Interim Finance Control & Reconciliations Lead

Interim Finance Control & Reconciliations Lead

Location: Leeds – Onsite

Duration: 3-6 months (Interim)

Start Date: ASAP

Role Purpose

To provide short-term senior finance support to strengthen our clients finance control environment during a period of transition.

This role will focus on reviewing reconciliations, applying independent challenge, supporting the sign-off of key finance controls, and improving overall process discipline. A key objective will be ensuring finance outputs are accurate, well evidenced, and fully audit ready.

This is a senior, hands-on role requiring strong technical judgement, attention to detail, and the ability to operate with a high degree of independence.

Key Responsibilities

1. Reconciliation Review & Sign-Off
   • Review daily, weekly and monthly reconciliations across key finance processes.
   • Validate that all reconciling items are clearly understood, evidenced and appropriately followed up.
   • Challenge unsupported balances, unexplained movements and aged items.
   • Ensure reconciliations are complete, accurate, and ready for formal sign-off.
   • Support the Finance Director with review and approval of key reconciliations where required.
2. Financial Control & Audit readiness
   • Review and assess effectiveness of existing finance controls.
   • Ensure supporting documentation is complete, accurate and audit-ready.
   • Identify control gaps and recommend practical remediation actions.
   • Support delivery of audit actions and ongoing remediation activity.
   • Promote consistent application of controls across the finance function.
3. Month-end & Reporting support
   • Support month-end close activity, including review of journals, accruals and balance sheet movements.
   • Challenge variance analysis to ensure explanations are fully supported by data.
   • Review management accounts / client reporting outputs prior to submission.
   • Ensure all month-end deliverables are completed to agreed timelines and standards.
4. Payments, Refunds & Exception processes
   • Review controls relating to payments, refunds, reversals, returned cheques and DDIC activity.
   • Ensure exceptions are appropriately logged, evidenced and escalated.
   • Assess adherence to SOPs and identify where clarification or improvement is required.
   • Support strengthening of exception approval and governance processes.
5. Process Improvement & Documentation
   • Document key finance processes, identifying gaps in ownership, control or evidence.
   • Support development and enhancement of SOPs.
   • Recommend improvements to reduce manual processes and strengthen control frameworks.
   • Assist with workload mapping and process reallocation where required.
6. Team Support & Capability uplift
   • Provide technical guidance and support to junior and part-qualified team members.
   • Improve the standard and consistency of reconciliation preparation and review.
   • Support clearer ownership, accountability and discipline across finance processes.

Required Experience

Essential:

• Strong background in financial control and reconciliation review.
• Solid understanding of balance sheet controls and month-end close processes.
• Experience reviewing work prepared by others with ability to provide constructive challenge.
• Strong Excel skills and ability to work with large and complex data sets.
• Experience working in an audit-focused or tightly controlled finance environment.
• Ability to identify control weaknesses and recommend practical improvements.
• Confident working independently and escalating issues appropriately.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to work to tight deadlines.

Desirable:

• Experience in payments, refunds, banking, reconciliations or operational finance.
• Exposure to public sector or high-volume transactional environments.
• Experience supporting audit remediation or control improvement projects.

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