Head of Finance in Borehamwood

Head of Finance

Borehamwood

£77,500-£84,000

Permanent

There's a point in a growing business where finance needs to move beyond producing the numbers and start actively shaping what happens next.

That's where this role sits.

We're working with an established wholesale and e-commerce business that has grown significantly and is now investing in the next stage of its finance function. They need a Head of Finance who can bring greater structure to reporting, improve visibility around commercial performance and give the leadership team more useful information to make decisions.

This is a broad SME finance leadership role based in Borehamwood, with responsibility for a small team and direct exposure to senior decision-makers.

Where you'll make an impact

A major priority will be improving the quality and usefulness of financial information across the business.

Rather than simply maintaining existing routines, you'll have scope to review how things are done, identify what needs changing and implement more scalable ways of working.

Key areas will include:

• Taking ownership of monthly reporting and providing clear commentary on performance
• Giving senior leadership better visibility over revenue, gross margin, costs and profitability
• Strengthening forecasting, budgeting and cash flow planning
• Developing reporting around inventory, stock movements and working capital
• Reviewing existing finance processes and removing unnecessary manual work
• Improving controls across the balance sheet and transactional finance
• Managing banking, cash requirements and wider funding relationships
• Overseeing receivables, payables and credit control
• Developing systems and automation as the business becomes more sophisticated
• Managing intercompany positions and reconciliations
• Coordinating year-end requirements with external advisers and auditors
• Leading, supporting and developing the existing finance team
• Working closely with commercial and operational colleagues rather than finance operating in isolation

Because this is a wholesale and e-commerce environment, stock is central to the numbers. You'll need to understand the relationship between inventory, purchasing, margin, cash and overall business performance.

The background that will work well

We're not looking for someone who needs a large finance infrastructure around them.

You'll be comfortable taking ownership, working through problems yourself and deciding what good should look like as the business develops.

ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification would be preferred, alongside experience such as:

• Leading finance within an SME or owner-managed environment
• Producing and improving management information
• Building forecasts, budgets and financial models
• Working with inventory and understanding stock accounting
• Improving financial controls and month-end processes
• Strong working-capital and cash-flow management
• Developing finance systems, reporting tools or ERP processes
• Managing and developing a small team
• Partnering directly with senior leadership

Previous exposure to a wholesale and e-commerce business would be particularly relevant, but broader experience within a product, distribution or stock-heavy environment could work equally well.

Why consider it?

This should appeal to someone who wants more ownership than a conventional Financial Controller position but still enjoys being close enough to the numbers to understand what is really happening.

As Head of Finance, you'll have the remit to improve the finance function rather than simply inherit it, with the opportunity to put better reporting, processes and controls in place as the company continues to develop.

The position is paying £77,500-£84,000 and is based in Borehamwood.