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Insights for finance teams
Latest Finance and Accountancy News for UK Professionals
Practical articles on hiring and running a finance function, finance careers and salaries, FCA-regulated firms, tax and the technology changing the way finance teams work.
All articlesFinancial controllersFractional and interimFCA-regulated firmsHiring and teamsCareers and salariesTaxAI and technology
Guidance for finance teams and the people who hire them
Employers and candidates ask us the same questions again and again. When does a growing business need its first Financial Controller? What should a Finance Manager earn in London? Is a fractional Financial Controller enough, or is it time for a permanent hire? We publish our answers here, in plain English and grounded in the searches we run every week.
Articles are written by founder Adrian Lawrence FCA, a Fellow of the ICAEW, and our recruitment team. They cover month-end and reporting, controls and audit, finance in FCA-regulated firms, tax, salaries, interviews and building a finance career, and we update them when the rules or the market change.
For employers, we cover how to scope a finance role, what to pay, how to interview for technical and commercial judgement, and when interim or fractional support makes more sense than a permanent hire. For finance professionals, we cover qualifications, CVs and interviews, salary negotiation and the routes from management accountant to Financial Controller and beyond. We also follow the regulatory and technology changes that affect finance teams, from FCA reporting to the use of AI in the month-end close.
New to the topic? Start with one of our core guides, or use the search and topic filters above to find what you need.
Start here
Financial Controller salary guide →What FCs earn across the UK, by business size and sector. Financial Controller vs Head of Finance →The real differences in scope, seniority and pay. What is a fractional Financial Controller? →How part-time FC support works and what it costs. Management Accountant interview questions →The questions employers ask, and what good answers contain.FCA-regulated firms
Showing 1–11 of 11
When Compliance and Finance Report Different NumbersWhy compliance and finance report different numbers at FCA-regulated firms, where the gaps come from, and the reconciliation, single source of truth…Read more →
When Compliance Monitoring Tests Your Finance Function: What Actually Gets ReviewedWhat compliance monitoring tests in an FCA-regulated finance function: reconciliations, regulatory returns, payments, financial promotions, capital and conflicts, plus how to prepare…Read more →
Senior Finance Manager to SMF16/17: What to AskOffered a Senior Finance Manager role with a path to SMF16 or SMF17? What the personal accountability means, how FCA approval works…Read more →
Consumer Duty Two Years On: What Finance Teams LearnedMore than three years after the Consumer Duty first applied, the hardest lessons for regulated firms have been about finance data rather…Read more →
Why Regulated-Firm Finance Roles Pay a PremiumFinance roles in FCA-regulated firms typically pay 15–25% more than comparable commercial roles. Why the premium exists — scarcity, personal accountability, regulatory…Read more →
The Regulated Finance Hiring Market: H2 2026Where demand sits in FCA-regulated finance hiring for the second half of 2026: the scarcest disciplines, what regulated firms are paying, the…Read more →
Consumer Duty MI: What Finance Must ProduceThe specific management information finance must produce under the FCA Consumer Duty: price and value analysis, cost allocation, outcome metrics, board report…Read more →Hiring a Safeguarding Accountant: Payments & E-Money GuideCASS 15 has made safeguarding a daily operational discipline for payments and e-money firms. What a dedicated safeguarding accountant does, who needs…Read more →
FCA Consumer Duty: What It Means for Your Finance FunctionWhat the FCA Consumer Duty means for the finance function at regulated firms: the rules, finance’s responsibilities, fair value, board governance, the…Read more →
What the FCA Expects From Your Finance FunctionWhat the FCA expects from the finance function at a regulated firm: systems and controls, prudential capital, RegData returns, CASS and safeguarding…Read more →
Navigating the Fine Line: Tax Compliance vs. Tax Planning ExplainedTax compliance, tax planning, avoidance and evasion explained: where the legal lines sit, the GAAR, DOTAS, Senior Accounting Officer and corporate offence…Read more →Knowledge Centre
Go deeper with our guides
Structured hubs that bring the best articles together by topic. See the full Accountancy Capital Knowledge Centre.
About the Accountancy Capital blog
Accountancy Capital is a specialist finance and accountancy recruitment agency and one of the five specialist firms of FD Capital Group. We place Financial Controllers, Finance Managers, management and financial accountants, FP&A and tax professionals into permanent, interim and fractional roles across the UK, from our offices in London and the West Midlands.
Hiring for your finance team? See our accountancy recruitment services or the case studies from recent searches. Looking for a role? Register as a candidate or browse live finance jobs.
