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Job Title: Financial Controller

Location: Hybrid working, with three days per week at our Bristol City Centre HQ

Salary: £50,000-£60,000 per annum

Best.Energy is a leading cleantech company in the energy efficiency space, providing energy monitoring, management and smart building services to clients across the world. We have a distributed workforce, primarily based in the UK, with satellite offices in Malaysia, Kenya, and the United States. We are looking for an experienced, fully qualified Financial Controller to join our UK team and strengthen our financial reporting, planning, and controls.

Reporting to the CFO, you will take ownership of management accounts production, budgeting, forecasting, and financial control. Working closely with our Accounts Manager, you will help ensure our financial information is accurate, timely, and useful to colleagues making decisions across the business. The role covers our UK and international entities, currencies, and projects.

This is a broad, hands-on role within a small team, with no line management responsibilities. Your focus will be balanced between getting the accounting detail right and looking ahead through forecasts, analysis, and commercial reporting. You will be comfortable investigating a reconciliation, producing the monthly accounts, and discussing what the numbers mean with the CFO and budget holders.

Main Responsibilities Include:

• Management Accounts: Own the production of monthly management accounts, including journals, accruals, prepayments, and balance sheet reconciliations, meeting agreed reporting deadlines.
• Financial Reporting: Produce clear reporting and commentary on financial performance, explaining variances, highlighting risks, and recommending practical actions.
• Budgeting and Forecasting: Own the annual budget process and regular operational forecasts with the CFO and budget holders, challenging assumptions, and maintaining reliable financial models. Support the CFO’s strategic forecasting.
• Cash Flow and Working Capital: Maintain cash-flow forecasts, monitor working capital, and highlight emerging pressures or opportunities to the CFO. Work with colleagues to ensure Accounts Receivable are well managed.
• Commercial Analysis: Analyse revenue, costs, and margins, providing insight to support pricing, investment, project performance, and operational decisions.
• Financial Controls: Maintain effective accounting processes, reconciliations, approval controls, and audit trails, identifying and addressing weaknesses.
• Statutory Reporting and Compliance: Lead statutory accounts preparation and coordinate audit requirements and tax reporting with external advisers and the CFO.
• Xero: Act as the technical lead for Xero, improving reporting, maintaining data quality, resolving issues, and making effective use of its functionality and connected systems.
• Finance Operations: Work closely with the Accounts Manager to coordinate month-end inputs, resolve accounting queries, and support purchase orders, daily banking, and treasury processes. Provide cover when required and follow up overdue customer payments after initial chasing by the sales team.
• Process Improvement: Identify opportunities to simplify processes, improve reporting, and use automation appropriately, while maintaining accuracy and financial control.