Financial Controller

Ambitious about Autism is looking for an experienced and qualified Financial Controller to join the team. Candidates who trained at a top 15 private accountancy firm or equivalent public body, with charity sector experience, are especially encouraged to apply.

 The Financial Controller at Ambitious about Autism (AaA) and Ambitious about Autism Schools Trust (AaAST) plays a crucial role in ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and completeness of the organisations' financial data. They are responsible for adhering to the Charities SORP and the Academies Financial Handbook for AaAST.

The primary responsibilities of the Financial Controller include:

• Financial Data Management: Ensuring that all financial data is accurately recorded, maintained, and reported in accordance with relevant accounting standards and guidelines.
• Compliance: Ensuring compliance with statutory and legal obligations related to financial matters. This includes managing tax affairs, including VAT, and ensuring timely and accurate payments.
• Control Environment: Establishing and maintaining a robust control environment to safeguard assets, prevent fraud, and ensure accurate financial reporting. This involves implementing internal controls, conducting regular audits, and addressing any control weaknesses or risks.
• External Scrutiny: Preparing financial reports and statements for external scrutiny, such as audits, regulatory inspections, or funder assessments. The Financial Controller ensures that all financial records and processes can withstand external scrutiny and meet the required standards.
• Finance System Development: Taking responsibility for the development and effective operation of the finance system, IRIS Financials. This includes optimising system functionality, ensuring data accuracy, providing user support and training, and exploring opportunities for process improvements and automation.
• Team management: lead the financial accounting team and ensuring an excellent service is delivered.

In summary, the Financial Controller at AaA and AaAST are responsible for maintaining the accuracy, integrity, and completeness of financial data, ensuring compliance with relevant accounting standards and legal obligations, managing tax affairs, and developing and operating an effective finance system.

In return, we offer great benefits including a generous holiday allowance and commitment to continued professional development (CPD), flexible, hybrid working and more!

This is a fantastic opportunity for an ambitious individual who would like to work for a forward-thinking, open and honest organisation and make a real impact to the young people we work with. Please find our full recruitment pack on the link below.

If you have any questions about the role or would like to have a confidential chat, please contact James Axford, Recruitment Officer.

Ambitious about Autism is fully committed to equality of opportunity and diversity and we warmly welcome applications from all suitably-qualified candidates. We welcome applications regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, disability, or age. All applications will be considered solely on merit.

Ambitious about Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check. As part of our Safer Recruitment checks, an online search maybe carried out in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

The Safeguarding responsibilities of the post as per the job description and personal specification.
Whether the post is exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendment to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2021. This means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS Filter Guidance.