Financial Controller

Carpe Diem Tours; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Carpe Diem Tours seeks an experienced Financial Controller to own finance operations across the UK business. You will lead statutory and management accounts, payroll, compliance, and cash flow reporting, collaborating with the CFO to maintain a clear financial position.

Based in London with a hybrid work model, you will manage a small finance team and drive process improvement using modern tools and automation.

Qualifications

• Accounting degree or equivalent hands-on professional experience in a dedicated accountant role.
• Proven experience managing statutory and management accounts with cash flow forecasting and department budgeting.
• Strong knowledge of UK payroll, PAYE, NI, VAT and multi-currency finance.
• Xero proficiency and experience with additional accounting systems is a bonus.

Responsibilities

• Own statutory accounts and Xero ownership with full documentation and bank reconciliations.
• Oversee management accounts, cash flow, and align statutory and management reporting.
• Lead month-end close, expense categorisation, and financial reporting to CFO.
• Collaborate on annual budgeting and department-level reporting.
• Manage UK payroll, auto-enrolment, and supplier/payable cycles.
• Develop FX strategy and manage multi-currency transfers, including intercompany.
• Drive finance process improvement using automation and AI tools.
• Line-manage the finance team and act as escalation point for finance queries.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Attention to detail

Financial reporting

Month-end close

Team leadership

Process improvement

AI/automation

Education

Accounting degree or equivalent hands-on professional experience

Tools

Xero

Excel

Job description

London (Hybrid) | Full-Time | Reports to CFO

LOCATION: London / Hybrid CONTRACT: Full-Time, Permanent TEAM: Finance REPORTS TO: CFO

ABOUT THE ROLE

Carpe Diem Tours is a fast-growing travel company operating across seven cities in the UK and Europe, with two legal entities and a multi-currency business. We're now looking for an experienced Financial Controller to take full ownership of finance operations: reviewing how things currently run, bringing rigour and precision to the numbers, and building the processes this stage of the business needs. This is a hands-on role at the centre of the business. You will manage a small team of finance assistants, oversee our statutory and management accounts, lead payroll and compliance, and work closely with the CFO to ensure the business always has a clear, accurate picture of its financial position.

WHO YOU ARE

You are naturally analytical and methodical, someone who is driven by accuracy and takes genuine satisfaction in getting the detail right. When something does not add up, you do not move on until you understand why, and you document your thinking clearly so others can follow it too. You are also decisive and outcome-focused. You take genuine ownership of problems rather than waiting to be told what to fix, and you hold yourself and your team to a consistently high standard. When a process is slow or manual, you look for a smarter way to do it, and you are comfortable using new tools and technology to get there, not just doing things the way they have always been done.

WHAT YOU WILL OWN

Statutory Accounts and Xero Ownership

• Take full ownership of our statutory accounts in Xero, ensuring all transactions are accurately recorded, fully reconciled against bank statements, and supported by complete documentation.
• Build structured financial documentation practices across the business, covering all transaction types including guide invoices, partner invoices, revenue reconciliations, dividend records, and any other documentation the company is required to hold.
• Prepare end of year accounts to a submission ready standard.

Management Accounts and Reporting

• Oversee our management accounts, ensuring they're accurate and consistent, and lead ongoing work to bring statutory accounts, management accounts, and cash flow reporting into full alignment.
• Lead the month-end close process end to end, including accurate categorisation and timely posting of all company expenditure.
• Produce monthly profit and loss, cash flow, and balance sheet reports for the CFO.

Budgeting and Financial Planning

• Work closely with the CFO to produce the annual company budget, building a detailed and realistic plan across all cost centres and revenue streams.
• Build department-level budget reporting, flagging variances to the CFO with analysis to support reforecasting or corrective action.

Cash Flow and FX Management

• Build structured cash flow forecasting for forward visibility across all accounts.
• Take full ownership of all UK bank accounts, monitoring cash at account level.
• Develop a proactive FX strategy for converting EUR and USD into GBP, moving from reactive to structured timing and batching.
• Manage currency conversion and inter-account transfers, including payroll funding and intercompany transfers to Italy.

Payroll

• Process and manage payroll in full for all staff, directors, guides, and suppliers, ensuring accuracy and timeliness every cycle.
• Manage workplace pension auto-enrolment and ensure contributions are calculated correctly against contractual terms.
• Calculate and process sales commission based on the company scheme.

Tax and Compliance

• Take full ownership of UK VAT compliance, including bringing the quarterly return in-house and correct TOMS application.
• Prepare the corporation tax return to a submission-ready standard for our external accountant to file.
• Liaise regularly in English with our Italian accountant to keep the business compliant across both jurisdictions.

Payments and Receivables

• Own the full payments cycle, including supplier, partner, and guide payments, and monthly partner payment summaries.
• Chase outstanding receivables to ensure all expected income is received.
• Oversee expense approval, ensuring all costs are logged, coded, and reviewed before payment.

Technology, Automation and Process Improvement

• Take ownership of finance process improvement on an ongoing basis, working closely with our internal tech team to streamline workflows and build scalable, low-touch processes using AI tools and financial technology.
• Apply this same automation-first thinking to the rebuild work across management accounts, budgeting, and cash flow forecasting, so new processes are built lean and scalable from the start.

Team Management

• Line-manage the finance assistant team, staying closely across all transactions and reconciliations and reviewing team output for accuracy, until processes and controls are where they need to be.
• Act as the first point of escalation for all finance-related queries from other departments.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Accounting degree or equivalent hands-on professional experience in a dedicated accountant role.
• Proven experience managing management accounts and statutory accounts simultaneously, including cash flow forecasting and department-level budget reporting, not just monthly reconciliation.
• Strong working knowledge of UK payroll, PAYE, and National Insurance.
• Hands-on experience preparing UK VAT returns.
• Confident and experienced Xero user. Experience with additional accounting systems is a bonus.
• Comfortable working across multiple legal entities and currencies.
• Practical experience using AI tools or financial automation to improve finance processes.
• Exceptionally detail-oriented and analytical, with a methodical approach to reconciliation and month-end close, and a preference for precision over speed. You check your work, then check it again.
• Confident managing and developing a small team.
• Comfortable in an environment that moves quickly and expects you to improve things, not just maintain them.
• Based in London or within commuting distance. This is a hybrid role with regular in-person presence required.
• Experience developing and running an FX conversion strategy across multiple currencies, including forward contracts and hedging.
• Experience with Tour Operators Margin Scheme (TOMS) VAT.
• Familiarity with multi-entity accounting structures involving overseas entities.
• Part-qualified or fully qualified accountant (ACCA, CIMA, or ACA). Not essential if experience is strong.
• Track record of bringing previously outsourced finance functions in-house.

THE OPPORTUNITY

This is a genuine opportunity to step into a growing business and make the Finance function your own. You will have real autonomy, work directly with the CFO, and play a central role in how the business manages its money as we move into our next phase of growth.