Temp / Contract Financial Accountant – Part or Full-Time

Immediate Start. Own the Numbers. Keep the Close on Track.

Are you a hands-on Financial Accountant who can land in a business, pick up the accounting cycle quickly and run a clean month-end without a long run-up?

Are you available now, or within a couple of weeks?

Aldenham Estate needs an experienced pair of hands to take ownership of operational accounting across a varied, multi-entity family-owned business for the next two to three months. It's a practical brief: monthly close, reconciliations, VAT, payroll administration, banking controls and cash flow.

Full qualification isn't essential. If you're part-qualified or qualified by experience and you've done this work properly before, we want to hear from you.

Experience within property, estates, rural businesses or another family-owned organisation would be useful, but isn't a requirement.

The Role at a Glance

Financial Accountant — Interim
Aldenham Estate | Elstree, Hertfordshire
Predominantly onsite with flex
c.£350 per day outside IR35 / £400 – £420 per day inside IR35 (Pro Rata)
2-3 month contract | Immediate or short-notice start
Full Time or Part Time

Reporting to: Head of Finance
Direct Reports: Bookkeeper / Finance Administration Support as appropriate

Business: Diversified Family-Owned Estate | Property | Aerodrome | Glamping | Farming | Sustainable Land Management

Your Background / Skills: Financial Accounting, Month-End, Management Accounts, Balance Sheet Reconciliations, VAT, Payroll, Cash Flow, Financial Controls, Multi-Entity Accounting, Finance Systems, Excel. ACA, ACCA, CIMA — qualified, part-qualified or QBE.

Culture: Informal, flexible and family-friendly, with an emphasis on outcomes, collaboration and connection to the wider estate.

About Aldenham Estate

Aldenham Estate is a diversified family-owned estate based in Elstree, Hertfordshire, with activities spanning residential and commercial property, London Elstree Aerodrome, Home Farm Glamping, farming and environmental land management.

Operating through a number of companies, partnerships and trusts, the Estate is currently strengthening its financial systems, reporting and controls.

The Assignment

We need a technically capable, hands-on Financial Accountant to be the operational accounting backbone of the finance team over the next few months.

Reporting to the Head of Finance, you'll own the accuracy and integrity of the Estate's underlying financial records: the monthly close, reconciliations, VAT, payroll administration, banking controls, cash-flow preparation and day-to-day finance systems administration.

Sitting between the internal bookkeeping function and external accountants, you'll make sure financial information across multiple entities is accurate, complete and in the right format.

The immediate priority is operational continuity and robust financial control. Alongside that, you'll support the Head of Finance on the replacement of Sage 50 and integration with Re-Leased, and document clear, consistent finance procedures so the function is in better shape — and less dependent on any one person — by the time the contract ends.

Where You'll Add Value

Financial Accounting & Control
Run the monthly close across all entities — journals, accruals, reconciliations, fixed assets and reporting support — keeping the underlying records accurate, consistent and audit-ready.

VAT, Year-End & Compliance
Prepare VAT returns and year-end schedules, maintain the finance compliance calendar and be a dependable point of contact for external accountants, auditors and advisers.

Cash Flow, Working Capital & Banking
Prepare short-term cash-flow forecasts, monitor working capital and credit control, and maintain robust banking, payment and access controls with clear approval responsibilities.

Payroll & Operational Finance
Work with the outsourced payroll provider and Bookkeeper so payroll, pensions, invoicing, payments, reconciliations and transaction processing run accurately and on time.

Systems & Process Improvement
Support the finance system replacement and Re-Leased integration, including data preparation, testing and reconciliation. Document key procedures and introduce practical improvements to control and resilience.

About You

You're a practical, hands-on accountant who enjoys doing rather than reviewing — and you're used to arriving somewhere new and getting productive inside a week.

You like getting beneath the numbers: making sure balance sheets reconcile, controls work and financial information can be trusted. Curious and pragmatic, you're comfortable with multi-entity complexity, investigating issues and finding workable solutions when things don't fit neatly into a standard box.

You'll be confident taking ownership within a small finance team, balancing competing deadlines and working independently while building good relationships with finance colleagues, operational teams and external advisers.

You'll likely bring

• Strong technical accounting capability — ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified, part-qualified or qualified by experience.
• Solid financial accounting, month-end and balance sheet reconciliation experience.
• Experience preparing management accounts and supporting year-end schedules.
• A good understanding of financial controls, banking processes, VAT and payroll administration.
• Excellent Excel skills and confidence picking up unfamiliar accounting systems quickly.
• High attention to detail and a genuine commitment to accuracy and control.
• The ability to manage your own priorities and deadlines in a hands-on environment.
• Clear communication skills with finance and non-finance stakeholders.
• Availability to start immediately or at short notice.

Experience of multi-entity accounting would be particularly valuable. Previous interim or contract work, and knowledge of Sage 50, Re-Leased, partial exemption VAT or finance systems implementation, would also be beneficial.

What Success Looks Like

• Accurate, on-time monthly close across all entities from your first cycle.
• Fully reconciled balance sheets supported by appropriate schedules every month.
• Accurate and timely VAT returns.
• Reliable short-term cash flow visibility for the Head of Finance and Directors.
• Effective banking, payment and access controls.
• Accurate monthly payroll administration and reconciliation.
• Clear, documented finance procedures that remain useful after you've gone.
• Solid groundwork laid for the finance system replacement and Re-Leased integration.
• Reduced key-person dependency across critical finance processes.

Why Take This Contract?

Plenty of interim work is one ledger, one trading company, one very long month. This isn't that.

You'll be across property, aviation, hospitality, farming and sustainable land management inside a single organisation, with genuine ownership of the accounting cycle rather than a narrow slice of it — and a Head of Finance who wants the function left in better shape, not just held steady.

• c.£350 per day outside IR35 / £400 – £420 per day inside IR35 (Pro Rata)
• Genuine ownership of the accounting cycle from day one.
• Exposure to a varied, multi-entity family-owned organisation.
• Direct working relationship with the Head of Finance, Directors and operational teams.
• Involvement in finance system replacement and process improvement.
• Elstree base with onsite parking and good access from north London and Herts.

Apply Now

If you're an experienced Financial Accountant available at short notice and looking for a varied, hands-on interim role where you'll own the accounting and controls across a genuinely unusual business, we'd love to hear from you.

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