Financial Controller in Hampshire, Portsmouth

Financial Controller required to join a leading maintenance/refurbishment contractor. The Financial Controller will have full ownership of a group finance function, direct board exposure and real influence over how the business is run. Ideal for a hands-on Financial Controller who wants ownership rather than a big team to manage.

Our client is an established multi-trade property maintenance and construction contractor, turnover approaching £10m, around 80 staff, working on long-term frameworks with local authorities, housing associations and national institutional clients.

Purchase invoice capture and bank reconciliation run through AI-driven systems integrated with Xero, so this role is about oversight, exception handling and analysis, not data entry.

The Financial Controller role: You'll produce all management and statutory reporting across the group, run payroll and payments, work alongside our Accounts Assistant on credit control, and act as the primary finance contact for the board, our lender and our external accountants. We retain an external practice for year-end review and tax sign-off. Everything else is prepared in-house.

Financial Controller duties:

• Own Xero across all group companies and produce monthly management accounts and a consolidated group pack within 10 working days of month end.
• Oversee AI-driven invoice capture and reconciliation, resolving exceptions and refining coding rules.
• Manage intercompany balances, recharges and licensing arrangements between group entities.
• Handle escalated credit control personally, own aged debt reporting and drive down debtor days.
• Reconcile applications for payment, certified values and retentions.
• Run monthly payroll in full for c.80 employees, including pensions, auto-enrolment and P11Ds.
• Produce contract and department level margin reporting alongside contract managers and surveyors.
• Manage WIP, accruals, retentions and revenue recognition on long-term contracts.
• Maintain a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast and the annual budget.
• Manage CIS end to end, VAT returns including the domestic reverse charge, and statutory accounts and corporation tax computations for external review.

The Financial Controller will ideally have:

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA), or exceptionally strong qualified-by-experience at Financial Controller level.
• Construction or contracting sector experience, specifically CIS, VAT domestic reverse charge, retentions and applications for payment.
• Genuine hands-on credit control experience, not delegated and forgotten.
• Comfortable as the only qualified finance person in the business, confident challenging directors and operational managers.
• Advanced Xero across multiple entities, and experience preparing consolidated group accounts.
• End-to-end in-house payroll experience.
• Experience with invoice finance or asset-based lending facilities.
• Experience with job costing or contract management ERP systems.
• Exposure to transaction work such as refinancing, acquisitions or due diligence.
• Experience of public sector or housing association frameworks.