Group Financial Controller
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Morgan McKinley is partnering exclusively with a fast growing business based in North Somerset, to recruit a newly created Group Financial Controller role.
My client is a high growth SME in the Manufacturing sector, and they are currently going through a merger and an exciting time of growth and development.
The Role
Reporting to the Group Finance Director this role will be focused on harmonising systems and people, and taking the team on a transformation journey.
Specific responsibilities will include:
- Own the group consolidation process across multiple entities
- Run core finance operations including month end close, AP and credit control
- Leadership of small finance team
- Production of management accounts including variance analysis
- Maintain cashflow forecast and delivery of working capital targets
- Drive continuous improvement in systems and processes and automation adoption
- Lead on financial reporting and oversee statutory accounts preparation
- Ensure strong financial controls and compliance with accounting standards
The Person
To be considered for this role you will need to be a collaborative and positive Qualified Accountant with strong technical accounting knowledge.
Manufacturing SME experience and exposure to stock are both highly desirable, and experience of working in a high growth, multi-entity / multi-site environment would be an advantage.
Experience of systems and process transformation would also be useful, and previous use of Xero and/or Sage 200 desirable.
Hybrid working is on offer for the successful candidate.
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Open your CV with a Personal Statement that explicitly names 'Group Financial Controller' and 'multi-entity consolidation', as the advert lists group consolidation as the primary responsibility.
📊 Quantify your finance team leadership: e.g. 'Led a 6-person finance team through a system migration from Sage to Xero, reducing month-end close from 10 to 6 days'.
🏭 Dedicate a bullet to manufacturing or stock experience — the advert flags this as 'highly desirable', so even indirect exposure (e.g. inventory accounting, WIP) should be surfaced prominently.
🔄 Highlight any merger, acquisition or multi-site integration experience directly, as the business is mid-merger; frame it as 'harmonising reporting across 3 entities post-acquisition'.
🖥️ Name Xero and Sage 200 explicitly in your Skills section and in relevant role bullets — the advert calls both out by name and ATS will scan for them.
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:
- •Owned group consolidation across 4 legal entities, delivering clean month-end management accounts pack to board within 5 working days — down from 12 at point of joining.
- •Led Sage 200 to Xero migration for a 3-site manufacturing SME, automating 6 manual reconciliation processes and reducing finance team overtime by 30% per month.
- •Maintained a 13-week rolling cashflow forecast during a post-acquisition integration, identifying a £400k working capital shortfall 8 weeks ahead and securing a revolving credit facility in time.
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
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Letter preview — tailored to Morgan McKinley
Dear Hiring Manager,
Morgan McKinley's search for a Group Financial Controller at a North Somerset manufacturing SME is a role I am well positioned to take on. The combination of multi-entity consolidation ownership and leading a systems transformation mid-merger maps directly to the work I have been doing in high-growth, multi-site environments — particularly around Xero implementation and tightening month-end close cycles.
My background in group finance within manufacturing businesses has given me hands-on experience of stock accounting, intercompany eliminations and working capital management. I have led small finance teams through process change, cutting reporting timelines and improving the quality of management accounts presented to board level. I am comfortable working with both Xero and Sage 200, and I understand the discipline required to maintain strong financial controls during periods of rapid growth and structural change such as a merger.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›Walk us through your approach to group consolidation across multiple legal entities — how do you handle intercompany eliminations?
- ›How have you managed a cashflow forecast in a high-growth SME, and what working capital levers have you used?
- ›Describe your experience with Xero or Sage 200 in a manufacturing environment — what customisations or integrations did you implement?
- ›How do you ensure financial controls remain robust during a period of rapid growth or post-merger integration?
- ›What does your month-end close process look like, and how have you reduced the close cycle time in a previous role?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you led a finance team through a significant systems or process transformation — what was your approach and what was the outcome?
- ›Describe a situation where you had to harmonise finance processes across two previously separate businesses or teams.
- ›Give an example of when you identified a material variance in management accounts — how did you investigate and communicate it to senior stakeholders?
- ›Tell me about a time you had to influence non-finance colleagues to adopt new financial controls or reporting processes.
- ›Describe a moment when competing priorities threatened a month-end deadline — how did you manage the situation?
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you led a finance team through a significant systems or process transformation — what was your approach and what was the outcome?
Describe a situation where you had to harmonise finance processes across two previously separate businesses or teams.