Financial controller jobs · FC vacancies · Permanent, interim and fractional
Financial controller jobs · permanent, interim and fractional
Financial controller jobs are the senior finance roles that own how a company’s numbers are produced and checked: the month-end, financial reporting, internal controls, the audit and the finance team, usually reporting to the finance director or CFO.
They come as permanent full-time posts, interim assignments and fractional or part-time seats.
The board below shows the FC roles on our board, with permanent roles first where the posting says full-time.
We recruit permanent, interim, fractional and part-time finance leaders, and non-executive directors.
Hiring rather than looking?
On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a financial controller
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with financial controller candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
Financial controller jobs jobs on the board
Current financial controller roles on our board
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a financial controller brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the cross
Where a permanent hire becomes cheaper.
Move the day rate and the days a week: the rising line is a month of part-week cost, the flat line a permanent hire’s month. Where they cross, the seat should go full-time.
At 3.9 days a week a permanent hire costs less.
Our arithmetic. Permanent a month = the salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI, plus the 30% search fee spread over 12 months — the calculator’s inputs. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each step.
Permanent = the £76,750 Robert Half 2026 median salary. The full calculator below adds the months, the totals and the currency tabs.
- The fractional financial controller at 2 days a week never passes permanent inside 24 months.
Our arithmetic, cumulative. Permanent = the salary’s 30% search fee in month 0, then salary ÷ 12 plus 15% employer NI each month. No published interim band for this seat, so no interim line. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for each month.
02/ the route
Fractional, interim or permanent?
Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.
The route · Fractional
A fractional financial controller.The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.
A fractional financial controller holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.
The route · Interim
An interim financial controller.The work fills the week, and it has an end: a programme, a cover, a transaction.
An interim financial controller takes the seat full time for that stretch and hands it over when it is done.
The route · Interim, then permanent
Interim now, a permanent financial controller after.The seat is full time and long term, and the need is now.
An interim financial controller holds it while the permanent search runs, so the seat is not left empty.
The route · Permanent
A permanent financial controller.A full-time seat that sits at the table for years is a permanent hire.
There is time to run a search, so run one.
03/ the role
Financial controller jobs: what the board holds
The board on this page holds the financial controller roles on our board: financial controller, group financial controller and FC roles in every mode of work.
Roles whose posting says full-time come first.
Interim, fractional and part-time FC roles follow, and where a posting states how the role is engaged, the listing says so.
When there are few FC roles, the board widens to the finance director, CFO and FP&A seats around it, and says that it has.
What the seat does
ICAEW describes the financial controller as a senior finance role, typically involving people management, ownership of the financial reporting process, planning and commercial analysis, and reporting to the CFO, the finance director or the executive team.
Robert Half’s financial controller profile lists the day-to-day finances, reporting under UK GAAP or IFRS, budgeting, forecasting and month-end, internal controls, audit and risk, and developing the finance team.
For the full picture, see what a financial controller does.
The duty behind the job
Every company must keep adequate accounting records: records that show and explain its transactions and disclose its financial position with reasonable accuracy at any time.
Where a company has a financial controller, that is the person who makes it true month after month.
04/ scope
How to get a financial controller job
1. Qualify
Robert Half’s profile asks for ACA, ACCA or CIMA.
The ICAEW’s ACA combines technical learning, practical experience and professional skills; the ACCA qualification combines exams, ethics and professional experience; CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification runs from Operational to Strategic level.
If you are starting out, the National Careers Service sets out the routes into accountancy: a degree, an apprenticeship, or work combined with a professional qualification.
2. Take the steps below the seat
Robert Half names the common roles before financial controller as finance manager, group accountant, management accountant, internal audit manager and financial accountant.
A controller job asks for proof that you have run a close, owned a set of accounts through audit and managed people.
ICAEW’s careers pages make the case for a controls role as a first move after qualifying.
3. Keep your membership current
Employers can check.
ICAEW publishes a membership verification service and an online member directory, and the other bodies keep their own registers.
Know your ERP and reporting systems by name, and read our financial controller job description for what employers ask for.
4. Pick the route in
Not every FC job is permanent.
Interim financial controller jobs cover a gap, a system change or an audit for a set period; fractional financial controller jobs and part-time financial controller jobs hold the seat for set days a week.
If you work through your own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply: status turns on how the engagement runs, and a medium or large client makes the determination.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
05/ the maths
What the seat costs, by the days a week
Move the day rate, the days a week and the months: the totals and the permanent comparison for the period. The curve above shows where a permanent hire becomes the cheaper seat.
The slider runs across the published band for a fractional financial controller: £400–£650 a day (Accountancy Capital 2026).
Cost over 12 months
£57,200
104 working days · 2 d/wk · 12 mo · before tax
Fractional costs less over 12 months£54,088
Fractional financial controller, 12 months£57,200
Fractional financial controller, a month at 2 d/wk£4,763
Permanent financial controller, same period£111,288
Fractional financial controller, 12 months$75,784
Fractional financial controller, a month at 2 d/wk$6,310
Permanent financial controller, same period$147,445
Converted from £ at $1.3249 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a US market rate. Source ↗
Fractional financial controller, 12 months€67,187
Fractional financial controller, a month at 2 d/wk€5,595
Permanent financial controller, same period€130,718
Converted from £ at €1.1746 per £1 (Bank of England spot rate), 2 Oct 2026. A conversion, not a EU market rate. Source ↗
Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = the £76,750 Robert Half 2026 median salary pro rata for the same months, plus 15% employer NI, plus a 30% search fee on the annual base (UK retained search runs 25–35%, Headhunters.co.uk). Excludes pension, bonus and equity.
06/ the week
How a week divides.
The days you buy are yours; the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week in the calculator above and the week redraws.
Illustration only: one way a fractional financial controller’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.
07/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.
On this board, last 90 days · 1 role · Financial controller jobs
Engagement
- Fractional1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting0
- Not stated1
Day rate
- Verified rate0
- Estimated (est)1
- Rate not stated0
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote0
- Hybrid1
- On-site0
Newest posting on the board: 8 Oct 2026.
08/ related roles
Financial controller jobs by type
Every page we keep for the FC seat, one per kind of role or question. We recruit permanent, interim, fractional and part-time financial controllers.
09/ vetting
How we vet financial controllers
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify financial controller tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
10/ financial controller vacancies
Financial controller vacancies reading the advert
Financial controller vacancies reach the market on employers’ own careers pages and applicant tracking systems, on job boards and through agencies.
The board on this page collects FC vacancies from employers’ boards and job listings, removes duplicates, and leaves out roles advertised by recruitment agencies.
Read a vacancy for three things.
First, the reporting line: an FC reporting to the CFO or FD runs the engine room; an FC reporting straight to the CEO is often the most senior finance person in the business.
Second, the standard: UK GAAP or IFRS, as Robert Half’s profile notes.
Third, the sector: Robert Half points to FCA regulatory reporting in financial services, investor reporting in technology and cost accounting in manufacturing.
Group financial controller vacancies add consolidation, intercompany and several sets of statutory accounts.
For pay at each level, see our financial controller salary guide.
11/ permanent financial controller jobs
Permanent financial controller jobs the market and the pay
Permanent financial controller jobs are full-time employed roles, and they are the ones listed first on this page.
Robert Half’s 2026 salary guide puts a full-time financial controller at £63,000 to £92,500, median £76,750 (Robert Half).
In London the band is £85,750 to £125,750, median £104,500 (Robert Half).
A group financial controller’s median is £85,000, and a finance director’s £109,500, on the same guide (Robert Half).
Robert Half is a recruiter, and these are its own starting-salary projections.
Robert Half names finance director and group controller as the common next steps from the seat.
Base pay is one part of a permanent package: bonus, pension, hybrid working and study support vary by employer, so compare offers line by line.
12/ questions
Financial controller jobs FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a financial controller.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
