Finance Director – Financial Services

About the role

Harper May Ltd is seeking a Finance Director to anchor financial discipline and provide strategic counsel within a fast‑growing, regulated financial services firm. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will own financial planning, reporting and controls across the group, shaping performance measurement, risk management and capital deployment.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and own the financial strategy, linking performance metrics to business goals and investor expectations.
• Build and lead end‑to‑end budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis processes.
• Establish robust control frameworks, compliance reporting and audit readiness across all entities.
• Partner with the COO and Board to assess capital requirements, investment decisions and M&A opportunities.
• Oversee statutory and management accounting, including preparation of consolidated financial statements.
• Lead, coach and expand the finance team as the business scales.
• Manage external relationships with auditors, regulators, lenders and advisers.

Required profile

• ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification.
• At least ten years of experience in senior finance roles.
• Demonstrated experience in financial services, insurance or other regulated sectors.
• Proven track record of designing and embedding financial controls and governance frameworks.
• Comfort operating at executive and board level and communicating complex topics to non‑finance stakeholders.

Required skills

• Consolidation
• Statutory reporting
• Regulatory compliance
• Budgeting
• Forecasting
• Variance analysis
• Audit readiness
• Financial controls
• Governance frameworks
• Capital allocation
• M&A analysis