Role: Financial Controller – Automotive & Industrial Location: Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex (Hybrid) Salary: £85,000 to £95,000 (DOE) plus car allowance Role ID: 2025-2755 Our vision is to create a safe and sustainable world. Ricardo plc is a global strategic, environmental, and engineering consulting company. With over 100 years of engineering excellence and employing close to 3,000 employees in more than 20 countries, we provide exceptional levels of expertise in delivering leading-edge and innovative cross-sector sustainable products and solutions. Every day, we enable our customers to solve the most complex and dynamic challenges to help achieve a safe and sustainable world. The Automotive & Industrial (A&I) business unit is a global engineering consultancy providing innovative solutions to drive sustainability and decarbonisation across the transportation industry. With operations in multiple regions, we are seeking a highly skilled Financial Controller to oversee financial reporting, governance, and operational efficiency. We offer an environment where your expertise will thrive, your creativity will flourish, and your contributions will directly impact industries that drive progress and positive change. Role Summary As A&I Financial Controller, you will be a key member of the A&I Finance team, overseeing financial operations across multiple international regions. You will ensure financial accuracy, compliance, and operational efficiency. Leading a finance team of 25 people located in several countries but primarily based in Czechia, you will support commercial decision-making and enhance financial processes in a multinational environment. Reporting to the Finance Director, this role is for a technically strong, results-orientated individual with a continuous improvement mindset, capable of partnering with the business. Key Responsibilities Oversee financial operations (Czechia shared services) across 12 entities, including financial and project accounting, accounts receivable and payable and banking. Ensure compliance with all statutory requirements and financial regulations. Oversee financial reporting, ensuring accuracy, compliance. Manage monthly management accounts submissions including P&L, cash flow and working capital performance. Identifying risks and opportunities to performance. Deliver high-quality monthly performance commentaries to the BU Leadership Team and support in its presentation to the CEO/CFO. Support budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning in collaboration with Business Partnering. Oversee the external and internal audit processes and liaise with auditors to achieve “no surprises” audits. Oversee documentation and maintenance of business processes, accounting policies and procedures, to preserve the operation of a strong internal controls environment. Drive continuous improvement in operational efficiency and streamline end-to-end financial procedures. Lead and develop a global finance team, including regional controllers and a shared service centre based in Czechia. Develop and maintain relationships with Group Finance. Provide technical accounting and guidance to the BU FD and Group Finance. Assess commercial opportunities as required and review and support in the preparation of requests to incur capital expenditure and develop intellectual property. Key Competencies and Experience ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified with post-qualification experience (PQE). Experience in a multinational environment, preferably in engineering, consulting, or professional services and in long-term contract accounting. Strong leadership, team development, and stakeholder management skills. Track record of developing teams within a complex, international businesses. Ability to drive financial performance, operational efficiency, and process improvements. Continuous improvement mindset with strong analytical and problem-solving abilities. Working here You will be warmly welcomed into our workplace where every voice matters. We are diverse thinkers and doers, coming together to create a culture of inclusion. We will support you to find your place. We will encourage you to use your passion and expertise to make a positive impact through the projects you work on. Your knowledge and desire to bring about change will be invaluable in helping deliver innovative solutions that support communities across the globe in becoming safer and more sustainable. Work life balance We offer flexible approaches to work, whether that is working from home, being in the office, or as a hybrid worker. We're happy to discuss flexible working arrangements. Wellbeing is at the core to our culture, allowing employees to flourish and to achieve their full potential. Benefits We want you to know how much you are valued. Your remuneration and benefits package will reflect that. You will receive a range of benefits which include support for your physical and mental health. Our core benefits include 25 days' annual leave, plus 8 flexible bank holidays, a competitive company pension scheme, life assurance and professional subscriptions reimbursement. We also offer a wide range of flexible benefits to suit your lifestyle. Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion statement We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person's potential, and we'll help you reach yours. We have an ambitious diversity, equality, and inclusion approach as explained here. We value diversity; recognising that a more diverse workforce creates a richer and more varied working environment. Diversity also drives innovation, by allowing us to offer our clients the best consultancy service that we can. As part of our commitment to engage positively and pro-actively with all our employees and to ensure an inclusive culture, we are a recognised as a 'disability confident' employer. Next steps Once you have submitted your application a member of our Recruitment Team will be in touch. Please be aware that the timing can vary dependent on the volume of applications that we receive for each role and in some cases, we may start to review applications prior to the closing date. Ricardo is a Disability confident employer please advise the recruitment team via recruitricardo.com if you require any adjustments to support you throughout the recruitment process. LI-JT1 LI-JT1