Reports to
Managing Director for line management; Fractional CFO for technical review and sign-off, working alongside the external accountants (DNA)
Location
Our office near Kempton Park station — just off the M3 in West London, above the workshop. On-site parking; a short walk from the station
Hours
Full-time, permanent (37.5 hours per week)
Entities covered
Cineco Ltd, Cineco Real Estate (CRE25), Von Otto and associated group companies
Systems
Xero (accounting), Excel, and supporting automation / payment tools
About the Role
The Cineco group operates across film and television production services and property, through several trading companies with intercompany trading between them. We are looking for an experienced, hands-on finance professional to take full ownership of the group’s day-to-day bookkeeping and to produce the monthly management accounts.
This is a step up from a pure bookkeeping role: as well as keeping the ledgers accurate and current, you will prepare the monthly reporting pack across all group entities and draft the supporting commentary. The Fractional CFO will move to a focused review-and-strategy basis (around two days per month), so the role carries real responsibility and autonomy.
It suits someone who is comfortable in a small, hands-on and informal business and happy to bring their own structure — finance processes here are still being built, so you will have genuine scope to shape and improve them. You will report day to day to the Managing Director, with the CFO and external accountants on hand for technical points and sign-off.
Purpose of the Role
To run the finance function end to end day to day — maintaining complete and accurate records for every group company, driving efficiency through automation, managing supplier payments, and producing a timely, reliable monthly management accounts pack that the CFO can review, finalise and present to the board and lenders.
Key ResponsibilitiesBookkeeping across the group
- Maintain complete, accurate ledgers for each group entity (Cineco Ltd, CRE25, Von Otto and associates) to trial balance.
- Process purchase and sales invoices, allocate receipts and payments, and keep all bank, credit card and platform reconciliations current.
- Reconcile intercompany balances and recharges and record director’s loan and financing entries as directed.
Automation — bill imports from project data
A priority for the role is to remove manual data entry of supplier bills.
- Replace manual keying of bills into Xero by building automated imports from the project managers’ Excel spreadsheets (e.g. via mapped CSV import or a capture tool such as Dext / AutoEntry).
- Maintain the mapping, tracking categories and project/job codes so imported bills land against the correct project and cost code first time.
- Identify and implement further automation across the finance workflow to improve speed and accuracy.
- Adopt AI-assisted automation tools (e.g. bill capture, transaction coding) where they improve speed and accuracy, with appropriate human review and controls over confidential data.
Supplier payments — BACS runs
- Set up and operate BACS / batch payment runs directly in Xero (or via an integrated payment rail such as Telleroo, Crezco or Modulr).
- Prepare payment runs from approved bills for authorisation, ensuring suppliers are paid to terms while managing group cash.
- Maintain strong controls over supplier bank details and payment approvals to guard against fraud.
Management accounts and reporting
- Prepare the monthly management accounts pack across all group entities, including per-entity P&Ls, consolidated group cash and the net liquid assets summary.
- Produce the gross-margin-by-project analysis from Xero, separating client jobs from overhead, internal, property and vehicle cost pools.
- Draft clear commentary on results, variances and key movements for the CFO to review and finalise.
- Post month-end journals (accruals, prepayments, recharges) and apply agreed intercompany treatments consistently.
- Maintain and update the rolling cash flow model with actuals, and prepare information for lender and HMRC reporting.
- Work to a monthly close timetable so the pack is ready for CFO review on a predictable date each month.
VAT, payroll and compliance
- Prepare VAT returns under Making Tax Digital and ensure correct VAT treatment of transactions.
- Manage payroll inputs and journals, and reconcile wages, PAYE/NIC and pension control accounts (liaising with the payroll provider).
- Provide clean, well-supported data to DNA for year-end accounts and corporation tax, and assist with HMRC correspondence and payment scheduling.
Person SpecificationEssential
- Qualified or part-qualified accountant (AAT / ACCA / CIMA) or strong qualified-by-experience equivalent.
- Proven experience producing monthly management accounts to trial balance and beyond, including commentary.
- Advanced, demonstrable Xero skills — bank reconciliations, VAT, tracking categories, and crucially the import/automation and batch-payment functions.
- Experience setting up or running automated bill imports (CSV mapping, Dext/AutoEntry or similar) and BACS / batch payments.
- Strong Excel (lookups, pivot tables; comfort building and maintaining models).
- Self-sufficient and comfortable in a small, hands-on, informal business where finance processes are still being built.
- Highly accurate, well-organised and able to work to a monthly close deadline with limited supervision.
- Able to manage multiple company ledgers and intercompany recharges across a group.
- Discreet, trustworthy and a clear communicator with suppliers, colleagues and senior management.
Desirable
- Experience in film/TV, production services, construction/fabrication or property.
- Project / job costing and CIS experience.
- Experience improving or automating a finance function, not just operating it.
- Comfortable adopting AI-assisted finance tools to improve how the function works.
- Exposure to lender reporting and covenant-driven businesses.
How the Role Works with the CFO
The Fractional CFO moves to approximately two days per month. The post-holder owns day-to-day finance, automation, payments and first-draft management accounts; the CFO concentrates on reviewing and finalising the pack, board and lender reporting, HMRC strategy and forward planning. Day-to-day line management sits with the Managing Director. Clear monthly hand-offs and a fixed close timetable make this split work.
What We Offer
A genuinely broad, autonomous finance role in a growing film & TV group, with scope to modernise and automate the function. Easy West London location just off the M3 with on-site parking. Salary competitive and dependent on experience and qualification, plus pension and standard benefits.
Pay: £40,000.00-£45,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
