Group Financial Controller

About ANNA

ANNA is a fast‑growing fintech at an exciting inflection point. We help small businesses take control of their finances through smart banking and accounting tools, and we are currently in the process of obtaining our FCA Electronic Money Institution (EMI) authorisation – a significant milestone that will shape the next chapter of our growth. Our long‑term vision is to evolve ANNA into the first (and possibly only) operational employee a small business needs – an AI deputy that can interact conversationally with the owner and handle core operational tasks such as:

• payments and corporate cards
• expense management and invoicing
• bookkeeping and accounting
• tax preparation and filing (VAT, corporation tax, income tax for sole traders)
• Companies House filings
• payroll and staff administration
• operational support functions such as customer communication and sales assistance

The Role

We are looking for an experienced Group Financial Controller to own our financial control environment. Reporting directly to the Group CFO, this is a senior leadership role at the heart of a lean, high‑performing finance function. The right candidate will bring the credibility of a seasoned financial services professional alongside a genuine willingness to be hands‑on. We operate with a small, capable team where everyone contributes at every level – designing processes as well as running them, and finding smarter ways to work rather than adding headcount. This is a genuine opportunity to shape something. You will help build the financial control framework, compliance processes, and regulatory infrastructure that will underpin ANNA as a fully authorised EMI – and own them going forward. We are a technology‑first business, and we expect the same mindset from our finance team. You will leverage modern tooling and AI to drive efficiency, automate where possible, and continuously raise the bar on what a lean finance function can deliver.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of ANNA's financial control framework, including policies, procedures, and internal controls across the group
• Play a key role in our FCA EMI authorisation process, building the financial compliance infrastructure required to meet regulatory expectations – including safeguarding, capital adequacy, and regulatory reporting
• Own the ongoing financial control and compliance environment post‑authorisation, ensuring we meet all EMI obligations on an ongoing basis
• Own the group consolidation and month‑end close process, delivering accurate and timely management accounts
• Manage relationships with external auditors, regulators, and banking partners
• Manage tax compliance across the group, including corporation tax, VAT, and employment‑related securities (ERS) – working with external advisors where appropriate
• Oversee the preparation of statutory financial statements under UK GAAP and help evaluate and implement a future transition to IFRS
• Identify and implement efficiency gains across the finance function through process improvement, automation, and intelligent use of tools and AI
• Partner with the Risk and Compliance functions to embed a strong controls culture across the business
• Lead and develop a small finance team, fostering a culture of ownership, rigour, and continuous improvement

What We’re Looking For

• ACA / ACCA qualified with significant post‑qualification experience
• Proven track record in a financial control or reporting leadership role within a UK‑regulated financial services business (EMI, payments institution, bank, or similar)
• Strong working knowledge of FCA EMI regulatory requirements, including safeguarding obligations and capital adequacy rules
• Experience of, or appetite for, building compliance frameworks and financial controls in a regulated or pre‑authorisation environment
• Experience managing group consolidations, allocation and recharging of revenue and costs across the group and statutory reporting
• Comfortable operating as both a strategic lead and a hands‑on practitioner – you are as confident building a process as you are presenting to senior management
• A genuine interest in using technology, automation, and AI tools to improve finance operations and maintain a lean, high performing environment
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to engage confidently with regulators, auditors, and board‑level audiences
• Self‑sufficient and solutions‑oriented, with a bias for action in a fast‑paced environment
• A desire to take colleagues on a journey of creating best‑in‑class solutions across all elements of accounting/finance lifecycle

Nice to Have

• Experience implementing or improving ERP / finance systems
• Exposure to multi‑currency or multi‑entity group structures
• Background in a high‑growth fintech or challenger bank

Benefits

• Flexible working – focused on trust, autonomy and outcomes
• Hybrid or Remote working, depending on role
• Work from anywhere for up to 3 months
• Support towards home working equipment
• Flexible hours for caregiving responsibilities
• Temporary reduced hours / phased returns when life needs it
• Time off for your child's first day of school (non‑negotiable)
• Employee Growth Share options – because when ANNA grows, you grow too (subject to our annual discretionary growth share programme)
• Trained Mental Health First Aiders
• Perkbox EAP + counselling support
• Online GP access & prescription service
• Bupa private medical insurance
• On‑demand wellness content
• Menopause support (policy + practical adjustments that actually help)
• Salary sacrifice pension contributions
• Workplace nursery salary sacrifice
• Perkbox discounts & reward points
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Salary sacrifice for Home & Tech (coming April ’26)
• £1k annual personal travel allowance
• £1k annual personal learning allowance (including non‑work learning – yes, really)
• Enhanced parental leave
• Adoption leave
• Pregnancy loss & compassionate family leave
• Emergency dependent leave
• Monthly team brunches
• Regular team‑building events
• Free drinks & snacks in the office

Please note that due to a high level of demand in candidates for this role, we’re unable to respond to individual emails or questions about the position. We hope that we’ve been thorough and transparent regarding the requirements and expectations of this role.