Financial Controller

Penicuik Estate; Penicuik; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension

Private healthcare

30 days' holiday including public and

Job summary

Penicuik Estate is seeking a Financial Controller to lead the production and control of all financial information for the estate, including management accounts, VAT, forecasting, and the transition to a fully in-house function. This founding role will report to the Owner/Managing Director and work closely with the Strategic Financial Adviser.

Hospitality is the largest and most financially complex area, so experience in hospitality accounting, guest ledgers, event cost structures and PMS

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant with VAT and financial reporting experience.
• Hospitality, hotel, venue or events experience essential.
• Proven ability to prepare monthly management accounts and balance sheets.
• Strong VAT knowledge including partial-exemption.
• Excellent cash flow forecasting and rolling forecasts.
• FP&A, budgeting and scenario modelling experience.
• Comfortable with Xero and office-based at Penicuik Estate.

Responsibilities

• Own monthly close and produce management reports with insight for the Owner/MD.
• Ensure VAT compliance and support statutory accounts with external accountants.
• Prepare monthly performance packs and ad-hoc analysis for decision-making.
• Oversee AP and AR as processes move in-house.
• Own the finance tech stack (Xero, Fathom, ApprovalMax, Dext, Pleo, PriceLabs, MEWS BI).
• Build the in-house finance function and document processes.

Skills

Management accounting

Month-end close

FP&A

Cash flow forecasting

Strategic thinking

Communication

Hospitality industry experience

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA/ICAS or equivalent experience

Tools

Xero

Fathom

ApprovalMax

Dext

Pleo

PriceLabs

MEWS BI

Job description

Pension, private healthcare, 30 days' holiday including public holidays

Permanent, full-time. Office based at Penicuik Estate, Midlothian

Role Purpose & Additional Information

Penicuik Estate is a 7,000-acre estate in Midlothian, cared for by the same family since 1654, where farming, forestry, renewable energy, conservation and a growing luxury hospitality business sit side by side.

The finance function has been supported by a Finance Director, who is moving to a part-time Strategic Financial Adviser role, and by the estate's external accountants. The business is now building an in-house finance team led by this role.

The Financial Controller is the senior finance role in the business, reporting to the Owner / Managing Director. A Strategic Financial Adviser (SFA) supports the Owner / Managing Director on financial strategy and the capital programme.

The Financial Controller role owns the production and control of all the estate's financial information: management accounts, VAT, forecasting, analysis, the finance systems, and the move to a fully in-house function. The role also contributes to the estate's financial strategy, working with the SFA and the Owner / Managing Director on planning and investment decisions.

Hospitality is the largest and most financially complex part of the business, so hospitality accounting experience matters here: guest ledgers, booking-driven revenue, event cost structures and PMS reconciliation.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Management Accounts and Month-End Close: Own the month-end close from start to finish. Commercial reporting to the Owner / Managing Director and providing insight and analysis.
• Financial Compliance: Ensuring the company is compliant with all aspects of VAT and tax legislation, ensuring application of partial-exemption where appropriate. Support the external accountants with statutory accounts.
• FP&A and Decision Support: Prepare monthly performance packs and ad-hoc analysis for the Owner / Managing Director, translating numbers into insight that helps decisions get made.
• Financial Operations: Oversee AP and AR as these functions come in-house from the external accountants, building the processes cleanly from the ground up, with day-to-day processing handled by the Finance & HR Assistant.
• Finance Technology & Systems: Own the finance tech stack, Xero, Fathom, ApprovalMax, Dext, Pleo, PriceLabs, the estate's banking platform and MEWS BI.
• Building the Function: This is a founding role, leading a Finance & HR Assistant. You will build the in-house finance function including documenting processes, establishing ways of working, and creating a function that is organised, resilient and genuinely useful to the business.

The Person

Penicuik Estate is warm, welcoming and down to earth, and the right person brings that same quality to the finance function. We are looking for someone with the following skills and experience.

• A qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or ICAS), or qualified by experience with a strong track record at this level, covering management accounts, VAT and financial reporting.
• Experience in a hospitality, hotel, venue or events business; this is genuinely important.
• Proven experience preparing monthly management accounts and balance sheet reconciliations to a high standard, with the confidence to own the month-end close independently.
• Strong working knowledge of VAT, including mixed-supply and partial-exemption rules, and the ability to prepare and submit returns accurately.
• Strong cash flow forecasting and management, building and maintaining rolling cash and P&L forecasts and giving the business clear sight of its cash position, essential given the estate's investment programme.
• Commercially minded: comfortable with FP&A, budgeting and scenario modelling, and turning analysis into recommendations that help the business grow.
• Confident user of Xero or an equivalent platform, and happy to be office based at Penicuik Estate, Midlothian.