Group Financial Controller | Series A SaaS | London (Hybrid)

Group Financial Controller | VC-Backed SaaS Start-up | London (Hybrid)

The Client

Harmonic is delighted to be working with a fast-growing, VC-backed SaaS business that has built a category-defining, AI native product already well known across the finance profession. Backed by Tier 1 VCs and targeting 5x ARR growth this year, the business is scaling rapidly and expanding internationally.

The culture is fast-moving, engineering-led, and genuinely obsessed with building things well. They treat finance as a product problem, not an administrative one. The team is small, the decision-making is fast, and the opportunity to have real impact from day one is significant.

The Role

This is a building role at the forefront of what it means to run a modern finance function. You will be operating with and embedding the most advanced AI tools available on the market today, using them to design and automate processes from the ground up rather than inheriting a legacy stack.

As the first dedicated finance hire, you will own the complete accounting function across multiple jurisdictions from day one. The expectation is not that you become the person who executes the close indefinitely, it is that you build systems and automations that make your involvement in the mechanics largely unnecessary. The ambition is day-one monthly close, a compliance calendar that runs itself, and a finance function that over time shifts its weight from core accounting into FP+A and commercial insight.

You will report to the Head of Finance & Operations, who has a strategic finance background. In the first six months the focus is on getting the core accounting function right. After that, there is a deliberate plan for this person to take on ownership of FP+A and investor relations, making up roughly half the role.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and own the month-end close process across all entities, with the goal of closing on day one of each month through automation and modern tooling
• Lead the transition from local GAAP reporting to IFRS across all jurisdictions, including revenue recognition, provisions, SBC, and other technical judgement areas
• Build an AI-native finance function across financial operations and reporting, embedding market-leading tools to eliminate manual work and improve quality
• Group consolidation: intercompany eliminations, FX translation, consolidated P+L and balance sheet
• Statutory reporting and audit: annual accounts across all entities, primary contact for external auditors
• Management reporting: monthly P+L, balance sheet, and cash flow pack for board and leadership, evolving from delivery of numbers to delivery of insight
• Compliance, VAT and payroll: own the master compliance calendar across all entities, VAT submissions, and payroll coordination
• Cash and AP: cash positions, FX exposure, accounts payable, payment runs, and bank reconciliations
• Take full ownership of FP+A and investor relations from approximately month six, targeting this as roughly 50% of the role as core accounting becomes systematised

What We Are Looking For

• You have been the number one or number two in a finance function and have owned the complete picture end to end.
• You have prepared IFRS-compliant financial statements independently and can defend technical accounting judgements to external auditors. Experience leading or supporting a transition from local GAAP to IFRS is a strong advantage.
• Experience in Big 4 or a top 20 practice, a PE-backed business, or a small listed company such as an AIM-listed or similarly regulated environment. You have been held to a high standard and that standard is now your own
• You have built a finance function from scratch, or close to it. You know what good looks like and you have had to create it yourself rather than inherit it
• You are genuinely and demonstrably AI-curious. This means you are already using AI tools in your day-to-day work, you follow developments in the space, and you are energised by the idea of building a finance function on modern infrastructure. This is the most important thing we are looking for and it needs to go beyond surface-level interest
• You are a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or equivalent)

Salary: £90,000 - £100,000 + equity

Location: London, hybrid, 2 days per week in office

Start Date: ASAP preferred; all notice periods considered.

At Harmonic, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. We actively welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and assure you that every candidate will be thoughtfully considered for the roles we represent, without regard to race, religion, gender expression, disability, or sexual orientation.