European Financial Controller

Job description

Summary The UK Finance and HR Generalist will play a critical role in supporting the finance, accounting, and HR functions of our company's UK and Ireland operations. You will work closely with our US-based finance and HR teams and serve as the local resource for coordinating, executing, and ensuring compliance across various finance- and HR-related tasks. Key Responsibilities Invoice Generation and Delivery: · Assist in generating, reviewing, and delivering invoices to clients in the UK and Ireland. · Work with the US finance team to streamline invoicing processes and ensure consistency across locations. Statutory Financial Filings: · Work with our US-based accounting team and UK advisors to prepare and submit statutory financial filings in compliance with local regulations. Tax Compliance: · Work with our US-based accounting team and UK advisors to facilitate the filing and payment of taxes, including VAT and corporate taxes. · Maintain an annual calendar of all compliance-related requirements and proactively work with across teams to stay on schedule. Onboarding: · Assist the US-based HR team with onboarding new employees in the UK and Ireland, and provide local support on their first day. Payroll Processing: · Work with our US-based accounting team and UK advisors to submit, review, and process payroll for UK and Ireland employees. Employee Benefits and Leave Management: · Guide UK employees through benefits programs, including health insurance and retirement plans. · Manage leave-of-absence requests and documentation to ensure compliance with statutory requirements and company policies. Qualifications · Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, or related field. · 2–5 years of experience in finance, accounting, or HR roles. · Strong understanding of UK financial regulations, tax laws, and other processes. · Excellent analytical skills and attention to detail, with the ability to prioritize tasks effectively. · Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, capable of building rapport with internal and external partners. · Proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with accounting software (e.g., NetSuite). As European Financial Controller, you will be part of CFGI's internal accounting team and a key contributor to the firm's own finance function. This role owns the full accounting and controllership function for CFGI's European entities, which currently include France, Switzerland, and Germany, with Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands expected to be added soon. (The UK and Ireland are managed separately by the UK Controller.) The role also partners closely with the US and Global Controller, who owns global consolidated reporting. Because most of these entities are relatively small, this is a hands-on role: the person in this seat will both direct the work in each country and personally perform a meaningful share of it. Reports to: Chief Accounting Officer / VP Finance Location: United Kingdom Key Responsibilities: Accounting & Finance Controllership Own the end-to-end monthly close for all European entities other than the UK and Ireland, which the UK Controller manages separately. This currently includes France, Switzerland, and Germany, expanding to Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. Prepare and/or review journal entries, account reconciliations, and close procedures for each entity. Maintain both the US GAAP primary books and the statutory or local GAAP books for each country, keeping the two reconciled and auditable. Manage accounts payable and coordinate monthly client invoicing in each entity. Prepare and monitor country-specific cash and cash flow forecasts. Oversee payroll across all European entities, working closely with the outsourced payroll provider and with the internal payroll teams supporting the US and Germany, taking a more hands-on approach in the smaller countries. Take an active, hands-on role in bookkeeping for each entity, including month-end accruals and monthly payroll journal entries. Routine transactional bookkeeping (accounts receivable, accounts payable, cash matching) is supported by an internal accounting team in the US and Germany, in close partnership with this role. Partner with the US and Global Controller on consolidated global reporting and with the UK Controller on consistency and coordination across entities. Drive consistency and process improvement across European entities within NetSuite and Salesforce. Corporate Secretarial, Compliance & Filings Manage corporate secretarial compliance in each jurisdiction, including statutory filings, coordination with registered agents and registered offices, board and shareholder resolutions, maintenance of statutory registers, and new entity formation. This is a significant, ongoing part of the role. Take an active, hands-on role in local tax filings in each country, including corporate income tax, VAT, and other local taxes, working closely with outside tax service providers. Coordinate all statutory audits across the European entities. Required Skills/Abilities: A professional accounting qualification, such as ACCA, ACA, or recognized local country equivalent. Eight or more years of progressive accounting and controllership experience, ideally including a mix of public accounting and industry experience. Fluency in English is required. Comfortable operating at both a strategic/managerial level and a hands-on transactional level (e.g., journal entries, accounts payable, invoicing), given the size of most entities. Working knowledge of statutory reporting and corporate secretarial requirements across multiple European jurisdictions. Excellent organizational skills, with the ability to independently manage competing deadlines across multiple countries, currencies, and entities. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Willingness to travel occasionally, up to a few times per year, to European offices. Preferred Qualifications: Prior experience operating in a multi entity, multi currency European group structure. Experience managing or coordinating outsourced payroll or tax service providers. Experience with NetSuite and Salesforce.