Accountancy Capital places qualified finance professionals within financial services businesses at £50,000 and above across the UK. Our financial services practice covers the full range of regulated and FS-adjacent businesses: asset managers, wealth managers, investment firms, hedge funds, private equity-backed platforms, banks and banking subsidiaries, insurers and insurance intermediaries, IFA networks, fintechs, payments firms and specialist lenders. These businesses need the same core finance skills as any other, such as ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification, a reliable month-end close, management accounts and statutory reporting, but in a setting that makes extra demands on the finance function.
Finance professionals with genuine financial services experience typically command a premium over equivalents at non-regulated businesses of a similar size; we often see it in the region of 15–25%, depending on role and firm. That premium reflects a real skill difference. The candidate who has run a client money reconciliation, produced a capital adequacy report and presented to a risk committee brings capabilities that take years to build and are not easily replaced by a strong commercial FC who has never worked in the sector. Accountancy Capital maintains active relationships with this candidate pool across London and the UK.
This page looks at the finance team by type of financial services business. If your priority is a specific regulatory requirement, such as RegData returns, MIFIDPRU capital or CASS, our page on finance recruitment for FCA-regulated firms covers it in more depth.
Financial Services Businesses We Recruit For
Financial services is a broad label. The finance team at a wealth manager has little in common day to day with the finance team at a specialist lender, and the best candidates for each tend to stay within their part of the market. We organise our searches by sub-sector so that we can put forward people who already understand your revenue model, your systems and your stakeholders.
Asset managers, wealth managers and investment firms
Revenue here is driven by assets under management, so finance teams deal with fee accruals, performance fees, fund expense recharges, transfer agency flows and often multiple entities and share classes. The FC works closely with fund administrators and depositaries, and the finance team supports investor reporting alongside the corporate accounts. See our Financial Controller asset management recruitment and wealth management FC recruitment pages, and our guide to finance in asset management.
Banks, building societies and banking subsidiaries
Banks and building societies are supervised by both the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, and their finance teams are larger and more specialised than in most of financial services. We recruit Finance Managers, FP&A Managers, financial accountants and business partners, particularly for challenger banks, specialist banks and UK subsidiaries of international groups, where one finance team covers local statutory, group and regulatory reporting.
Insurers, Lloyd’s businesses and intermediaries
Insurance finance roles range from the technical reporting of an insurer or Lloyd’s syndicate to the commercial finance of a broker or MGA. Brokers and MGAs need FCs who understand premium flows, binder arrangements, commission recognition and insurance client money; insurers need experience of reserving, reinsurance accounting and IFRS 17. Our page on FC recruitment for insurance intermediaries covers the broker side.
Fintech and payments
Fintechs combine the pace of a venture-backed technology company with financial services regulation. The finance team needs to close fast, report SaaS or transaction metrics to investors, support fundraising and handle safeguarding or client money from the start. Our fintech finance recruitment page covers these roles, and building a finance career in fintech is written for candidates considering the move.
Lenders and credit businesses
Specialist lenders, consumer credit firms, bridging and development lenders and asset finance businesses need finance teams who understand loan book accounting, expected credit loss provisioning under IFRS 9, funding line covenants and securitisation or warehouse reporting. Finance Managers who can produce credit performance and arrears analysis alongside the monthly accounts are especially valued, because lenders’ funders scrutinise that reporting closely.
IFA networks, hedge funds and PE-backed platforms
Adviser networks, consolidators and private equity-backed wealth platforms are often growing through acquisition, which brings integration, multi-entity consolidation and investor reporting to the finance team. Hedge funds and smaller managers frequently need a lean, highly technical finance function, sometimes on a part-time basis.
What Makes the FS Finance Function Different
Three things distinguish finance work in a financial services business from the equivalent at a commercial company.
Regulatory capital. Regulated firms must hold a minimum level of capital, and the finance function calculates, monitors and reports it. For MiFID investment firms that means the own funds requirements and the Internal Capital Adequacy and Risk Assessment (ICARA) under the Investment Firms Prudential Regime; other firm types have their own frameworks. A management accountant who has never calculated an own funds requirement will need time to build that capability.
Client money and client assets. Firms that hold client money or assets must comply with the FCA’s Client Assets Sourcebook, which imposes strict segregation, reconciliation and reporting rules. The daily and monthly reconciliation is a finance responsibility in most firms, and a failure can be a notifiable breach. Payments and e-money firms follow separate safeguarding rules. Our CASS accountant recruitment page covers the specialist roles.
Regulatory reporting. Regulated firms submit periodic returns to the FCA through its RegData platform, which replaced GABRIEL, covering financial resources, capital and business metrics. Banks and other CRR firms also submit COREP and FINREP. These returns require finance to translate management data into a regulatory format specific to the firm’s classification, and an accountant who has produced them before is faster and more accurate than one learning the system. Larger firms hire dedicated staff; see regulatory reporting recruitment.
Finance Roles at Financial Services Firms — Salary Benchmarks
The ranges below are indicative London base salaries for financial services finance roles, compared with the general market. They move with firm size, complexity and the regulatory scope of the role, and regional figures are generally lower. Our regulated firm finance salary guide has more detail.
| Role | London (FS sector) | General market | Indicative FS premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Controller | £80k–£115k | £65k–£95k | Around 15–20% |
| Finance Manager | £68k–£90k | £55k–£78k | Around 15–18% |
| Finance Business Partner | £72k–£100k | £60k–£85k | Around 15–22% |
| FP&A Manager | £70k–£98k | £62k–£88k | Around 10–15% |
| Management Accountant | £58k–£78k | £50k–£68k | Around 12–18% |
| Regulatory Reporting Manager | £65k–£95k | n/a (FS-specific role) | Specialist role |
These premiums reflect skill scarcity rather than sector inflation. Financial services employs a large number of finance professionals, but the pool of qualified accountants with in-sector experience, particularly those who have owned a month-end close at a regulated firm and produced regulatory returns independently, is smaller than demand. Businesses that benchmark FS finance roles against general commercial data usually find their shortlists thinner and preferred candidates more expensive than expected. Our article on why regulated finance roles pay more explains why.
Brief a Finance Search at Your FS Business — 0204 553 8893
Call us for a direct view on candidate availability and salary benchmarks before you brief the search, or email recruitment@accountancycapital.co.uk. We respond the same working day.
Qualifications and Skills for FS Finance Roles
Qualification requirements in FS finance are broadly the same as in commercial businesses: ACA, ACCA or CIMA for most Financial Controller, Finance Manager and Management Accountant roles. The ICAEW‘s ACA is particularly well represented, because many financial services firms recruit from practice and because the statutory reporting at asset managers and investment firms with complex structures needs that technical depth. ACCA-qualified candidates are strongly represented at Finance Manager and Management Accountant level across the sector. If you are weighing up candidates with different backgrounds, our comparison of ACA, ACCA and CIMA may help.
Beyond the qualification, the skills that command the highest premium are:
- Direct experience of FCA regulatory reporting, ICARA and, for banks, COREP and FINREP.
- Familiarity with CASS or safeguarding and the related reconciliations.
- Experience of fund accounting and investment management platforms such as SimCorp, Advent Geneva, Investran or Temenos.
- The ability to explain financial information to compliance teams, risk committees and supervisors.
Before any senior finance appointment, we confirm qualification status with the relevant professional body and check the sector experience a candidate describes.
Hiring Well in a Candidate-Short Market
Financial services businesses often underestimate how long it takes to hire a well-qualified FC or Finance Manager with genuine sector experience. These candidates are a scarce subset of an already competitive qualified finance market; they receive more approaches than generalists and move to offers faster. The firms that consistently hire the best people come to market with three things: a salary that reflects the FS premium rather than the general finance range, a clear brief, and a process that moves from shortlist to offer in two to three weeks rather than two months.
We respond to every new brief the same working day. For permanent roles a shortlist typically follows within one to two weeks; for interim and fractional roles we usually introduce candidates within days. Fees are agreed in writing before a search starts. Our guide on how to brief a finance recruitment agency sets out what to prepare.
Permanent, Interim and Fractional
Many financial services businesses, especially smaller managers, newly authorised firms and early-stage fintechs, need sector expertise without a full-time hire. We place interim finance professionals to cover departures, audits and regulatory deadlines, and fractional Financial Controllers who work a set number of days each month alongside permanent appointments.
The CFO at Your Financial Services Business
Accountancy Capital covers the finance team below CFO level. For the CFO or Finance Director, including the SMF2 approval, Statement of Responsibilities and accountability under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, contact our sister firm FD Capital. Other senior manager appointments, such as SMF16 and SMF17, are handled by SMF Capital, and board-level roles by NED Capital. All are part of FD Capital Group, so a CFO search and a finance team search can run in parallel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which financial services businesses do you recruit for?
Asset and wealth managers, investment firms, hedge funds, banks and banking subsidiaries, insurers and intermediaries, IFA networks, fintechs, payments firms and lenders, from start-ups to established groups, across London and the UK.
Do I need a candidate with experience of my specific sub-sector?
For roles that own regulatory capital, client money or sector-specific accounting, such as fund fees or loan impairment, it makes a real difference. For FP&A or business partnering roles, strong financial services experience from a neighbouring sub-sector is often enough.
Can you recruit a whole finance team?
Yes. We regularly recruit several roles for the same business, from Management Accountant to Financial Controller, and coordinate with FD Capital where the CFO is also being appointed.
Is the financial services salary premium the same everywhere?
No. The figures above are indicative London ranges. The premium tends to be largest where the role owns regulatory reporting or client money, and smaller where the role is mainly commercial.
How quickly can you respond?
We respond the same working day. Call 0204 553 8893 or email recruitment@accountancycapital.co.uk.
Adrian Lawrence FCA — Founder, Accountancy Capital
Fellow of the ICAEW | Chartered Accountant holding an ICAEW practising certificate | Part of FD Capital Group
Adrian is a former listed-company Finance Director with a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London. He set up Accountancy Capital’s financial services practice because qualified accountants with real sector experience are scarce and in demand, and firms that benchmark against the general market tend to lose them. Our recruitment team helps FS businesses set a realistic package and run a process quick enough to secure the right person.
Related Pages and Resources
FS Sectors
Finance recruitment by type of business.
Regulatory Finance
Roles shaped by FCA rules.
Salaries and Hiring
Benchmarks and hiring advice.
Finance Recruitment for Financial Services Businesses — 0204 553 8893
Qualified finance professionals at £50,000 and above for financial services businesses across the UK. Call the team Monday to Friday, 9am to 5:30pm, or email recruitment@accountancycapital.co.uk. We respond to every new brief the same working day.