GL Lead Controller

abrdn; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Aberdeen plc, Edinburgh, is seeking a Senior Lead Controller within Finance Operations to own the General Ledger across R2R, ensuring data integrity and balance sheet substantiation. The role leads GL Leads and drives automation, transformation and AI adoption to support a scalable future operating model.

The candidate will provide senior financial insight to stakeholders, govern revenue/cost accounting, and shape governance for an effective close across a global organisation.

Qualifications

• Qualified Accountant (CA/ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent)
• Experience leading Record to Report in a complex, global organisation, with Controller or senior GL leadership ownership
• Deep expertise across general ledger, revenue and cost accounting
• Proven ownership of Balance Sheet Substantiation, financial narrative and senior stakeholder insight
• Ability to lead multi-layered teams with strong stakeholder engagement
• Experience as final escalation point for R2R risk using Oracle or similar ERP

Responsibilities

• Act as the ultimate controller of the General Ledger, ensuring accuracy and integrity of financial data across the Group.
• Own Balance Sheet Substantiation for Group Finance and Finance Operations, ensuring balances and journals are audit-ready.
• Lead the global Record to Report operating model, setting standards and governance for close delivery.
• Provide senior financial insight and storytelling, linking outputs to business drivers and risks.
• Oversee revenue, cost and technical accounting governance, including intercompany and fixed assets.
• Lead GL Leads and the R2R organisation while driving transformation and AI adoption.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder engagement

ERP experience

Financial governance

People management

General ledger

Education

Chartered Accountant

Tools

Oracle ERP

ERP systems

Job description

Job Description

About Aberdeen

Aberdeen plc is one of Europe’s largest investment companies, and we are built on a long-standing culture of caring about the future and making a positive impact. Together we invest for a better future. We do it to make a difference to the lives of our clients and customers, our employees, society, and our shareholders. Our business is structured around three distinct areas focused on our clients' changing needs: Aberdeen Investments, Aberdeen Adviser, and interactive investor.

About the Department

Finance Operations is a core part of Aberdeen’s Finance function, delivering services across Record to Report, Billing, Banking, Accounts Payable and Supplier Relationship Management. Within Group Financial Control, the team provides accurate outputs, robust controls and timely reporting, working with colleagues in Edinburgh and Chennai.

Record to Report underpins reliable financial reporting, regulatory compliance and informed decisions, helping enable our clients to be better investors. The team is evolving through continuous improvement, automation and transformation, with strong control discipline and ownership of the numbers.

About the Role

This Finance Operations GL (general ledger) Lead Controller role is a senior leadership opportunity within Record to Report in Edinburgh. You will own R2R across Finance Operations and its interface with Group Finance, acting as financial controller of the ledger and final point of accountability for control, judgement and integrity. Leading GL Leads and a wider team of GL Analysts, you will set the vision, standards and operating framework while owning data integrity, balance sheet substantiation, financial storytelling and senior stakeholder insight. You will also drive automation, AI adoption and enterprise-wide transformation, shaping a scalable future operating model.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the ultimate controller of the General Ledger, ensuring accuracy, completeness and integrity of financial data across the Group.
• Own Balance Sheet Substantiation for Group Finance and Finance Operations, ensuring balances, journals and outputs are supported, controlled and audit ready.
• Lead the global Record to Report operating model, setting standards and governance for accurate close delivery.
• Provide senior financial insight, challenge and storytelling, linking outputs to business drivers and risks.
• Oversee revenue, cost and technical accounting governance, including intercompany, transfer pricing, cost control and fixed assets.
• Lead GL Leads and the wider R2R organisation while driving transformation, automation, AI adoption and cross-functional strategic delivery.

About the Candidate

Essential requirements

• Fully qualified accountant, such as CA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent.
• Significant experience leading Record to Report in a complex, global organisation, with Controller or senior GL leadership ownership.
• Deep expertise across general ledger, revenue and cost accounting, acting as custodian of financial integrity and control.
• Proven ownership of Balance Sheet Substantiation, financial narrative, senior stakeholder insight and senior-level financial challenge.
• Ability to lead multi-layered teams, including leaders, with strong stakeholder engagement and confidence to influence and challenge.
• Experience as the final escalation point for R2R financial and control risk, using Oracle or a similar ERP within global and outsourced delivery models.

Preferred experience

• Strong experience leading transformation, automation and AI initiatives within Record to Report or a comparable finance operations environment.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Committed employer.

Our benefits

There’s more to working life than coming home with a good salary. We have an environment where you can learn, get involved and be supported.

• 40 days’ annual leave
• a 16% employer pension contribution
• a discretionary performance-based bonus (where applicable)
• private healthcare
• a range of flexible benefits – including gym discounts, season ticket loans and access to an employee discount portal.

When you join us, your reward will be one of the best around.

Our business

Enabling our clients to be better investors drives everything we do. Our business is structured around three distinct areas – our vectors of growth – focused on our clients’ changing needs. You can find out more about what we do here.

An inclusive way of working

Whatever way you like to work, if you have the talent and commitment to join our team, we’d like to hear from you.

At Aberdeen we’ve adopted a ‘blended working’ approach. This approach combines the benefits of face-to-face collaboration, coaching and connecting in our offices with the flexibility of working from home. It enables colleagues to find a balance that works for their roles, their teams, our clients and our business.

An inclusive culture, where diverse perspectives drive our actions, is at the core of who we are and what we do. If you need assistance with your application, or a reasonable adjustment to your interview arrangements – for example, because you are neurodivergent, or have a physical, sensory, cognitive, mental, visible or invisible disability – please let us know and we’ll be happy to help.

We’re committed to providing an inclusive workplace where all forms of difference are valued and which is free from any form of unfair or unlawful treatment. We define diversity in its broadest sense – this includes but is not limited to our diversity of educational and professional backgrounds, experience, cognitive and neurodiversity, age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief and ethnicity and geographical provenance. We support a culture that values meritocracy, fairness and transparency and welcomes enquiries from everyone.

If you need assistance or an adjustment due to a disability please let us know as part of your application and we will assist.