Specialist finance and accountancy recruitment
Financial Controller and Senior Finance Recruitment Specialists
Accountancy Capital places permanent, interim and fractional Financial Controllers, Finance Managers, accountants and FP&A professionals with growing SMEs, private equity-backed businesses and FCA-regulated firms across the UK.
Looking for your next role? Register as a candidate or browse live finance jobs
£50k+
Qualified finance roles below director level
3 ways to hire
Permanent, interim and fractional appointments
FCA-regulated
Finance specialists for wealth, fintech, insurance and investment firms
ICAEW
Founded by Adrian Lawrence FCA, a Fellow of the ICAEW
What we recruit
Recruitment for the whole qualified finance team
Financial Controllers are at the centre of what we do, but most finance functions need more than one good hire. We recruit across the qualified finance team, from the first management accountant in a growing business to the controller who runs a group close.
Finance recruitment run by people who understand finance
A finance hire is judged on things a CV rarely shows: whether someone has owned a close or only contributed to one, whether they can build controls in a business that has never had them, and whether the leadership team will trust their numbers. Our recruitment team assesses candidates against those questions, using your systems, reporting timetable and stakeholders as the brief, so you choose between people who can genuinely do the job.
Accountancy Capital was founded by Adrian Lawrence FCA, a Fellow of the ICAEW with a practising certificate and a former listed-company Finance Director. That background shapes how we work: we talk about the finance function first and the job description second, and we tell you honestly when a role is pitched at the wrong level or salary.
We work with owner-managed businesses making their first qualified hire, private equity-backed companies preparing for investment or a sale, and established groups replacing a senior member of the team. Our case studies show the kind of searches we run, and our about us page explains more about the team.
How a search works
- A conversation firstWe talk through the role, the team, the systems, the package and your timetable.
- Brief and terms agreedWe confirm the specification and the fee in writing before any search starts.
- ShortlistCandidates assessed against your brief, typically within one to two weeks for permanent roles and within days for interim cover.
- Interviews and offerWe arrange interviews, take feedback and manage the offer through to the start date.
Financial Controller recruitment
Hiring your first or next Financial Controller
The Financial Controller is usually the most important hire in a finance function below the Finance Director. In a growing business the FC is often the first qualified accountant, taking over from a bookkeeper or an external accountant and putting a proper close, controls and management accounts in place. In a private equity-backed company the FC carries the monthly reporting pack, the covenant calculations and the audit, and has to keep the numbers right while the business changes around them. In a larger group the role is about consolidation, process and the people who produce the numbers.
Those are different jobs with the same title, so we start every search by working out which one you need. The level of the role, the salary and the type of candidate all follow from that conversation. Our guide to your first Financial Controller explains the signs that a business is ready, and our Financial Controller salary guide sets out current pay by business size.
We regularly recruit Financial Controllers for specific situations: private equity-backed businesses that need investor-grade reporting, businesses preparing for a sale, companies scaling internationally, and teams that need maternity cover for an existing FC. When the FC is in place, we help build the finance team around them.
What we look for in candidates is consistent: evidence of owning a close rather than contributing to one, controls they have designed or improved, an audit they have led, and the ability to explain the numbers to people outside finance. Qualifications matter, usually ACA, ACCA or CIMA, but so does the size and complexity of the businesses a candidate has worked in. A strong FC from a 500-person group is not automatically the right person for a 40-person company that needs everything built from scratch, and we will tell you when that is the case.
FCA-regulated firm recruitment
Financial Controllers for FCA-regulated firms
Wealth managers, fintechs, investment firms and insurance intermediaries need finance people who understand more than a standard close. Regulatory returns, capital adequacy, client money and assets under the FCA rules, and the evidence a firm needs to show it is meeting its obligations, all land on the finance team. We place Financial Controllers, regulatory reporting accountants and CASS specialists with the experience each type of permission requires.
See our FCA-regulated firm recruitment page, or go straight to the sector you hire in.
Interim or fractional?
Senior finance support without a full-time hire
Not every finance need is a permanent role. Many businesses between £3m and £30m turnover need someone accountable for the numbers without the cost of a full-time controller, and others need experienced hands for a fixed period.
- FractionalOne to three days a week, ongoingA one-day retainer typically runs £1,800–£2,800 a month and two days £3,500–£5,500, against roughly £108,000 a year fully loaded for a permanent FC.
- InterimFull-time cover for a fixed periodFor a departure, parental leave, a year-end, an audit or a project. Interim Financial Controllers typically charge £400–£650 a day.
- PermanentA long-term member of the teamWhen the work is full-time and the business needs continuity, ownership and someone to build the function over years.
- Not sure?We will tell you honestlyRead our guide to fractional Financial Controllers or our interim recruitment page, or call us to talk it through.
Latest finance roles
AI in finance
Finance professionals who can work with AI
AI is changing the month-end close, reconciliations, variance commentary and board pack drafting, and finance teams that use it well are pulling ahead. When we assess candidates, we look at how they actually use the tools in their work and how they keep control of the numbers, not just whether AI appears on their CV. Our AI in finance hub covers what is real, what is hype and how finance teams use it safely, and our AI finance recruitment page explains how we help businesses hire for it.
Also recruiting
Tax specialists
In-house corporation tax, VAT and employment tax roles.
Group Financial Controllers
Consolidation, multi-entity reporting and group close.
Finance Business Partners
Commercial finance alongside operational leaders.
Latest guides and insights
The Three Lines of Defence, Explained for Finance TeamsA newly appointed financial controller at an authorised firm is told in their first week that finance is "first line". Nobody explains…Read more →
When Compliance and Finance Report Different NumbersA board pack arrives containing two figures for redress paid in the quarter. The compliance report says £184,000. The management accounts say…Read more →
When Compliance Monitoring Tests Your Finance Function: What Actually Gets ReviewedMost financial controllers who move into an FCA-regulated firm from unregulated industry discover compliance monitoring in the same way: an email arrives…Read more →What a Finance Function Should Cost: UK Benchmarks by Company Size“Are we spending too much on finance?” is one of those questions that sounds answerable and turns out not to be, at…Read more →Knowledge Centre
Nearly 300 guides on finance hiring and careers
Salary benchmarks, job descriptions, interview questions and practical guides to the work itself, written for employers and finance professionals. Start with the Knowledge Centre.
Finance recruitment across the UK
We are based in London, at 167–169 Great Portland Street, with a second office in Cannock in the West Midlands. We meet clients at our London office, at their premises or by video call, and recruit for businesses across the country. Many finance roles now combine office and home working, which widens the pool of strong candidates for most locations.
FD Capital Group
Part of a specialist recruitment network
Accountancy Capital is one of five specialist practices, each focused on a different tier of appointment. Our recruitment team works under founder Adrian Lawrence FCA, drawing on one shared network of finance professionals, senior executives and board directors.
Practice areaFD CapitalFractional, interim and permanent Finance Directors and CFOs, including SMF2 appointments.→ fdcapital.co.ukSMF2 CFO recruitment →
Practice areaExec CapitalC-suite and board-level executive search across the UK, including regulated firms.→ execcapital.co.ukFCA-regulated executive search →
Practice areaNED CapitalNon-executive directors, chairs and governance appointments for boards of every size.→ nedcapital.co.ukNon-executive director recruitment →
Practice areaSMF CapitalSenior manager function recruitment for FCA-regulated firms: compliance, MLRO and SMF16/17 roles.→ smfcapital.co.ukSenior manager functions explained →Where a role sits above Financial Controller level, we will say so and make the introduction to the right practice ourselves.
Frequently asked questions
What roles does Accountancy Capital recruit?
Qualified finance roles below director level, typically £50,000 and above: Financial Controllers, Finance Managers, Heads of Finance, management and financial accountants, FP&A, business partners, regulatory reporting and tax specialists.
Do you recruit interim and fractional roles?
Yes. Alongside permanent roles we place interim Financial Controllers and other interim finance professionals, and fractional FCs and Finance Managers who work one to three days a week.
How quickly can you help?
We respond to enquiries the same working day. Interim and fractional candidates can often start within days; permanent shortlists typically take one to two weeks, depending on the role.
How are your fees structured?
It depends on the type of hire. The fee is agreed in writing before any search starts, so there are no surprises later. Our salary guides help set the right package for the role.
Do you work outside London?
Yes. We recruit across the UK from our London and West Midlands offices, and meet clients at their premises or by video call.
I am looking for a role. How do I start?
Register as a candidate or browse live finance jobs. A consultant will review your CV and call you before it goes to any employer.
About Accountancy Capital
Accountancy Capital is a specialist finance and accountancy recruitment agency for qualified finance professionals. We recruit for growing SMEs, private equity-backed businesses, FCA-regulated firms and established groups, in permanent, interim and fractional roles. Finance recruitment is all we do, so the people you speak to understand month-end, audit, reporting and controls, and can tell a strong candidate from a well-written CV.
We are accredited by the Good Business Charter. Meet our team, or contact us to talk about a role.
Adrian Lawrence FCA — Founder, Accountancy Capital
Fellow of the ICAEW | Chartered Accountant holding an ICAEW practising certificate | Part of FD Capital Group
Adrian holds a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London, and is a former listed-company Finance Director. He founded Accountancy Capital to bring a finance professional’s judgement to finance recruitment, and oversees the recruitment team that runs every search.