About the Company
Cooper Moss Rutland (CMR) is an independent, award-winning Project Controls consultancy specialising in helping clients overcome complex challenges across major construction and infrastructure programmes. Their expertise spans planning and scheduling, cost, risk, change, reporting and data, and they work on some of the UK's most complex programmes across rail, nuclear, defence, energy, aviation and water. As the business continues to grow, they are looking for an experienced Finance Manager / Financial Controller to take ownership of the finance function and play a key role in supporting the continued development of the business.
Responsibilities
•Own the month-end close process from end to end
•Prepare accurate and timely monthly management accounts and reporting packs
•Present the monthly numbers to the Partners with clear commentary, flagging what matters and what does not
•Monitor business performance against budget, forecast and prior periods
•Bring the month-end close timetable down and hold it there, so the Partners have management information early in the following month rather than at the end of it
•Track actuals against budget and forecast each month, and investigate the variances rather than simply reporting them
•Run a monthly finance meeting with the Partners, setting the agenda for what they should be looking at and where the business needs to pay attention
•Lead the annual budgeting and planning cycle
•Develop and maintain rolling cash flow forecasts
•Manage reforecasting and scenario analysis to support decisions on hiring, new clients and investment
•Own CMR's financial control environment, along with the finance policies and procedures behind it
•Identify opportunities to automate and streamline finance processes, particularly the timesheet, invoicing and reporting chain, and shape how finance works with CMR's wider business systems
•Ensure appropriate controls are in place across revenue, expenditure, purchasing, payments, cash and reporting
•Own VAT compliance, including review and submission of VAT returns and ensuring the correct VAT treatment is applied across transactions
•Coordinate the preparation of statutory accounts
•Manage the relationship with CMR's external accountants
•Coordinate year-end activities, and help prepare the business for statutory audit as CMR approaches the turnover threshold
•Oversee day-to-day transactional finance: purchase and sales ledger, invoicing, expenses, credit cards, payments, bank reconciliations and the timesheet-to-invoice process
•Take ownership of client billing, which varies considerably by client and by platform, along with unbilled work and revenue accruals
•Supervise, review and develop the Finance Assistant, who runs the day-to-day purchase ledger, sales invoicing, reconciliations, expenses and timesheet chasing
•Oversee credit control and cash collection, including the debtor position and follow-up of overdue balances
•Agree clear escalation routes with the Finance Assistant and the Partners for urgent queries and approvals on the days you are not working
•At Finance Manager level, remain comfortable being hands-on with transactional finance where required
•At Financial Controller level, provide appropriate oversight while using junior finance support to manage the transactional workload
Requirements
•ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified with at least two to three years post-qualification experience, or strong equivalent experience
•Strong experience across month-end, management accounts and financial reporting
•Experience owning budgets, forecasts and cash flow
•A background in industry rather than practice. They are not looking for someone moving straight from an accountancy firm
•Comfortable being hands-on. This is a small finance function, but day-to-day transactional processing is handled by the Finance Assistant
•Experience improving finance processes, systems and controls
•Strong Excel skills and experience with Xero or a similar accounting system
•The ability to explain financial information clearly to non-finance colleagues, and the confidence to challenge them on it
•Experience running a disciplined month-end timetable, and a track record of improving reporting turnaround
•Experience acting as a sounding board to non-finance business owners, guiding what they should be looking at rather than waiting to be asked
•Experience supervising or mentoring junior finance staff
•Comfortable working a fixed part-time pattern, with clear priorities and handovers between working days
•Someone who wants to take ownership rather than simply manage a process, comfortable getting into the detail when required but equally able to step back and provide the leadership team with clear financial insight and challenge
Nice to Have
•Experience within professional services, consultancy, construction or another project-based business
•Experience preparing a business for its first statutory audit
Conditions
•This is a part-time role, typically two to three days a week, with fixed days agreed in advance and including the month-end close
•Join a growing, independent consultancy operating across the UK and internationally
•Genuine ownership and influence over the finance function
•Work directly with the Partners and senior leadership team
•Join a collaborative, people-focused culture built around innovation, development and continuous improvement
