Finance, Accounting & Legal

Financial Controller Job Description

A Financial Controller protects the integrity of financial reporting by leading accounting policy, close, controls, audit readiness, and dependable finance operations.

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Financial Controller

Location: [Location or working arrangement]
Employment type: [Full-time]
Reports to: [Finance Director, CFO, or Group Controller]

About the role

[Company name] is seeking a Financial Controller for [entities or business]. You will own the quality and timetable of financial reporting, establish appropriate accounting and control practice, lead the team, coordinate audit and statutory work, and give leaders a candid view of reporting risk.

What you will be responsible for

Own close, consolidation, financial statements, accounting judgements, reconciliations, and management review.
Set and maintain accounting policies, delegations, evidence, segregation, and financial-control standards.
Lead audit, statutory, tax, treasury, or regulatory coordination assigned to the function.
Develop finance managers and accountants while planning capacity, review, continuity, and improvement.
Advise executives on reporting implications, control risk, cash, material estimates, and proposed transactions.

What success looks like

Financial statements and management reports are timely, supported, consistent, and appropriately reviewed.
Material judgements, estimates, exceptions, and control weaknesses are visible with accountable action.
Audit and filing cycles rely on maintained records and controls rather than last-minute reconstruction.

Essential qualifications

Senior accounting and control experience across a comparable entity or group environment.
Deep knowledge of relevant accounting standards, close, audit, controls, and financial governance.
Recognised professional qualification where required by the jurisdiction or responsibilities.
Strong people leadership, executive communication, prioritisation, and independent professional judgement.

Preferred qualifications

Experience with [sector, regulated environment, group structure, transaction, or transformation].
Ownership of ERP change, acquisition integration, funding, tax, treasury, or shared-service improvement.

Tools and working knowledge

ERP, consolidation, close, and statutory-reporting systems
Reconciliation, control, audit, treasury, and tax platforms
Planning, reporting, spreadsheet, document, and workflow tools

Executive compensation: [Add approved range, currency, bonus or equity, benefits, qualification support, close expectations, and location basis.]

[Company name] will discuss reasonable adjustments for assessment, reporting-cycle work, meetings, and the workplace.

How to apply

Apply through [method] with an example of a material reporting, audit, control, or team challenge you led through resolution.

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Financial Controller

Location: [Location or working arrangement]

Employment type: [Full-time]

Reports to: [Finance Director, CFO, or Group Controller]

About the role
[Company name] is seeking a Financial Controller for [entities or business]. You will own the quality and timetable of financial reporting, establish appropriate accounting and control practice, lead the team, coordinate audit and statutory work, and give leaders a candid view of reporting risk.

What you will be responsible for
- Own close, consolidation, financial statements, accounting judgements, reconciliations, and management review.
- Set and maintain accounting policies, delegations, evidence, segregation, and financial-control standards.
- Lead audit, statutory, tax, treasury, or regulatory coordination assigned to the function.
- Develop finance managers and accountants while planning capacity, review, continuity, and improvement.
- Advise executives on reporting implications, control risk, cash, material estimates, and proposed transactions.

What success looks like
- Financial statements and management reports are timely, supported, consistent, and appropriately reviewed.
- Material judgements, estimates, exceptions, and control weaknesses are visible with accountable action.
- Audit and filing cycles rely on maintained records and controls rather than last-minute reconstruction.

Essential qualifications
- Senior accounting and control experience across a comparable entity or group environment.
- Deep knowledge of relevant accounting standards, close, audit, controls, and financial governance.
- Recognised professional qualification where required by the jurisdiction or responsibilities.
- Strong people leadership, executive communication, prioritisation, and independent professional judgement.

Preferred qualifications
- Experience with [sector, regulated environment, group structure, transaction, or transformation].
- Ownership of ERP change, acquisition integration, funding, tax, treasury, or shared-service improvement.

Tools and working knowledge
- ERP, consolidation, close, and statutory-reporting systems
- Reconciliation, control, audit, treasury, and tax platforms
- Planning, reporting, spreadsheet, document, and workflow tools

Executive compensation: [Add approved range, currency, bonus or equity, benefits, qualification support, close expectations, and location basis.]

[Company name] will discuss reasonable adjustments for assessment, reporting-cycle work, meetings, and the workplace.

How to apply
Apply through [method] with an example of a material reporting, audit, control, or team challenge you led through resolution.

Performance expectations

What good performance looks like

Use these outcomes to replace vague activity lists with the evidence the hiring manager expects to see after the person joins.

Close and reporting risk declines through clear policy, ownership, review, and issue resolution.

Control remediation addresses root causes and is verified rather than closed on plan completion.

The finance organisation sustains quality through documented knowledge, development, and appropriate succession.

Hiring-manager intake

Questions to settle before advertising

Record specific answers so sourcing, screening, and interview decisions use the same definition of the role.

1
Which entities, standards, filings, controls, audits, currencies, taxes, and systems are in scope?
2
Which judgements or regulated responsibilities require a specific local credential or experience?
3
What are the inherited close, control, data, audit, team, and transformation risks?
4
Which decisions can the Controller approve and which remain with the CFO, board, audit committee, or advisers?

Evaluation criteria

Evidence to use in a Financial Controller scorecard

Agree the criteria before interviews begin, then score examples against the same evidence standard.

Criterion

Useful evidence

Concern to explore

Reporting integrity

Explains policy, substance, judgement, evidence, review, disclosure, and consequences.

Prioritises a clean timetable over surfacing a material uncertainty.

Control leadership

Designs proportionate preventive and detective controls with ownership and verification.

Adds approvals without analysing risk or accepts management override casually.

Executive courage

Communicates difficult financial evidence early and frames lawful, supportable options.

Changes professional judgement to fit a preferred narrative.

Structured interview

Financial Controller interview questions and strong signals

Ask the same core questions in the same order, then use follow-ups to understand the candidate’s individual contribution.

Tell me about a material accounting judgement on which stakeholders disagreed.

Strong answer signal

Shows standards, facts, alternatives, consultation, documentation, governance, and final communication.

Describe a control failure that existing reviews did not catch.

Strong answer signal

Examines design, operation, evidence, culture, impact, remediation, ownership, and retesting.

How have you shortened close without weakening reporting quality?

Strong answer signal

Uses upstream ownership, materiality, automation, standardisation, review redesign, and measured outcomes.

Related titles

Check the scope behind the title

Group Financial Controller — usually owns consolidation, group policy, and multi-entity governance.

Corporate Controller — common title for organisation-wide accounting and control leadership.

Controller — scope varies widely; may be the most senior finance role in a smaller organisation.

Common hiring mistakes

Problems to remove before publishing

Using Finance Manager and Financial Controller interchangeably without explaining reporting authority.

Requiring accountability for controls while leaving system access and business-process ownership unresolved.

Hiding extensive close, audit, filing, or board-cycle workload.

Continue the hiring workflow

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Source and review notes

How this template was prepared

Language: International English
Prepared by: ATZ CRM Editorial Team
Review: ATZ CRM Recruitment Editorial Review
Last reviewed: 2026-08-05

O*NET: Financial Managers

Reference for occupation tasks, knowledge, skills, abilities, and work activities.

O*NET: Accountants and Auditors

Reference for occupation tasks, knowledge, skills, abilities, and work activities.

ESCO: occupations and skills

Reference for internationally recognised occupation and skills terminology.

Qualifications, compensation, licences, working conditions, and equal-opportunity wording must be checked for the role and location before use.

Recruiter questions

Financial Controller job description FAQs

What does a Financial Controller do?

A Controller owns reporting integrity, accounting policy, close governance, controls, audit readiness, and usually leads accounting operations.

Is a professional qualification required?

It depends on local law, governance, and the remit. Confirm requirements with the organisation and relevant professional or regulatory authority.

How is a Controller different from a Finance Manager?

Controllers usually have deeper authority for accounting policy, reporting, control, and audit. Finance Managers may combine broader operations, planning, and decision support.