Finance Manager

Hours

Full-time or reduced hours, such as 10am–3pm, five days per week

Location

Hybrid, with regular attendance at our London office

Reports to

CEO

Works closely with

• Consultant Finance Director, business unit directors and operations team
• ABOUT TEMBO

TEMBO is a fast-moving event services business supporting some of the world’s leading event organisers, media businesses and brands.

Our services span marketing, people, content, consultancy and training.

This makes TEMBO an exciting business to work in—but not always a straightforward one to account for.

We manage multiple revenue streams, retained and project-based client work, contractors, payroll, supplier payments and constantly changing delivery requirements.

We are looking for a commercially minded Finance Manager who can bring control, clarity and confidence to our financial operations.

THE ROLE

This is a hands-on Finance Manager role with responsibility for the smooth running of TEMBO’s day-to-day finance function.

You will make sure the fundamentals are accurate and completed on time, while also improving the quality of our reporting, forecasting and financial systems.

We need someone who can move comfortably between detail and the bigger picture.

On one day, you might be reviewing supplier payments, resolving a Quick Books issue or checking payroll information.

On another, you will be preparing management reporting, challenging a forecast or helping the leadership team understand what the numbers mean.

You will be supported by a consultant Finance Director, but you will own the internal finance function and ensure that information is accurate, current and useful.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Produce timely and accurate monthly management accounts.
• Maintain clear reporting across the company and individual business units.
• Prepare regular reports covering revenue, gross profit, costs, cash position, debtors and forecast performance.
• Provide straightforward commentary explaining performance, risks and variances.
• Improve the quality and consistency of financial information available to the CEO and leadership team.
• Support annual budgeting, reforecasting and business planning.
• Work with business unit directors to improve their understanding and ownership of financial performance.
• Identify problems early and recommend practical action rather than simply reporting them after the event.
• Cash Flow & Credit Control
• Maintain an accurate rolling cash-flow forecast.
• Provide clear visibility of upcoming commitments, payment priorities and potential shortfalls.
• Oversee credit control and ensure overdue invoices are followed up consistently and firmly.
• Escalate problem accounts promptly and support the management of client payment issues.
• Maintain accurate debtor reporting and expected payment dates.
• Help improve billing speed, payment collection and overall working-capital management.
• Take ownership of Quick Books and ensure it is accurate, well structured and used properly.
• Review and improve the chart of accounts, reporting structure, integrations and financial workflows.
• Troubleshoot Quick Books issues and ensure the team follows agreed processes.
• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive finance tasks and reduce manual administration.
• Improve connections between financial data, sales information, resourcing and operational reporting.
• Assess and implement appropriate finance and reporting technology where it provides a genuine business benefit.
• Maintain reliable, organised financial records and supporting documentation.
• Day-to-day Finance Operations
• Oversee sales invoicing, purchase invoices, expenses and supplier payments.
• Ensure client invoices are raised accurately and promptly.
• Maintain appropriate payment approval processes and financial controls.
• Review bank reconciliations and ensure transactions are correctly recorded.
• Manage contractor and supplier payment information.
• Coordinate payroll information and work with external payroll support where required.
• Ensure employee expenses, company cards and recurring costs are properly controlled.
• Support contract administration where it has a financial impact, including rates, payment terms and client billing arrangements.
• Compliance & External Relationships
• Coordinate VAT, PAYE and other tax-related submissions and payments.
• Ensure all statutory deadlines and agreed financial obligations are understood and met.
• Work effectively with our accountants, consultant Finance Director, payroll provider and other external advisers.
• Support year-end accounts, audits and the provision of information to external partners.
• Maintain appropriate controls, records and documentation.
• Flag financial, contractual or compliance risks before they become urgent.
• Commercial Support
• Review the financial viability and margin of new projects, proposals and client arrangements.
• Help the team understand the difference between revenue, gross profit, contribution and cash.
• Support pricing decisions and challenge work that is unlikely to deliver an appropriate return.
• Improve visibility of contractor costs, team utilisation and project profitability.
• Provide practical financial insight to support decisions about recruitment, resourcing and investment.
• Help TEMBO become more commercially disciplined without introducing unnecessary bureaucracy.
• WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
• Strong experience in a Finance Manager, Management Accountant or similarly hands-on financial role.
• Advanced working knowledge of Quick Books or Xero.
• Experience producing management accounts, cash-flow forecasts and useful management reporting.
• Strong understanding of debtors, creditors, VAT, PAYE, payroll processes and financial controls.
• Confidence working in a business with multiple revenue streams and a significant contractor or supplier base.
• Excellent Excel or Google Sheets skills.
• Comfortable learning, connecting and improving technology and financial systems.
• Able to translate financial information into clear, practical language for non-finance colleagues.
• Highly accurate, organised and dependable.

A formal accountancy qualification or part-qualification would be useful, but practical capability, judgement and relevant experience matter more to us than letters after your name.

• The Right Person for TEMBO
• Calm and clear when the pressure is on.
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving entrepreneurial business where priorities can change.
• Naturally curious and willing to investigate when something does not look right.
• Confident enough to challenge decisions, while remaining constructive and solutions-focused.
• Happy to get into the detail rather than believing routine finance work is beneath you.
• Commercially aware and interested in how the whole business works.
• Proactive about improving systems and processes.
• Direct, warm and able to build good relationships across the company.
• Resilient, pragmatic and not easily flustered.
• Someone who takes ownership and closes loops without needing repeated reminders.

You will not need a perfectly polished corporate environment in order to perform.

You will enjoy creating order, making things better and helping a growing business develop stronger financial discipline.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

Within your first six months

• Quick Books is accurate, organised and trusted.
• Monthly management information is delivered consistently and on time.
• The CEO and leadership team have clear visibility of cash, commitments, debtors and forecast performance.
• Credit control is structured, proactive and properly documented.
• Business unit reporting is useful and understood.
• Financial processes are simpler, more automated and less dependent on individual knowledge.
• Risks are identified early, with practical recommendations attached.
• Finance is viewed as a commercially useful partner to the business—not simply an administrative function.
• WORKING PATTERN

We are open to appointing someone on either

• A full-time basis; or
• A reduced-hours arrangement, such as 10am–3pm across five days.

For a reduced-hours appointment, we need someone available consistently across the working week.

This role supports live commercial decisions, payments and client issues, so five shorter days are likely to work better than a compressed two or three-day arrangement.

The salary will be £45,000–£50,000 FTC and will be pro-rated where applicable.

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