Financial Controller

Cooper Parry Finance Recruitment have been engaged by a science technology business to source a Financial Controller on a full time, staff basis. This is a fully remote role where you can be based anywhere in the UK. Our client is a fast-growing, remote-first, B2B SaaS company serving the scientific sales sector. This role offers excellent opportunities for career progression and professional development.

Reporting to the CFO and leading a team of two, the Financial Controller has end-to-end ownership of the revenue cycle, from closed-won orders through invoicing, deferred revenue and revenue recognition, ownership of the ERP itself, month-end close and management reporting, statutory compliance and the company's tax affairs in conjunction with external advisors. To be considered, you must be a Qualified Accountant with proven SaaS industry experience and a strong understanding of revenue recognition principles.

The Opportunity 

  • Ownership of the end-to-end revenue recognition process, deferred revenue schedules and recognised revenue, ensuring treatment is right first time across multi-currency subscription contracts
  • Authorise and resolve complex billing scenarios, upgrades, mid-term contract changes, billing frequency changes, and credit notes
  • Ownership of the month-end close, and review of the monthly management accounts (full P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statement)
  • Delivery of monthly management reporting for executive team review and submission of investor management accounts pack
  • Maintain balance sheet integrity, including accruals and prepayments, FX revaluations, payment processor reconciliations and intercompany accounting
  • Own and continuously improve the company's accounting policies, procedures, delegation of authority and wider control environment
  • Lead the business through the external audit and annual audit cycles, owning the auditor relationship, the request list and the process documentation
  • Ensure the statutory accounts are completed and filed on time
  • Ensure corporate disclosures and filings to Companies House are submitted accurately and on time
  • Consult with external tax advisors to ensure all corporate taxes, VAT and sales taxes are correct and paid on time, oversight of quarterly UK VAT returns prepared by the team
  • Lead the annual R&D tax credit claim and liaise with local authorities on grant applications and claims
  • Oversee UK monthly payroll and sales commission calculations, providing review, technical guidance and approval, and approve P11Ds and PSA submissions
  • Lead, coach and develop a team of two, investing in the growth of both and supporting their professional studies and development
  • Build resilience across the function by documenting processes and cross-training the team, reducing key-person dependency

Background and Experience

  • Essential
    • Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) with a minimum of 5 years' post-qualification experience in industry
    • Prior in-house experience in a SaaS or subscription-revenue business, with direct ownership of revenue recognition
    • Experience of leading or playing a central role in external audits from the company side, including working with auditors and regulators
    • Experience in a small or fast-growing business where things move quickly and processes need to be built and scaled
    • Experience managing and developing a small team
  • Desirable
    • Experience with US sales tax and/or Avalara
    • Multi-entity, multi-currency experience, particularly UK/North America
    • Experience of EMI schemes, cap table administration or investor reporting
    • Strong ERP experience, with NetSuite experience strongly preferred

Flexibility and Benefits

  • Fully remote working with a £750 home office allowance
  • £200 personal & wellbeing development allowance
  • Flexible working
  • Competitive salary
  • Career progression opportunities 

Next Steps

If you are interested in taking the next step in your career or feel a change of environment or sector is your next path, this could be the ideal job opportunity for you! To apply please send a full CV. For a confidential discussion or more information, please reach out to Morgan McPherson at Cooper Parry Finance Recruitment on morgan.mcpherson@cooperparry.com. Only candidates eligible to work in the UK will be considered for this role as no sponsorship is available.