drive month-end close, prepare financial statements, manage controls, and partner with the CFO to scale our fast-growing business.

You will lead a small team, own FP&A, cash management, tax compliance, and audits across multiple entities, ensuring compliance with HGB and IFRS. Fluent English is required; German is a plus.

Qualifications

• 8+ years post-qualification accounting experience.
• Strong technical accounting expertise with HGB and IFRS.
• Experience leading and developing finance teams in an international setup.

Responsibilities

• Lead month-end, quarter-end and year-end closes with strict deadlines.
• Prepare and publish balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statements.
• Oversee GL integrity, journal entries, accruals and reconciliations.
• Manage AP/AR, payroll and expense reporting.
• Ensure compliance with accounting standards (HGB/IFRS) and internal controls.
• Coordinate audits and tax compliance with external advisors.
• Drive budgeting/forecasting and variance analysis.
• Own accounting systems and scale processes for growth.

Skills

Technical accounting

HGB/IFRS

Leadership

Multi-entity

FP&A

Audit management

Tax compliance

Process improvement

Communication

Education

Big 4 trained

Job description

About us

Distribusion is the world’s leading ground transportation marketplace and gives travellers seamless access to ground transportation online, from search to ticket purchase. We have built a cutting-edge B2B technology platform that connects bus, rail, and ferry operators in 70+ countries with the biggest online retailers, including Google Maps and Booking.com.

We are shaping the future of travel and building the largest global network of transport providers and retailers. We are one of the fastest growing startups in travel, backed by leading venture capital investors including TQ Ventures, Lightrock, Creandum, and Northzone,and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Following our recent $80m Series C funding, we are ready to push beyond.

The opportunity

Reporting directly to the CFO, you will lead our accounting and finance operations, ensuring accurate financial reporting, effective internal controls, regulatory compliance and strong cash management.

This is a hands-on leadership role combining technical accounting expertise, operational ownership and process improvement. You'll lead and develop the finance team, strengthen our financial infrastructure and work closely with the CFO to support the company's continued growth.

What you will do:

Financial Reporting & Accounting Operations

• Period-End Close: Lead and execute the month-end, quarter-end, and year-end financial close processes strictly within established deadlines.
• Statement Preparation: Prepare and publish accurate, comprehensive financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement) for internal and external stakeholders.
• General Ledger Management: Oversee and maintain the integrity of the general ledger, ensuring all journal entries, accruals, and reconciliations are accurate.
• Transactional Oversight: Manage daily accounting operations, including Accounts Payable (AP), Accounts Receivable (AR), Payroll, and expense reporting.
• Standardisation: Ensure all financial reporting complies with relevant accounting standards (e.g., German HGB or IFRS).

Internal Controls, Audit & Risk Management

• Process Design: Establish, monitor, and enforce internal controls and accounting policies to safeguard company assets and prevent fraud.
• Audit Management: Serve as the primary liaison for external auditors, preparing all required schedules, documentation, and answering audit inquiries.
• Tax Compliance: Coordinate with external tax advisors to ensure the timely and accurate filing of all taxes.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with all statutory reporting requirements and industry-specific financial regulations.

Cash Management & Treasury

• Working Capital Optimisation: Monitor daily cash balances and manage AR/AP cycles to optimise working capital.
• Cash Flow Forecasting: Develop and maintain rolling cash flow forecasts to ensure the company has sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations.
• Banking Relations: Oversee bank reconciliations and manage corporate bank accounts.

Variance Analysis & Budget Support

• Budget-to-Actuals: Perform detailed monthly variance analysis comparing actual financial performance against budgets and forecasts, identifying root causes for discrepancies.
• Data Integrity for FP&A: Provide the foundational, clean historical financial data required by the finance team to build accurate forward-looking models and budgets.

Systems & Team Leadership

• Accounting Staff Management: Hire, train, and mentor the accounting team (e.g., staff accountants, AP/AR clerks, payroll specialists).
• Financial Systems Maintenance: Act as the business owner for the company's accounting systems, identifying workflow bottlenecks and implementing

Workplace: Belrin & Hybrid

We are ideally seeking to locate this role at our HQ in Berlin, Germany. However, we are a remote-first company with teams located globally and will also consider applications from elsewhere.

What We're Looking For

• We're looking for a strong technical accountant who can push boundaries and develop new ways of thinking about numbers and reporting results.
• 8+ years of post-qualification experience, preferably Big 4 trained.
• Strong technical accounting expertise, with a solid understanding of HGB and IFRS.
• Proven experience managing financial close, reporting, audits, tax compliance and internal controls.
• Experience working in an international, multi-entity environment.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing finance or accounting teams (ideally 10+ people).
• Hands-on, detail-oriented and comfortable taking full ownership of operational finance matters.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Positive "can-do" attitude and eagerness to own and take responsibility for projects and processes.
• Demonstrated ability to improve financial processes, systems and drive operational efficiencies leveraging AI.
• Independent, pragmatic and proactive, with strong problem-solving and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience in a fast-growing technology company or international scale-up, ideally within travel, marketplaces, payments or fintech.
• Experience with finance systems implementation or process automation.
• Fluent English; German language skills are an advantage.

What you can expect:

• Make a global impact. Help shape how millions of people discover and book ground transportation worldwide.
• Own your work. Take responsibility from day one and see the direct impact of your contributions.
• Build with the best tools. We move fast, continuously evolve our tech stack, and invest in modern, efficient solutions.
• Work with industry leaders. Our partners include Booking.com, Google Maps, Amtrak, Deutsche Bahn, Renfe, and SNCF.
• Grow with exceptional people. Join an international team that will challenge, support, and inspire you every day.
• Work your way. Enjoy flexible and remote-friendly working options, relocation opportunities, and plenty of room to grow.

Our hiring process for this role:

Your Talent Partner (TP) and point of contact is Limor Ziv, and the Hiring Manager (HM) is Michael Tamburrini. For any queries, please contact your Talent Partner at ([e-mail]).

Do you want to work in an advanced tech environment and have an impact on millions of travellers around the globe? Join us!