Financial controller recruitment · Permanent, interim, fractional or part-time

Financial controller recruitment: how to hire a financial controller

Financial controller recruitment starts with what the controller will own: month-end and the management accounts, the ledgers and controls, the audit, and the finance team that runs them. To hire a financial controller, fix that scope and the reporting line, check the ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification, then test candidates on a real month-end from your business.

We recruit permanent, interim, fractional, part-time and temporary finance leaders. On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.

Brief us on a financial controller hire →See the roles

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

In the press

FM Magazine (AICPA & CIMA) How to make the fractional CFO-client relationship effective · 20 May 2026
If the business needs senior finance judgement for part of the week rather than a full-time controller, a fractional engagement can cover it. FM Magazine sets out how to make one work: scope, access to people and data, and regular communication.

3–5

Shortlist · with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 set out

Vetting · stages before a candidate reaches you

£76,750

Financial controller, national median · 50th percentile

Robert Half, 2026

£104,500

Financial controller, London 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.

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

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Financial controller roles jobs on the board

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Live financial controller and finance leadership roles

How fractional recruitment agencies compare is set out in one place, including how we work: a Financial Controller brief and a shortlist of three to five.

01/ the role

What the controller owns, and when you need one

A financial controller owns the accuracy of the numbers. The company must keep adequate accounting records that show and explain its transactions and disclose its financial position with reasonable accuracy at any time; in most businesses the controller is the person who makes that happen, through the month-end close, the management accounts, reconciliations, controls and the audit file.

When a company needs a financial controller

The usual triggers: month-end takes too long or the numbers keep changing after it; the auditors raise the same control points every year; the business has added entities, currencies or a new finance system; or the finance director spends their time on the ledgers instead of the board. If the gap is strategy, funding and the board, the seat is a finance director; see finance director recruitment.

Larger companies: the tax accounting duty

In a large company, HMRC’s senior accounting officer rules may apply: a qualifying company must tell HMRC the name of its senior accounting officer for each financial year, and whether a company qualifies turns on its own and its UK group’s turnover and balance sheet. The controller often runs the accounting processes that officer relies on, so ask candidates how they have documented and tested them.

02/ scope

How to hire a financial controller

1. Scope the seat before the search

Write down what the controller will own (month-end, management accounts, controls, the audit, payroll, the finance team), the systems they will run, who they report to and what should be better after the first year. A controller for a single-entity business and a group controller with several entities and currencies are different hires. The financial controller job description gives a template.

2. Choose the route: permanent, interim, fractional or part-time

A permanent controller suits a business whose month-end needs an owner every month. An interim financial controller covers a vacancy, a system migration or an audit full-time for a fixed term: hire an interim FC. For senior controls work for part of the week, hire a fractional FC; for set days on your payroll, see part-time financial controller roles.

3. Check the qualification and test the work

Most briefs ask for a qualified accountant. The ICAEW’s ACA combines technical learning, practical experience and professional skills; the ACCA qualification combines exams, ethics and professional experience; and CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification is built around management accounting, financial reporting and financial strategy. Confirm membership with the body itself. Then test the work: the CIPD’s guidance on selection favours structured interviews and skill-based tasks scored against the same criteria, so give every candidate the same trial balance and reconciliation from your business.

4. Run the checks before the offer

For an employee, you must check their right to work before they start. Take references from a finance director and an auditor who worked with the candidate, and ask about a control failure they found and fixed.

What we do on a financial controller brief

We send a shortlist of 3–5 candidates, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. Every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.

03/ comparison

Finance manager, financial controller or finance director?

Three finance seats that overlap. Choose by what the person will own and who they answer to.

Finance managerFinancial controllerFinance director

OwnsParts of the process: ledgers, reconciliations, reporting packsMonth-end, the management accounts, controls and the auditThe finance function: reporting, cash, budgets, systems and the board

Typically reports toThe financial controllerThe finance director or CFOThe CEO or CFO

Usually qualifiedQualified or part-qualifiedACA, ACCA or CIMAACA, ACCA or CIMA

SuitsA team that needs more hands on the processA business whose numbers need tightening and owningA growing business that needs one senior finance owner

04/ 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

05/ what to test for

Financial controller interview questions: what to test for

Test the four things the seat turns on. The close: ask them to walk through their month-end timetable, what they cut to shorten it and what they would never cut. Controls: give a reconciliation with an unexplained difference and ask how they would find it. The audit: ask about an audit adjustment or management letter point they owned, and what they changed so it did not recur. Systems: ask about a finance system change they ran, and what went wrong.

Add a written task: a short commentary on a set of management accounts, as they would send it to the finance director. Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order and score each answer against the same criteria.

06/ what a controller costs

What a controller costs: Robert Half’s 2026 figures

Robert Half’s 2026 salary guide puts a financial controller nationally at £63,000 at the 25th percentile, £76,750 at the 50th and £92,500 at the 75th. In London its figures are £85,750, £104,500 and £125,750. These are Robert Half’s starting-salary projections, based on its own placements and third-party vacancy data; bonus and pension are agreed on top. For more, see financial controller salary.

An interim or fractional controller is paid a day rate, often through their own company. Then the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply: status depends on how the engagement runs, and a medium or large client makes the determination; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests. On every brief we set out each candidate’s pay or day rate on the shortlist.

07/ questions

Financial controller recruitment FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a financial controller.

Scope the seat first: what the controller will own, the systems and entities, and who they report to. Then choose permanent, interim, fractional or part-time, confirm the ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification with the awarding body, test candidates on the same trial balance and reconciliation from your business, take references from a finance director and an auditor, and check right to work before the offer.

Robert Half’s 2026 salary guide gives a national range of £63,000 (25th percentile) to £92,500 (75th), median £76,750, and in London £85,750 to £125,750, median £104,500. On every brief we set out each candidate’s pay or day rate on the shortlist, so you can compare like with like.

Ask for their month-end timetable and what they cut to shorten it, how they would find an unexplained reconciliation difference, about an audit point they owned and fixed, and about a finance system change they ran. Add a short written commentary on a set of management accounts.

A financial controller owns month-end, the management accounts, controls and the audit. A finance director runs the whole finance function, including cash, budgets and systems, and reports to the CEO or CFO, often from the board. In a smaller business one person may do both.

There is no legal requirement, but most briefs ask for ACA, ACCA or CIMA. Check membership with ICAEW, ACCA or CIMA directly rather than relying on the CV.

Permanent when month-end needs an owner every month. Interim when the seat is empty, or a system migration or audit needs a full-time controller for a fixed term. Fractional when you need senior controls work for part of the week, through their own company. Part-time when you want set days on your payroll. See fractional financial controller roles for the part-week route.

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.

Book a call →Submit a brief