Financial Accountant in London - Handpicked Recruitment Limited

A fast-growing, founder-led global beauty brand is currently seeking a Financial Accountant to join the team. This is an initial 6-month contract with the potential for extension or permanency as the business continues to scale.

The position is remote, with optional access to a City-based workspace.

Rate: up to £200 per day.

Start Date: February 2026

Job Summary

The Financial Accountant will own the day-to-day financial operations, ensuring strong cash discipline and smooth relationships with suppliers, customers and internal stakeholders.

This role sits at the heart of the business, preventing operational issues before they arise by maintaining clear visibility over payables and short-term cash flows. You will act as the primary point of contact for creditors and internal teams, ensuring that invoices, payments and approvals are handled accurately, on time and in line with company policy.

This is a highly hands-on role suited to someone who enjoys detail, structure and accountability whilst taking pride in keeping operations running calmly and predictably behind the scenes.

The ideal candidate is responsible for the coordination and execution of account reconciliations, budget compilation and back-up to the accounts payable function.

Key Responsibilities:

Transaction Processing & Reconciliation

• Perform daily and weekly bank reconciliations in Xero
• Match purchase orders, supplier invoices and receipts accurately
• Maintain a clean and well-structured chart of accounts
• Ensure transactions are coded correctly and consistently

Inventory & Cost Tracking

• Reconcile inventory movements across consumer products and operational stock
• Track and categorise R&D spend accurately for reporting and tax purposes
• Support clear cost allocation across product, R&D and operational categories

Month-End Close & Reporting

• Execute the month-end close process under the direction of the Finance Lead including:
• Accruals and prepayments
• Revenue recognition
• Journal entries
• VAT ledger reconciliation
• Prepare monthly financial reports for review, including Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
• Ensure reporting timelines are met consistently

Supplier Management (Accounts Payable)

• Own and maintain a full mapping of creditors and any supplier arrears
• Build and manage a weekly payables schedule aligned to cash availability
• Set up, negotiate and manage supplier payment plans where required
• Ensure there are no unexpected supplier arrears or escalations
• Manage ongoing communication with vendors including manufacturers, labs, fulfilment partners and marketing suppliers

Business Partnering

• Partner with operations teams on stock purchasing timelines and payment readiness
• Ensure teams follow approval workflows, PO policies, and SOPs

Admin & Compliance Support

• Collect and prepare payroll data during the transition to a Dubai-based payroll system
• Support correspondence with HMRC and other regulatory bodies
• Maintain audit-ready supporting documentation for all balances and transactions
• Support VAT filings and regulatory requirements
• Ensure financial records are accurate, complete and defensible

Finance Support

• Assist with R&D cost tagging to support tax credit claims

Candidate Profile:

Experience & Skills

• Proven experience in finance operations, accounts payable/receivable or transactional finance roles
• Strong understanding of cash flow management and short-term liquidity control
• Comfortable managing high volumes of invoices, payments and supplier communications
• Highly organised with excellent attention to detail
• Confident using accounting systems, spreadsheets, and financial trackers

Ways of Working

• Calm, methodical, and proactive — you spot issues before they become problems
• Clear communicator who can manage external suppliers and internal stakeholders with confidence
• Comfortable working in a fast-moving, scaling business with evolving processes
• Able to balance firmness and relationship-building when managing creditors and debtors
• Ownership-driven: you treat operational finance as your responsibility end-to-end