Finance Manager

Finavate is a strategic finance partner solution for e-commerce founders to scale their business profitably.

This effectively means we run the full finance function: management accounts, cash flow forecasts, budgets, KPIs, bookkeeping, VAT, year-end.

On top of that sits the strategic finance layer: CFO-level advice on the decisions that actually make the money.

We don't just report, we partner.

Our clients are founder-led e-commerce and DTC brands doing £1-25m+ revenue: clothing, consumer goods, supplements, etc.

AI is at the heart of how we work.

This is not a traditional practice.

We use AI agents to strip out the grind so our time goes into the things that move the needle.

You will learn ways of working here that most firms and businesses won't reach for years.

The role

You'll own the delivery engine.

Real ownership of something that matters from day one: the month-end cycle, the quality bar, the client relationships at the operational level.

As the firm grows, the role grows with it - direct path to a commercial finance / FD role.

Day one the focus is financial control with a commercial edge.

The further you grow into the role, the more commercial it becomes, through to leading the commercial finance side of the firm.

• What you get
• Straight in at the deep end: real strategic decisions, the data that drives them, and the why
• Exposure to the fundamentals of what drives a profitable scaling business and how
• Variety you would never get in practice, across a portfolio of fast-paced, exciting businesses
• Freedom to push the boundaries and set the standards
• Direct impact on the lives of founders who are genuinely building meaningful things
• AI at a technical level most accountants will not touch for years. We build the systems, the systems do the grind
• Reporting directly into the founder, working together to solve complex problems
• Who we're looking for

Recently qualified (ACA or ACCA, roughly 1-2 years post-qualified) with hands-on filings experience: you have prepared or managed VAT returns and year-end accounts for small companies, you can run month-end, and you know what the review stage looks like.

That could be from practice, or in-house at an e-commerce, DTC or retail business.

• What the work looks like
• Reviewing the team's output across all clients: reconciliations, VAT treatment, journals
• Driving the month-end close: pre-close checks, journals posted, accounts reconciled
• Preparing management accounts, variance analysis and KPI reporting
• Compliance management across every statutory deadline
• Client meeting packs, minutes and action tracking
• Acting as the account manager for your client portfolio: direct client communication, resolving queries, owning the relationship day to day
• Documenting processes, templates and checklists as you go, with AI doing the heavy lifting
• How we work together
• Bring decisions, not problems. When something's wrong, come with your recommendation and the options you think would work.
• Document as you go. We build processes and systems that work at scale. You'll have the freedom and the support to build them with us - that's what we do.
• AI-first.

Expect to spend more than half your time working with AI tooling.

You don't need to be technical today, but you need to want to learn it at a technical level.

If that excites you, you'll thrive.

If it threatens you, don't apply.

• This role is right for you if
• You want to help build the machine, not just run it
• When you find a problem, you come with a proposed solution
• You care that the numbers are right AND what they mean. Accuracy is the foundation, the story is the value
• You're naturally curious. When something doesn't quite add up, you ask "what do you mean by that?" instead of rushing past it. (What, why, how)
• You're not afraid of making mistakes. You push boundaries, learn and fix fast
• You want the variety of a portfolio of businesses
• This role is NOT right for you if
• You need hand-holding for every decision
• You want a predictable, same-thing-every-day role
• You're uncomfortable with change - processes will evolve
• You see AI as a threat rather than a tool
• You just want to do the technical accounting and go home

Requirements

• ACA or ACCA qualified (CIMA considered with the right experience), roughly 1-2 years post-qualified
• Hands-on experience preparing management accounts and ability to run a month-end process
• Statutory filings experience: VAT returns and year-end accounts for small companies, and you know what the review stage looks like
• Strong grip on financial controls. You understand WHY processes exist, not just how to follow them
• Comfortable using AI as a core part of daily work, and hungry to get technical with it. More than half this role's time involves AI tooling
• Organised enough to run multiple clients at once
• Xero (strongly preferred, it's our core platform)
• Practice or multi-client background, or in-house at an e-commerce, DTC or retail business
• Corporation tax and self-assessment exposure
• Dext, Fathom, A2X or similar
• Experience supporting or reviewing remote team members
• Pay and progression
• Uncapped performance bonus paid against specific commercial triggers
• Realistic first-year OTE £50k. The base then climbs with the role, not the calendar, and we'll show you the full trajectory and the maths behind it in the interview
• Free gym membership
• Office in North West London (NW6), primarily office-based, full-time
• #J-18808-Ljbffr