Finance Manager
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Didcot
£55-70,000 + Bonus + Benefits
Join a successful, privately-owned parts distribution business with sales of over £50m and backed by a financially strong parent group that has invested significantly in a new warehouse and modern offices.
Lead a capable finance team, take ownership of management accounts, cashflow, reporting and compliance, and work closely with both the Group Finance Director and General Manager.
This is a senior role in a well-established business known for its down-to-earth, empowering culture, long-serving team and strong platform for continued success.
You will play a central role in supporting operational performance and financial control across the business. Based in Didcot, this is an excellent opportunity to join a respected specialist business with over 40 years of heritage, a strong market position and the backing of robust privately-owned, profitable and well-capitalised parent group.
Why join the business?- Well-established, privately owned group with a strong track record and long-term outlook
- Successful, profitable business operating in a specialist aftermarket parts niche
- Huge recent investment in warehouse and office facilities
- Broad, commercially involved role with senior stakeholder exposure
- Supportive, pragmatic, empowering culture with a loyal and long-serving team
Reporting to the Finance Director and working closely with the General Manager, the Finance Manager will lead the finance function and provide high-quality financial and operational support to the wider business. The role combines strong technical accounting responsibility with commercial involvement, team leadership and day-to-day operational partnering.
Key responsibilities- Oversee company accounts and lead the preparation and review of monthly management accounts and draft annual financial statements
- Manage and support the finance team in day-to-day operations
- Lead cashflow planning, financial reporting and statutory compliance activity
- Manage the year-end audit process and liaise with external auditors
- Oversee payroll, VAT and other HMRC filings, accounts receivable and accounts payable
- Support budgeting, cost control and ongoing business planning
- Partner with operational leadership on systems, processes and performance improvement
You will be an experienced accountant with proven leadership capability, sound financial and commercial acumen, and the credibility to work effectively with senior stakeholders across the business. This role will suit someone who enjoys combining robust financial control with practical operational support in a fast-moving environment.
Salary and benefitsThe role is ideally pitched at £60,000-£65,000, with flexibility for a particularly strong candidate. Benefits include pension contribution, 24 days’ holiday increasing with service to 27 days, death in service, health and wellbeing support, employee discount, on-site parking and modern office facilities.
Working patternThis is a full-time position working 40 hours per week. The preference is for someone to be on site five days a week, although the business is open to sensible conversations around future flexibility such as a day working from home.
To applyFor a confidential discussion or to apply, please contact Phil Topper at Seymour John Recruitment Limited.Closing date: Thursday 4th June 2026. Seymour John have been exclusively retained by our client to lead this recruitment process.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your management accounts experience at the top of your CV as this is a core responsibility mentioned throughout the advert
📊 Quantify your finance team leadership: "Led 4-person finance team, reducing month-end close from 8 to 5 days"
🌐 Emphasise your VAT and HMRC compliance experience as these are specifically mentioned operational requirements
🎯 Showcase your year-end audit management skills as you'll be liaising directly with external auditors
🤝 Demonstrate your commercial partnering abilities as you'll work closely with the General Manager and operational leadership
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Led finance team of 5 through monthly management accounts preparation, reducing close time from 10 to 6 working days while maintaining 100% accuracy
- •Managed cashflow planning for £45M distribution business, implementing weekly forecasting that improved working capital efficiency by 15%
- •Oversaw VAT compliance and HMRC filings for multi-site operations, achieving zero penalties across 24 months of submissions
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Dear Hiring Manager,
Seymour John's Finance Manager position perfectly aligns with my expertise in management accounts preparation and team leadership within distribution businesses. Your requirement for VAT compliance and HMRC filings experience matches my proven track record in statutory compliance and financial control.
My background in leading finance teams through month-end processes, cashflow planning and year-end audits would enable me to support your £50m+ turnover operations effectively. I am particularly drawn to the commercial partnering aspect of this role and the opportunity to work closely with operational leadership.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›Walk me through your process for preparing monthly management accounts
- ›How do you manage cashflow forecasting in a distribution business?
- ›Describe your experience with VAT compliance and HMRC filings
- ›How do you approach year-end audit preparation and auditor liaison?
- ›What systems have you used for accounts receivable and payable management?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you had to implement cost control measures
- ›Describe a situation where you had to work with operational teams to improve processes
- ›Give an example of how you've managed competing priorities during month-end
- ›Tell me about a time you had to present financial information to non-finance stakeholders
- ›Describe how you've developed and motivated a finance team member
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you had to implement cost control measures
Describe a situation where you had to work with operational teams to improve processes