Finance Manager

Senior Management Accountant / Finance Manager

Location: Cobham, Surrey
Salary: £60,000 - £67,000 + £3,000 completion bonus
Duration: 3-month initial contract, with potential for extension
Working Pattern: Full-time, Monday to Friday, office-based

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Management Accountant / Finance Manager to take ownership of key financial reporting, cash flow management and commercial finance activities within a growing business.

This is a hands-on role that would suit a senior accountant who is either professionally qualified or has gained strong equivalent experience through their career. You will work closely with senior leadership, providing accurate financial insight, supporting decision-making and ensuring strong visibility of cash flow, project performance and profitability.

The initial contract is for 3 months, with the potential for an extension depending on business requirements. Any extension beyond the initial period is currently not guaranteed.

The successful candidate will initially be expected to work five days per week on site to establish themselves within the business, understand the operations and build strong relationships across the team. Once settled and fully embedded, there may be an opportunity to move to four days per week on site, subject to performance and business requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan and schedule finance activity, ensuring key deadlines and priorities are managed effectively.
• Manage customer invoicing schedules and proactively follow up outstanding payments.
• Review supplier payment requirements and prepare payment schedules for approval.
• Complete bank reconciliations, review nominal ledger coding and reconcile supplier accounts.
• Monitor timesheets and project hours, ensuring recorded hours are accurate and projects remain within agreed budgets.
• Monitor project profitability, identifying potential losses or financial risks and ensuring these are reflected within cash flow forecasts.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date cash flow forecasts, including actual, projected and extended cash flow.
• Analyse cash flow performance and identify potential cash flow pressures.
• Review project timelines, expected payment dates and pipeline activity to ensure cash flow forecasts remain accurate.
• Prepare schedules for significant upcoming payments, including VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax, and assess their impact on cash flow.
• Update and analyse the sales/project pipeline, identifying opportunities to improve cash generation.
• Prepare regular financial analysis and reporting for senior leadership meetings.
• Produce monthly management accounts, including P&L reporting, actuals, projections and extended forecasts.
• Prepare and maintain detailed project cost, hours and profitability reporting.
• Produce KPI reporting covering project gains and losses, suppliers, purchase orders, project timescales, hours and margins.
• Prepare referral fee reporting.
• Support the preparation of project costings, pricing, proposals and commercial "ballparks".
• Provide financial analysis and support on ad-hoc commercial and finance projects.
• Attend regular cash flow and management meetings, presenting financial analysis and highlighting key areas requiring attention.
• Follow up on actions arising from financial and management meetings.
• Prepare, review and submit quarterly VAT returns.
• Work closely with senior stakeholders to provide clear, commercially focused financial insight and recommendations.

The Ideal Candidate

The role would suit an experienced Senior Management Accountant, Finance Manager or Commercial Accountant who enjoys operating in a hands-on environment and taking ownership of the numbers.

You will ideally have:

• Strong management accounting experience.
• Experience producing P&L accounts and management information.
• Strong cash flow forecasting and analysis experience.
• Experience with budgeting and financial forecasting.
• Excellent attention to detail and reconciliation skills.
• Strong commercial awareness and the ability to understand project profitability.
• Confidence analysing financial data and presenting key findings to senior stakeholders.
• The ability to work independently and take…