Part-Time Financial Controller (interim)
1 day ago
City of London
Context inHand Consulting is a high-performance fractional CFO firm supporting ambitious SMEs through growth, transformation, and complexity. We are currently supporting a £20m wholesale food business undergoing a finance transition following an ERP change, team restructuring, and preparation for audit. We need an experienced, hands-on Financial Controller to step in immediately and stabilise core finance operations. This is a high-agency execution role, not advisory. You will take control of finance operations, impose structure, and drive outcomes quickly. Primary objective: Take full ownership of finance operations at Wholegood and remove the CFO from day-to-day involvement within 4 weeks. Scope of Role You will take ownership of: 1. Month-End Close • Own and drive monthly close process immediately, • Ensure ETB integrity and all key journals are correct and evidenced, • Enforce timelines, ownership, and QA across the team, • Deliver a clean, controlled close without escalation2. Balance Sheet Control, • Review and clean all key balance sheet areas (AP, accruals, prepayments, stock, fixed assets, legacy balances), • Ensure all material balances are fully supported and reconciled, • Eliminate “unknown” or unsupported balances, • Establish a clear, repeatable control standard3. Audit Preparation, • Prepare audit-ready balance sheet packs (opening, movements, closing), • Build and refine supporting schedules (stock, accruals, fixed assets, etc.), • Interface with auditors where required, • Ensure all audit queries are answerable with evidence4. Team Direction & Accountability, • Direct and manage 2 junior/intermediate resources (finance + offshore), • Allocate work clearly and enforce accountability, • Challenge and override where required — do not inherit weak behaviours, • Review outputs rigorously — do not rely on verbal updates, • Establish clear ownership across all finance processes, • The Finance Operations Accountant owns preparation and control execution. You own review, decision-making, and final accountability across all outputs5. Cash Control & Visibility, • Own weekly cash visibility and 13-week cash flow (accuracy + explanation), • Ensure movements are fully explainable at all times, • Challenge assumptions and highlight short-term liquidity risks, • Align reporting with underlying ledger and facility position6. Stakeholder & Process Ownership, • Act as the primary finance owner internally at Wholegood, • Lead finance inputs into weekly cash / ops discussions, • Drive clarity with operations, sales, and supply chain where finance intersects, • Escalate material risks clearly and early to CFO, • Month-end runs cleanly without CFO intervention, • Fully supported balance sheet with no material unknowns, • Audit-ready working files and schedules, • Clear ownership and accountability across the finance team, • Strong SME Financial Controller experience, • Proven track record owning month-end and year-end close, • Audit preparation experience (essential), • Deep understanding of balance sheet control and reconciliations, • Comfortable operating in messy, transitioning environments, • Able to take ownership quickly with minimal onboarding, • High-agency operator — takes control rather than waits for direction, • ERP transition experience, ideally with iplicit and/or Cin7 (the client migrated from NetSuite to iplicit + Cin7 approximately 6 months ago — familiarity with either system will reduce onboarding friction significantly), • Inventory / stock accounting exposure, • Experience managing junior and/or offshore teamsWorking Model, • 2–3 days per week (with potential to go full time), • 8–12 week contract (with potential extension), • London-based (required), • 1 day per week on-site in Battersea (Wholegood HQ), • Immediate start preferred, • £450 - £550 p/dWhat This Is Not, • Not a strategic CFO role, • Not FP&A-heavy, • Month-end runs cleanly without escalation, • Balance sheet fully understood, supported, and controlled, • Audit process runs smoothly, • Finance team operates with clear structure and accountability This role sits at the heart of that model — bringing order, control, and clarity in complex environments.