Senior Manager Financial Controller

Day Rate: £600 Inside IR35

Location: 3 days per week in Leeds office

Contract Length: 6-9 Month Contract, Immediate Start date

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Manager, Financial Controller to provide senior-level technical accounting expertise and delivery leadership for the preparation, review, audit and completion of the 2026/27 Annual Report and Accounts.

This is a hands-on senior role combining deep IFRS expertise, statutory reporting and audit management. You will coordinate the completion of the financial statements and associated disclosures, manage engagement with external auditors, and ensure successful delivery against a challenging and accelerated year-end timetable.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end Annual Report and Accounts plan, including milestones, responsibilities, dependencies, risks, reviews and escalation points.
• Coordinate the production of interim and year-end financial statements and supporting notes to audit standard.
• Perform detailed reviews of financial statements, notes and disclosures, ensuring they are accurate, complete, internally consistent and compliant with applicable reporting requirements.
• Provide expert IFRS technical accounting advice, reviewing and challenging significant and complex accounting judgements, estimates and treatments.
• Review technical accounting papers, ensuring conclusions are robust, appropriately evidenced, clearly documented and capable of withstanding external audit scrutiny.
• Manage day-to-day engagement with external auditors, coordinating audit evidence and responses, monitoring outstanding matters and supporting the timely resolution of technical issues.
• Coordinate inputs across Finance and the wider organisation to ensure financial and narrative reporting is aligned, clear and coherent.
• Identify and implement practical improvements to the efficiency, quality and control of the year-end reporting and audit process.
• Support knowledge transfer and development across the wider finance team.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or equivalent) with significant post-qualification experience.
• Excellent and current IFRS technical knowledge, with substantial experience applying accounting standards to complex and judgemental transactions.
• Strong ability to critically review accounting judgements and technical papers, form an independent view and confidently defend conclusions.
• Significant statutory and financial reporting experience, including the preparation or audit of complex Annual Reports and Accounts.
• Experience managing a complex external audit and building effective relationships with senior stakeholders and auditors.
• Strong programme and delivery management capability, with the ability to maintain quality and momentum against demanding deadlines.
• Financial services experience is essential.
• Exposure to lending, investments, valuations, impairment, government-backed finance or public sector reporting would be advantageous.

Candidate Profile

This opportunity would suit an experienced Senior Manager/Financial Reporting Lead/Technical Accounting specialist from a professional services firm, financial institution or similarly complex regulated organisation.

The successful candidate will combine deep IFRS and corporate reporting expertise with hands-on delivery capability, and will be comfortable operating at senior stakeholder level while remaining closely involved in the detail.