Financial Controller

Appleyard Lees IP LLP; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

34 hour week

Annual salary review

25 days leave + holidays

Healthcare plan

Life assurance

Group income protection

Job summary

Appleyard Lees IP LLP in Manchester is seeking a hands-on Finance Leader to run day-to-day finance, manage a team of five, and partner with the Finance Director to overhaul processes. You will sign off management accounts, discuss variances with budget owners, and test new bank feeds before go‑live.

The role offers influence, career prospects, and a friendly but ambitious environment. The position emphasizes faster month‑ends, stronger controls, and better management information, with

Qualifications

• Qualified in ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent.
• Several years’ experience in Financial Controller, Finance Manager or senior Management Accountant roles.
• Experience leading a small finance team through change.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a five-person finance team, allocate workloads and coach staff.
• Prepare and review monthly management accounts and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Manage weekly/monthly cash flow forecasting, banking relationships and FX.
• Coordinate VAT, audits and payroll checks with external advisers.
• Support billing systems, data integrity and finance controls.
• Drive process improvements, design and test new systems and integrations such as bank feeds and Power BI.

Skills

Management accounts

Balance sheet

VAT

Audit

Payroll

Excel

Finance systems

Attention to detail

Problem solving

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA qualification

Tools

Sage Intacct

Equinox

Excel

SharePoint

Power BI

Job description

Description

Do you like making a finance function work better, not just keeping it running? This is a hands‑on leadership role. You’ll run day‑to‑day finance, lead a team of five, and help our Finance Director overhaul how we work. In a typical month, you might sign off the management accounts, sit down with a budget owner to talk through a variance, and test a new bank feed before it goes live. We’re aiming for a faster month‑end, stronger controls and better management information, and you’ll be central to getting us there. We’re small and friendly enough that you’ll get to know everyone, and big enough to offer real influence and good career prospects.

Department: Finance

Location: Manchester

Key Responsibilities

• Team leadership: managing and developing a finance team of five, allocating workloads, reviewing work and coaching, and acting as the escalation point for complex finance issues.
• Management reporting and commercial finance: preparing and reviewing the monthly management accounts, balance sheet reconciliations and fee earner incentive reporting. Meeting budget owners on spend, variances and forecasts, supporting the annual budget, and providing analysis and commentary to management.
• Cash, banking and treasury: managing weekly and monthly cash flow and forecasting, cash collection information, banking relationships, loans and repayments, and FX requirements and currency exposures.
• Tax, audit and payroll: preparing and submitting VAT returns, keeping tax compliance sound with external advisers, coordinating the annual audit as the auditors’ main contact, and overseeing the monthly payroll checks.
• Billing, systems and controls: supporting the team with complex billing and system issues, protecting data integrity, and maintaining and improving finance controls.
• Transformation: reviewing processes and controls to simplify, automate or strengthen them. Helping design, test and implement new systems and integrations such as bank feeds, invoice imports and Power BI. Training the team in new ways of working and documenting new processes, while keeping business‑as‑usual deadlines on track.

Our systems are Sage Intacct (general ledger and month‑end), Equinox (practice management, time recording and billing), Excel and SharePoint.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification
• Several years’ experience at Financial Controller, Finance Manager or senior Management Accountant level
• Experience managing a small finance team and leading it through change
• Strong management accounts and balance sheet experience
• VAT, audit and cash flow forecasting experience
• Experience delivering process improvement or system change in a finance function
• Strong Excel and finance systems skills
• Attention to detail and the ability to review other people’s work
• Ability to investigate and resolve complex finance issues
• Confidence dealing directly with budget holders and senior management

Nice to have

• Professional services experience, ideally in an LLP or a business of similar size and complexity
• Sage Intacct or a similar ERP system, and Power BI or similar reporting tools
• Finance system implementations, integrations or automation
• Multi‑currency accounting and FX, banking facilities and loans
• Fee earner incentive schemes and payroll oversight

Benefits

We pride ourselves on being small and friendly enough for you to get to know everyone – but big enough to offer you great career prospects. At Appleyard Lees, you won’t feel like a number or just another cog in the wheel. We understand everyone is an individual and offer a friendly and supportive place to work and learn.

We also offer:

• 34 hour working week, Monday – Friday
• Hybrid working
• A supportive and friendly place to work and learn
• Annual salary review
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Holiday Purchase Scheme
• Salary ExchangeLife assurance
• Healthcare Cash Plan & Wellbeing App
• Group Income Protection
• Long Service Milestones
• Social outings
• Vouchers on Christmas, birthdays and special occasions
• Charity events