Head of Finance – Bedford

Head of Finance, ACA, ACCA or CIMA Qualified, FMCG SME, Bedford, c£90,000

Working for a £50m wholesale / retail business based in Bedford. Overseeing small accounts team, responsible for all accounting, reporting, and budgeting processes for the business.

As the Head of Finance, you will be a key part of the senior leadership team, and your remit will include:

• Leading the forecasting, budgeting, and strategic planning processes
• Preparing the annual budget
• Statutory accounts preparation, ensuring accurate financial reporting
• Coordinating with external auditors during the audit process
• Lead preparation of weekly, monthly, and quarterly management accounts, providing regular performance analysis
• Direct the forecasting, budgeting, and strategic planning process for income, costs, balance sheet, and cashflow accounting
• Oversee the month-end close process, ensuring reporting deadlines are met
• Manage tax matters, including VAT compliance and filing

Seeking a commercially minded qualified Accountant with SME and FMCG experience, ideally including exposure to online retail/ wholesale operations.   

Credit Controller – Bedford

Credit Controller, temporary, 3 months+, Bedford, £26k FTE

Our client, a leading business in their sector, have a need for a Credit Controller to join the team at their offices in Bedford on a temporary basis for 3 Months initially
You will be working in an established team of dedicated Credit controllers who are used to hitting and exceeding their targets.

Working in a fast paced environment, your duties as the Credit Controller will include:

• Chasing late/non payment
• Cash allocation
• Query resolution
• Setting up new accounts
• Reporting on status of debt/overdue accounts
• Support to Senior Credit Controller as required

The ideal candidate will have proven experience in Credit Control, be customer focused and solutions driven. You will have good Excel and IT skills, be confident dealing with queries and building relationships at all levels.

This is a hybrid role with 2 days in the office per week, there is on site parking and potential for this role to be extended.

Stores Person – Leighton Buzzard

Stores Person – Leighton Buzzard – £28,000

We are delighted to be recruiting on behalf of an established UK subsidiary of a globally recognised materials handling business. With a strong presence in the market and a commitment to operational excellence, they are now looking to appoint an experienced and proactive Stores Person to join their team.

The Role:
This is a hands-on role requiring someone who is physically fit, organised, and experienced in working within a warehouse or stores environment. You’ll play a vital part in maintaining the efficiency and cleanliness of the stores area, ensuring stock accuracy, and supporting the day-to-day operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Maintain and manage the stores area, ensuring parts are put away daily and stock systems are accurately updated.
• Receive and inspect daily deliveries, verifying part condition and placing them into designated stock locations.
• Monitor engineer consumables, oils, and filters, ensuring adequate stock levels at all times.
• Prepare and despatch parts according to picking notes, booking items in and out of the system.
• Keep store aisles clean and the stores area well-organised and tidy at all times.
• Manage the yard and ensure hazardous materials are stored and packed appropriately.
• Conduct daily perpetual stock takes and assist with the year-end stock take.

The Ideal Candidate:

• Previous experience in a warehouse or stores environment.
• Fit and able to assist with manual handling and physical tasks.
• Strong organisational and administrative skills.
• A clean UK driving licence.
• Reliable, proactive, and able to work independently with a high attention to detail.
• A forklift for reach and counter balance licence would be desirable

If you’re seeking your next opportunity in a well-established business and thrive in a fast-paced, hands-on environment, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply today and take the next step in your career!

Compliance Manager – St Albans

Compliance Manager, Financial Services, proactive role, St Albans, c£50,000

A well established and successful independent financial services business looking for a Compliance Manager to provide a broad compliance and risk service and ensure FCA regulatory requirements are met.

As the Compliance Manager you will be reporting to the Head of Risk and Compliance, ensuring the company adheres to the Governance Schedule including FCA’s Consumer Duty, Conduct Rules and Principles.  Other responsibilities will include:

Ensure all day-to-day business as usual compliance breaches and complaints handling support is provided

Act as a second line defence to identify and monitor risks and provide a feedback loop to Head of Risk & Compliance

To support the Head of Risk & Compliance in meeting the Compliance Monitoring Plan in order to analyse the company’s compliance with regulatory requirements including FCA obligations, Data Protection, Fraud Prevention and measures, Consumer Duty Basic Principals and anti-money laundering

Analyse the root causes of regulatory and procedural breaches and ensure that practical remedial actions have been taken to mitigate against future occurrence

To support the Head of Risk & Compliance in the review and maintenance of the Compliance Manuals

Essential knowledge and experience required at time of recruitment include:

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in Financial Services, preferably in the Investment and Life Protection sectors, with at least 1 year in the Compliance sector
• Good interpersonal and communication skills and able to identify and build important strategic relationships internally and externally
•  Sound and proportionate judgement and a commercial outlook
•  Advanced Excel skills and highly numerate.
•  Compliance monitoring, risk management and/or internal audit skills.
•  Good inter-personal and communication skills and be a strong team player
•  Awareness of the FCA handbook and data protection

Billing Administrator – Leicester

Billing Administrator – hybrid working – Leicester – £22,500-£23,000

A multi sited business which have been located in Leicester since 1997 are currently looking for a Billing Administrator to join their busy and professional team.

As the Billings Administrator, your responsibilities will include:

• Processing invoices
• Raising bills
• Identify and resolves billing discrepancies
• Analysing data
• Maintaining accurate records
• Checking funds and ensuring correct rates are applied. 

The best suited candidate will have previous experience working within a finance department, strong communication skills, Proficient IT skills, good attention to detail, be organised in their work and be able to work to given time scales.  A finance or accounting qualification is desirable, but not essential.

Purchase Ledger/Expenses Assistant – Bedford

Finance Assistant – Purchase Ledger/Expenses, Bedford area, £27,000-£30,000. Urgent role/ASAP start. 100% office based

Abacus Consulting are delighted to be partnering a growing business in the Bedford area in their search for a Finance Assistant

Working in a busy and fast paced accounts environment, your duties as the Finance Assistant will include –

• Posting purchase invoices 
• Payment runs 
• Supplier statement recs 
• Query resolution 
• Processing expenses 
• Provide support to colleagues as and when needed  

Must have experience of purchase ledger and expenses. Will need to be a confident Excel user.  Immediately available candidates living in the Bedford area will be of particular interest.  This is an urgent role. Permanent and full time. 100% office based. Onsite parking.

Financial Controller – St Albans

Financial Controller, No. 1 finance role for dynamic Financial Services SME, St Albans, £competitive

An exciting new opening for a qualified accountant with experience of FCA reporting. The role is to take the lead finance role with a well-established and successful privately owned SME business.

As Number One in finance,  you will have day to day responsibility for all aspects of Financial Control, leading an accounts team and working closely with the CEO in the development and execution of business strategy.

Your key areas of focus as the Financial Controller will include:

• To provide leadership of the Company Accounts Team.
• To fulfil all financial reporting requirements e.g. monthly management accounts, quarterly forecasts, annual budgets.
• To be the focal point on the external statutory and CASS audits.
• To lead the production of the statutory accounts.
• To comply with all regulatory filings – FCA, CASS and HMRC.
• To preserve the integrity of the financial records and maintain robust financial controls.
• To raise organisational financial awareness.
• To undertake Company Secretarial duties.

With ambitious business plans in place, the CEO is looking for a commercially minded qualified accountant with a proven track record leading and developing teams.  You will need to be exceptionally motivated and possess the dynamism and high levels of integrity and gravitas to present credibly to the Board and shareholders, as well as buying your team into the goals and visions of the organisation.   Experience of regulatory FCA returns is essential.

If this opportunity is of interest, please apply without delay for a more detailed conversation about the role and business, and the possibility of an early interview with the client.

Client Accountant – Practice

Client Accountant, qualified or QBE, Practice, North Bedfordshire, to £55,000

Award winning Practice servicing a range of SME clients with accounting and bookkeeping services.

The Accountant will join a well-established, award-winning accounting Practice to provide a holistic accounting service to a range of SME clients.

The role will be office based, supporting the Partners while attending to clients’ accounts.

Seeking a qualified or QBE Accountant with broad, mixed experience gained from a practice background, use to preparing accounts for SME clients.

Manufacturing / Cost Accountant – Brackley

Cost Accountant, CIMA/ACCA qualified, Brackley, £££Competitive

Qualified Accountant with strong experience of accounting for manufacturing processes. The role will involve analysis of large volumes of data, providing insight into manufacturing costs and the accounting treatment of inventory.

This role will provide data led insight into our inventory environment and will be responsible for reporting, planning and ensuring strong data integrity.

The scope of the role covers manufacturing activities through to assembly and the internal consumption or external distribution of inventory. The application of the Financial Regulations to the inventory environment also makes this a critical and unique role in our team.

As the Cost Accountant your key accountabilities will include:

• Deliver standardised financial reporting, providing insight into inventory position from both statutory and financial regulations perspectives.
• Drive financial decision-making processes by interpreting data trends, providing narratives for key stakeholders, and ensuring that decisions are backed by operational insights.
• Produce inventory budgets and forecasts from a P&L, Balance Sheet, and cash perspective, ensuring variances to plans are clearly understood and communicated to stakeholders.
• Align with the Cost Analyst team to ensure cohesion in inventory planning and reporting.
• Ensure there is robust and clear reporting on the manufacturing environment and own and manage the item costing approach, including the management of manufacturing related SAP master data.
• Drive continuous review and improvement of the manufacturing recoveries process, including a review of rates used, and direction of Cost Analyst team to support with investigation activities.
• Identify and support inventory-related financial regulation optimisation initiatives.
• Identify opportunities for process and system improvements, working closely with business transformation and ERP optimisation teams to implement efficient solutions.
• Preparation of responses to Financial Regulation and Statutory Audit topics.
• Support capital expenditure request processes related to inventory.

Candidate Profile

• CIMA/ACCA qualified with post qualified experience in financial planning and reporting or similar role in large, complex organisations, and ideally with a relevant degree.
• Previous experience of complex Inventory Management in a manufacturing environment.
• An understanding of Inventory costing methodologies e.g. Standard Costs and Manufacturing cost management e.g. variance management.
• Ability to build and maintain excellent cross functional working relationships, responding to their needs and guiding where appropriate.
• A Strong Communicator with the ability to influence key decisions.
• An ability to navigate detail whist also being able to summarise and communicate a position effectively.
• Highly proficient in Excel.
• Adaptable and forward looking, embracing a fast-paced working environment.
• Attention to detail and proficiency to self-review.
• Experience of SAP would be an advantage.

Credit Controller – Milton Keynes

Experienced Credit Controller needed to manage established ledger in MK, to £30k

We are delighted to be partnered with a long established business in the foodservice industry who are looking for an experienced Credit Controller to join their dynamic and busy finance team.  This is an excellent opportunity for a skilled professional to play a crucial role in maintaining and improving the financial health of our clients business.

Key Responsibilities of the Credit Controller:

• Manage a portfolio of customer debtor accounts to ensure timely payments.
• Process incoming funds accurately and promptly.
• Proactively chase overdue invoices and manage debt recovery procedures.
• Investigate and resolve account queries in a professional and timely manner.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with customers to support account management and payment processes.
• Collaborate closely with internal teams to ensure the smooth running of credit control operations.

 What We’re Looking For:

• Proven experience in a credit control role.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build rapport with clients.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage a busy workload and meet deadlines.
• Open and enthusiastic approach whilst remaining firm and professional
• Confident user of SAP and Excel.

This role offers great benefits, salary and WFH opportunities. If you would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.