Finance Manager in Congleton

This expanding business in Congleton is looking for a Finance Manager to lead a small team.

Role purpose

The Finance Manager will take ownership of the day-to-day finance function and provide the Managing Director with accurate, timely and commercially useful financial information. This is a hands-on position in a small finance team, combining transaction-level oversight with management accounts, cash-flow control and process improvement.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the day-to-day finance function while remaining actively involved in bookkeeping, reconciliations and transaction processing.
• Maintain accurate accounting records, ensuring information is complete, consistent and up to date.
• Oversee sales ledger, purchase ledger, bank reconciliations, expense processing, VAT returns, payroll inputs and payment runs.
• Ensure sales invoices are raised promptly, supplier invoices are correctly authorised and all balance sheet control accounts are regularly reconciled.
• Manage credit control proactively, resolving queries quickly and escalating overdue or high-risk balances.
• Maintain an effective month-end timetable and provide accurate information to the company’s external accountants for statutory accounts and tax compliance.
• Maintain clear project-by-project records of purchase orders, client receipts, supplier commitments, payments, fees and outstanding balances.
• Work with the team to prepare, monitor and reconcile client budgets, highlighting overspends, missing costs, timing risks and variations promptly.
• Prepare short-term cash-flow forecasts that distinguish operating cash from amounts held or committed for client projects.
• Ensure suppliers are paid accurately and on time without exposing the business to avoidable working-capital risk.
• Produce a reliable monthly management accounts pack, including profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, aged debt, aged creditors and relevant commentary.
• Develop practical reporting by client, project, service line or event where the underlying systems and data allow.
• Provide the Managing Director with concise explanations of performance, cash requirements, risks and actions needed.
• Support budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis, maintaining clear assumptions and following up agreed actions.
• Supervise, support and develop the Accounts Assistant, setting clear priorities, checking work and maintaining appropriate segregation of duties.
• Create and maintain documented workflows, standard operating procedures, checklists and a finance calendar so key activities can continue during absence or staff changes.
• Identify capacity constraints and provide evidence-based recommendations when additional resource or external support is required.
• Lead the practical digitalisation of finance processes, reducing manual work and duplication while improving control, visibility and data quality.
• Promote a responsive, service-focused finance culture that works constructively with the wider business.
• Maintain appropriate financial controls, approval limits and audit trails for banking, payments, supplier changes, client receipts and journal entries.
• Protect against fraud and error through independent verification of bank-detail changes and secure payment processes.
• Ensure compliance with VAT, payroll, record-keeping and other routine financial obligations, seeking specialist advice where needed.
• Maintain suitable records and support external reviews, audits, insurance queries and due-diligence requests.
• Work closely with the Managing Director, providing clear, timely financial information and practical advice.
• Build effective relationships with clients, suppliers, external accountants, payroll providers, banks and other professional advisers.
• Explain financial information clearly to non-finance colleagues and promote shared ownership of accurate, timely data.

Proven experience managing a small finance function and delivering accurate end-to-end accounting processes. Strong hands-on bookkeeping and management accounting capability, including month-end, balance sheet reconciliations, cash-flow forecasting and credit control. Experience supervising or developing finance staff and improving ways of working. Confident using cloud accounting software, ideally Xero, with strong Excel skills and the ability to learn industry-specific systems. Ability to manage high volumes of detail and competing deadlines without losing sight of cash, risk or client service. Clear communicator who can make financial information accessible to non-finance colleagues. Proactive, organised and comfortable challenging established processes constructively. Qualified by experience, part-qualified or fully qualified accounting professional. Relevant qualifications may include AAT, ACCA, CIMA, ACA or equivalent. Experience gained across more than one sector or business model is desirable. Month-end reporting is accurate, useful and delivered to an agreed timetable. Cash-flow forecasts, debtor follow-up and supplier payment planning prevent avoidable cash pressure. Client project funds and supplier commitments are fully reconciled, visible and controlled. Finance processes are documented, consistently followed and not dependent on one person. The Managing Director and operational teams receive timely answers and clear financial insight. Manual work, duplicated entry and recurring errors reduce over time.

Please submit your CV for immediate consideration.