Financial Controller (12 Month Maternity Cover)

• Location: Hemel Hempstead
• Start date: Ideally April 2026
• Reports to: The Directors
• Team: Small finance team of three

About the Role

Our client is an established engineering business . We are looking for an experienced and hands on Financial Controller to cover an initial 12-month maternity period (with potential for longer term). This is the number one day to day finance role in the business and is well suited to someone who enjoys being close to the detail as well as supporting the Directors with monthly reporting and financial insight. The role takes ownership of the finance function across both the trading company and the holding company. A full handover is expected, so an April start is preferred.

Month end and reporting

• Full monthly management accounts
• P&L, balance sheet and cash reporting
• Monthly board reporting for the Directors
• Tracking and analysing gross profit levels
• Quarterly corporation tax tracking and forecasting
• VAT returns
• Year end support following June audit including queries, statutory accounts collation and tax schedules

Project accounting and WIP

• Extensive Work In Progress management which is a key driver in the engineering project lifecycle
• Oversight of project costing, revenue recognition and invoicing
• Ensuring accurate and timely WIP valuation each month

Operational finance

• Journals, reconciliations and all aspects of hands on finance
• Day to day support to the small finance team
• Managing finance queries from different and sometimes challenging stakeholders
• Maintaining accurate ledgers across both entities

Payroll and people

• Working closely with HR on payroll for c.100 employees
• Pension uploads and monthly compliance
• Supporting managers with payroll and timesheet related queries
• Management of Accounting team and function

Systems and tools

• Pegasus Opera (core accounting system)
• Separate internal management system used for projects and WIP
• Strong Excel skills for reporting and analysis

External relationships

• Act as the main point of contact for the external funding company, ensuring information is provided on time
• Liaise with external auditors during year end
• Maintain positive relationships with advisers and suppliers

Skills Required

• Experienced Financial Controller who can hit the ground running
• Strong grounding in hands on finance, journals and month end ownership
• Confident in WIP, project accounting or contract accounting environments
• Comfortable working directly with Directors and senior technical staff
• Strong communicator who can manage different stakeholders
• Good systems awareness, ideally with Opera but happy to learn
• Enjoys working in a smaller, collaborative finance function