Financial Controller

Story Terrace Inc.; Bristol; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Salary sacrifice pension

Health insurance

Enhanced parental leave

Work from home budget

Hybrid work policy

Job summary

Heidi is seeking a fully qualified Financial Controller to own the numbers end-to-end, including month-end close, cashflow forecasting and statutory accounts. You will lead a five-person finance team and report to the Finance Director, turning numbers into actionable insights for decision-making.

The role blends hands-on finance work with strategic oversight in a fast-growing ski holiday business. You will drive automated processes, strengthen controls, and own tax and regulatory reporting

Qualifications

• Fully qualified ACA/ACCA/CIMA with 4–5 years post-qualification experience.
• At least 2 years as a Financial Controller in a scaleup.
• Experience with end-to-end month-end close and management accounts.
• Experience with statutory audits and external auditors.
• Strong cashflow forecasting, budgeting and FP&A skills.
• Automation-first mindset and hands-on with the finance stack.
• Excellent communication with senior leadership and the board.

Responsibilities

• Own month-end close and board reporting.
• Own accounting policy and year-end statutory accounts under FRS 102.
• Manage revenue recognition, deferred revenue and supplier accruals.
• Own VAT, corporation tax and Civil Aviation Authority reporting.
• Scale and own cashflow forecasting model and day-to-day treasury.
• Lead FP&A and forecasting; partner with budget holders.
• Drive finance systems, automation and internal controls.
• Line manage five direct reports and develop the team.

Skills

Month-end close

Cashflow forecasting

Financial analysis

Financial planning

Automation mindset

Leadership & communication

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA qualification

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Excel

Job description

About Heidi

Heidi was born to make it easy for more and more people to discover the power of the mountains. We burst onto the ski holiday market in 2018 (formerly known as Ski Zoom) and have seen exponential growth.

The company came from a desire to fix the lack of flexibility in the winter ski market. We help skiers and mountain lovers discover resorts that are hidden gems alongside the classics, and our clever tech is helping them to do it in a way that suits them best. We're a youthful, challenger brand, with an awesome culture, and we're shaking up a very traditional ski/mountain holiday industry.

Looking to the future, we have huge ambitions for growth. We have grown year on year since 2018 and expect 2026 to be our biggest yet. In that time we came 63rd in the Times top 100 fastest growing UK companies, secured £5.6 million investment and just had our most successful season ever. Key to our future success is also growing the Heidi team with even more brilliant people than we have now. So we are looking for someone who will be fundamental to the success of our vision and is excited to help us drive that forward.

The Role

We're looking for a Financial Controller who can own the numbers end to end, the month-end close, cashflow forecasting, statutory audit, and the controls and systems that let a fast-growing business scale without losing its grip. You'll be the person owning the production of a clean set of management accounts in a timely manner and then sit with a budget holder to explain what the numbers actually mean for their decisions.

You'll lead a team of five covering day-to-day transactional finance, and report directly to Adam, our Finance Director. This is a hands-on, high-ownership role in a business that treats finance as a driver of good decisions, not just a scorekeeper.

What You'll Own

• Month-end close and board reporting — own the month-end close, overseeing the team who produce the monthly management accounts, and lead board reporting to deadline. Be the single owner of "are the numbers right, and are they on time".
• Technical accounting and statutory accounts — be Heidi's technical accounting authority. Own accounting policy, the year-end statutory accounts under FRS 102, and make judgement calls on complex areas as they arise.
• Revenue recognition — own the revenue accounting, agent vs principal treatment, deferred revenue on future departures, and supplier accruals. Get this right, keep it right, and keep it audit-ready.
• Tax and regulatory compliance — own VAT (including TOMS), corporation tax and industry-specific reporting to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Manage the relationships with our stakeholders and advisors.
• Cashflow, treasury and financing — scale and own our cashflow forecasting model and process, manage banking relationships and day-to-day treasury, oversee foreign currency hedging, and run covenant testing and lender reporting to keep us compliant with our financing arrangements.
• Financial planning and analysis — raise the bar on our planning and forecasting, partnering with operational budget holders. Turn in-depth analysis of performance, variances and trends into insight stakeholders can act on and support investor reporting and future fundraises.
• Finance systems, automation and controls — own process automation and finance system improvements to enhance scalability, and build out the financial controls environment as we grow. Our finance stack is a big priority and this role leads its evolution.
• Team leadership — line manage five direct reports, ensuring the day-to-day transactional processes run accurately and to deadline through them. Set clear development plans and be a calm, decisive point of escalation for the wider finance function.

What good looks like in this role

• The month-end close is faster, cleaner and more predictable than it was when you arrived.
• Budget holders come to you because your analysis helps them make better decisions, not just because they have to.
• Cashflow is forecast with confidence, and surprises are rare because you saw them coming.
• Manual, fragile processes are steadily replaced with automated, scalable ones — the finance stack keeps up with the business.
• The audit is a well-run process, not a fire drill, and controls tighten as we scale.
• Your small team knows what they're accountable for, and they're developing under your leadership.

What we're looking for

• Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) with 4–5 years' post-qualification experience, including at least 2 years as a Financial Controller in a scaleup.
• Proven ownership of the end-to-end month-end close and production of management accounts to deadline.
• Experience owning a statutory audit process and managing the relationship with external auditors.
• A track record building and owning cashflow forecasting, budgeting and financial planning in a fast-growing business.
• Strong technical accounting knowledge alongside advanced financial analysis and modelling skills, you're highly numerate and genuinely data-driven.
• A process improver at heart. You've made finance processes, controls and systems better, with an automation-first mindset and a hands-on approach to the finance stack.
• A confident communicator who can distill complex numbers for senior leadership and the board.
• Resilient, hands-on and comfortable operating with ambiguity and pace in a scaleup.
• AI-literate: actively curious about how AI and modern tooling change the way a finance function works.

Bonus points

• You ski and/or are an outdoorsy person. Genuinely useful, not just a nice-to-have.
• Experience managing multiple currencies at volume.
• Travel-sector experience and familiarity with ATOL / CAA reporting.
• Experience in a PE/VC-backed or high-growth SME, including covenant testing and lender reporting.
• Experience implementing or migrating a finance/ERP system.

Who's going to be your manager?

You will be reporting to Adam, our Finance Director.

The interview process…..

1. Screening call (30 minutes): w/ Luke, our TA Partner
2. Behaviour Interview (45–60 minutes): w/ Adam, our FD
3. Onsite Interview (90 minutes): Demonstrate your experience and skills by working through pre-set questions and a task based on 'What we're looking for', with Adam and another member of the finance team
4. Culture Add Interview (30 minutes): Questions linked to our values and ways of working with our co-founder Marcus

Our employee benefits

• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays + 4 "me/wellbeing" days
• Salary sacrifice pension scheme
• We have a hybrid working policy and are happy for people to balance their working week between the office and home. You own your time.
• Health insurance
• Enhanced parental leave

Additional employee perks

• Heidi holiday credit + additional holiday discounts
• A fun packed company social calendar including our summer party, end of term conference and budget for team celebrations
• £300 work from home budget (where applicable)

Our Commitment to inclusive hiring

We want to create an inclusive environment that celebrates the diversity of our people whilst enabling them to do the best work of their careers. We are committed to ensuring that all our people processes are equitable. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to age, sex, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family or parental status, national origin, veteran, neurodiversity status or disability status.