Interim Financial Controller

We are working with a growing consumer-focused business that has recently undergone an acquisition and is looking to appoint an experienced Interim Financial Controller to undertake a detailed review of its finance and operational processes.
This is a hands-on, investigative assignment requiring someone who can look beyond the headline numbers and understand exactly how transactions, information and responsibilities flow through the business. The successful individual will review the process from initial order entry through to invoicing, fulfilment, accounting and the eventual closing of the accounts, identifying where issues, delays, duplication, or breakdowns are occurring.
Job Title: Interim Financial Controller
Job Type: Interim
Location: Farnborough
Salary: £400 - £500 per day
Reference no: 16154
Working closely with the CEO, this person will provide an independent assessment of the challenges and bottlenecks that currently exist throughout the business and, importantly, make recommendations regarding the finance processes, controls, systems and team structure required to support the business as it develops into a successful and scalable enterprise.
This is not a traditional interim Financial Controller assignment focused simply on maintaining the existing finance function. The business is looking for someone who can investigate, diagnose and recommend. You will have the opportunity to understand the business from the ground up, identify where operational and financial processes are preventing it from performing effectively and provide the leadership team with a clear roadmap for improvement. Key Responsibilities
* Review the end-to-end process from order entry through invoicing, fulfilment, accounting and month-end close.
* Understand how operational and financial information moves throughout the organisation.
* Identify bottlenecks, delays, duplicated activity and breakdowns between different areas of the business.
* Investigate where information is incomplete, inaccurate or not reaching finance in a timely manner.
* Assess the quality and reliability of existing financial information and evaluate the current month-end close process and identify opportunities to improve accuracy and efficiency.
* Review the effectiveness of current financial controls and processes, cash-flow reporting and forecasting.
* Assess revenue, costs, margins, stock, working capital and profitability reporting.
* Review existing systems and how effectively they support operational and financial processes.
* Identify opportunities for process improvement, simplification and automation.
* Assess roles, responsibilities and accountability within the existing finance function and identify any gaps in capability, resource or ownership.
* Recommend an appropriate future finance team structure, including the level and type of resource required as the business develops.
* Consider which activities should sit within finance and where stronger interfaces with operational teams may be required.
* Provide the CEO with clear and commercially focused feedback on the challenges identified.
* Develop a practical set of recommendations and priorities to create a robust, scalable finance function capable of supporting future growth.
The Ideal Candidate
We are looking for an experienced Financial Controller who combines strong financial control with the ability to understand operational processes. You will need to be naturally inquisitive and comfortable getting into the detail, while retaining the ability to step back and consider the bigger picture. This person will need to be able to move between reviewing an individual transaction or process and advising the CEO on what the future operating model for finance should look like. Experience within FMCG, consumer products, retail or another product-led environment would be highly advantageous, particularly where there are elements of stock, order processing, fulfilment and multiple sales channels. Exposure to a challenger brand, entrepreneurial SME, founder-led or fast-growth business would also be particularly relevant.
The successful Interim Financial Controller will have:
* Strong financial control and management accounting expertise.
* Qualified Accountant
* Excellent investigative and analytical skills.
* Experience reviewing end-to-end finance and operational processes.
* The ability to trace transactions from operational entry through to the financial statements.
* Experience identifying operational and financial bottlenecks.
* Strong understanding of order-to-cash and month-end close processes.
* Experience improving management information, reporting and financial controls.
* An understanding of finance systems, process automation and workflow improvement.
* Previous experience reviewing or redesigning finance team structures and responsibilities and the ability to identify the finance resource and capability required to support future growth.
* Confidence working directly with CEOs, founders or senior leadership teams and the ability to challenge existing ways of working constructively.
* Acquisition, integration, transformation or business improvement experience would be advantageous.
Howett Thorpe are acting as a recruitment agency in relation to this role and comply with all relevant UK legislation and do not discriminate on any protected characteristics. Due to the high volume of applications we currently receive, we are unable to respond to all candidates. If you do not hear from a Consultant within 5 working days, please assume that you have not been successful.
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