Financial Controller

Leo Recruitment Limited; Cheltenham; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Laptop and equipment provided

Private healthcare

Pension scheme

Study support

Mental health support

Ongoing professional development

Occasional travel

Job summary

Leo Recruitment Limited is seeking a Financial Controller in Cheltenham with hybrid work: three days in the office and two days remote. You will oversee a portfolio of technology-focused businesses, delivering management accounts, budgets and cash analysis across multiple entities.

You will report to the Group Head of Finance, taking ownership of improvements to financial controls and reporting. Suitable for a Finance Manager ready to step up or an existing Financial Controller seeking varied

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant or working towards a qualification with strong accounting knowledge.
• Hands-on experience producing management accounts, budgets and forecasts.
• Experience introducing or improving financial controls and processes.
• Ability to model project costs and profitability for pricing decisions.
• Comfortable communicating financial insights to senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Produce management accounts, KPI reporting, and financial analysis across portfolios.
• Build budgets, forecasts and financial models for growth and cash planning.
• Manage cash flow, working capital, invoicing and FX exposure.
• Establish/strengthen financial controls and reporting processes.
• Model project profitability, assist with pricing and bids.
• Oversee statutory accounting, VAT, corporation tax, payroll and compliance.

Skills

Financial reporting

Budgeting

Cash flow management

Financial modelling

Stakeholder communication

Problem solving

Leadership experience

ERP systems experience

Education

Qualified accountant (ACCA/CIMA etc)

Job description

Financial Controller

Location: Cheltenham – Hybrid, 3 days per week onsite, 2 days remote

Salary: Up to £60,000 per annum

Contract: Permanent, full time

The Opportunity

How often do you get the opportunity to be the Financial Controller for several completely different businesses at the same time?

That’s what makes this role a little different.

We’re hiring for a company that provides fractional CFO services to a portfolio of technology businesses – many of which are start-ups, early in their growth journey, or preparing to commercialise.

Rather than becoming responsible for one established finance function, you’ll work across a small portfolio of businesses, each with different priorities, challenges, and ambitions.

One might need you to improve its financial controls and reporting. Another could need better visibility of cash before making its next move. You might be modelling the profitability of a new project, helping with a pricing decision, or giving a leadership team the financial insight they need to decide what happens next.

In this role, you’ll report to the Group Head of Finance, but you’ll have plenty of autonomy to take ownership, solve problems and introduce better ways of doing things across your portfolio.

This position could suit a Finance Manager who is ready to step up, or an existing Financial Controller looking for more variety and autonomy in their next role.

Why This Role Stands Out

• Salary of up to £60,000 per annum depending on experience
• Hybrid working with 3 days in the Cheltenham office and 2 days from home (laptop and equipment provided)
• Flexible start and finish times around your 40-hour working week
• Study support towards a qualification if applicable
• Private healthcare through Vitality
• Group life assurance and income protection
• Pension scheme and mental health support programmes
• Ongoing professional development
• Occasional opportunities for travel
• Varied experience across a small portfolio of businesses rather than one set of accounts
• A supportive, entrepreneurial environment where you can help improve processes as the business grows

What the Financial Controller will do:

• Produce management accounts, KPI reporting, and financial analysis across your portfolio, highlighting what business leaders need to know
• Build budgets, forecasts and financial models to help businesses plan growth, investment and future cash requirements
• Take ownership of cash flow and working capital, including invoicing, intercompany balances, cash reserves and foreign exchange exposure
• Put appropriate financial controls, reporting processes, and accounting procedures in place where businesses have outgrown their existing way of working
• Model project costs and profitability, challenge potential overruns, and provide financial input into pricing and customer bids
• Oversee statutory accounting, VAT, corporation tax, payroll, and other compliance requirements, working with external specialists where needed

What you’ll bring as a Financial Controller:

• You’ll be a qualified accountant, or working towards a qualification, with strong technical accounting knowledge
• You’ll have hands‑on experience producing management accounts, budgets and forecasts rather than simply contributing information towards them
• You’ll have previously introduced or improved financial controls, processes or procedures – this role needs someone comfortable creating structure
• You’ll be confident with financial modelling and using numbers to assess growth, investment, pricing or other commercial decisions
• You’ll be comfortable speaking with senior leaders, explaining what the numbers are telling them, and challenging where necessary
• You’ll have experience taking ownership at Finance Manager, Financial Controller or similar level, and be comfortable managing several competing priorities
• Previous experience implementing an ERP system or sourcing funding would be useful, but isn’t essential.

Location

You’ll need to be located within commutable distance of Cheltenham as you will work from the office 3 days per week, with the opportunity to work from home for the remaining 2 days. There may occasionally be some travel for client meetings or company activities.

Why You Should Apply

If the part of finance you enjoy most is getting underneath a business, working out what isn’t quite working, and then doing something about it, there should be plenty here to keep you interested.

You might help one founder understand their cash position, build a forecasting model for another business, spot that a project is heading over budget, improve a clunky finance process, or give a leadership team the information they need to make a significant commercial decision.

So, if you like the idea of being a Financial Controller without looking at the same business, same problems, and same processes year after year, this could be worth a conversation.

We are happy to support neurodivergent candidates and can make reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process.