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

  1. 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
  2. 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
  3. 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
  4. 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
  5. 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief

Shortlist3–5

3–5
Shortlist · with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 set out
5
Vetting · stages before a candidate reaches a client
£76,750
Full-time FC salary, median · 50th percentile
Robert Half, 2026
£104,500
London FC salary, median · 50th percentile
Robert Half, 2026

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.

  1. 0115 minutes, video or phone
  2. 02We scope the role and the days a week
  3. 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
  4. 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Prefer email? Use the booking page →

Pick a day that suits · live availability

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 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.

02/ 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.

03/ 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.

04/ vetting

How we vet financial controllers

What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.

  1. 01

    Qualification screen

    Verify financial controller tenure, sector context and stage fit.

    SOURCING
  2. 02

    Mandate fit

    Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.

    MATCHING
  3. 03

    Reference deep-dive

    We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.

    VERIFY
  4. 04

    Shortlist

    Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.

    SHORTLIST OF 3–5

05/ 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.

06/ 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 at the 25th percentile, £76,750 at the median and £92,500 at the 75th percentile (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.

07/ questions

Financial controller jobs FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a financial controller.

On this page: the board shows the financial controller roles on our board, permanent roles first where the posting says full-time, then interim, fractional and part-time. Each kind of FC role also has its own page, from interim financial controller jobs to part-time financial controller jobs.
The reporting line (to the CFO or FD, or straight to the CEO), the accounting standard (UK GAAP or IFRS), the sector’s reporting demands, and whether the role is group-level with consolidation. Our board collects FC vacancies from employers’ boards and listings and leaves out agency-advertised roles.
Robert Half’s 2026 guide puts a full-time financial controller at £63,000 (25th percentile), £76,750 (median) and £92,500 (75th percentile) (Robert Half); in London the median is £104,500 (Robert Half). See our financial controller salary guide for group level.
Qualify with ICAEW, ACCA or CIMA, then work through finance manager, management accountant, financial accountant or group accountant roles until you have run a close, owned accounts through audit and managed people. Interim and part-time FC roles are another way into the seat.
Most postings ask for ACA, ACCA or CIMA; Robert Half’s profile lists all three. Employers can check membership with the body, for example through ICAEW’s verification service.
The financial controller owns how the numbers are produced and checked: the close, reporting, controls and the audit. The finance director owns what they mean for the business and answers for them to the bank and the board. ICAEW notes the FC usually reports to the CFO or FD. See what a financial controller does.
It depends on how the engagement runs in practice, not on its label. In most cases a medium or large client makes the determination; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides (HMRC). We set out each candidate’s IR35 position on the shortlist and do not promise an outcome.
Decide whether the seat is permanent, interim or for set days a week, list the monthly outputs and the controls it owns, and confirm the qualification with the body. To hire a fractional financial controller, see fractional financial controller jobs. On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5 after five-stage vetting.

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.

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