Central Cost Financial Controller

Central Cost Financial Controller Department: Operational Finance Employment Type: Full Time Location: Regal Way - Watford Description You take ownership of central costs across the organisation, ensuring reporting is accurate, transparent and trusted, while strengthening control across overhead spend. From budgeting and forecasting to month-end and analysis, you turn financial data into clear insight - helping leaders understand performance, challenge spend and drive better decisions. Partnering closely with senior stakeholders, you influence, challenge and guide - embedding financial discipline and improving cost visibility across the business. As Central Costs Financial Controller, you're not just managing overheads - you're enabling the organisation to operate with greater control, confidence and commercial focus. This is a hybrid role, requiring you to be based at our Watford Head Office 3-4 days per week. What You Will Do In This Splendid Role

• Lead month-end close, financial reporting and control for central cost functions, ensuring accurate accruals, prepayments, cost allocations and variance analysis
• Own budgeting and forecasting processes, partnering with budget holders to challenge assumptions, monitor spend and identify cost efficiencies
• Deliver strong business partnering to senior stakeholders, providing financial insight, decision support, and input into business cases and investment analysis
• Produce clear management reporting, highlighting cost performance, risks and opportunities while ensuring data accuracy and consistency
• Maintain robust financial governance and compliance, supporting audit processes and ensuring adherence to accounting standards and internal policies
• Drive process improvement and optimisation, enhancing reporting, systems, controls and automation across the finance function
• Support and develop finance team capability, upholding high standards of financial discipline, analysis and stakeholder engagement
What Makes You Splendid
• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)
• Significant experience in financial control, management accounting or central cost finance within large, complex organisations
• Advanced Excel and financial modelling skills, with experience using ERP systems (e.g. SAP, Oracle, Workday or similar)
• Strong knowledge of financial reporting, controls, budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis
• Commercially astute, able to translate financial data into clear, actionable business insight
• Highly detail-oriented, ensuring accuracy, data integrity and robust financial control
• Confident communicator with proven stakeholder management skills, including influencing senior and Board-level audiences
• Proactive and accountable, with a track record of driving improvements and challenging constructively
• Collaborative in approach, building strong relationships across Finance and the wider business
• Agile and organised, able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
We live by our values, and we'd love you to bring them to life every day:
• Nimble - Thrives in a fast-paced environment, adapting quickly to changing priorities, organisational needs and cost pressures
• Honest - Operates with integrity and transparency, ensuring accuracy in reporting, robust financial controls, and clarity in cost ownership
• Brilliant - Brings curiosity and a drive for excellence, using financial insight to challenge spend, identify efficiencies, and enhance business performance
• Open - Builds strong, trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, confidently translating financial data into clear, actionable insight
Our Splendid Benefits When you join Splendid, you will enjoy a reward package to support your lifestyle, wellbeing and career. Here are just some of the benefits on offer:
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - confidential wellbeing support whenever you need it with 24/7 access to remote GP appointments.
• Hotel Room Discounts - stay with us or our partner hotels at special team rates including discounted rates for friends and family.
• Food & Beverage Discounts - enjoy meals and drinks at reduced prices across our hotels.
• Life Assurance - peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
• Salary Sacrifice - Car Scheme - Our team members can enjoy the ultimate benefit of driving a brand new, fully insured and maintained car for a fixed monthly amount taken from your salary.
• Stream - access your earned wages up to 50% whenever you need them giving you financial flexibility and Highstreet discounts available.
• Pension - Auto enrolment into the company pension scheme.
• Learning & Development - Opportunities available to progress your skills and career.
  
  Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent)
• Significant experience in financial control, management accounting or central cost finance within large, complex organisations
• Advanced Excel and financial modelling skills, with experience using ERP systems (e.g. SAP, Oracle, Workday or similar)
• Strong knowledge of financial reporting, controls, budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis
• Commercially astute, able to translate financial data into clear, actionable business insight
• Highly detail-oriented, ensuring accuracy, data integrity and robust financial control
• Confident communicator with proven stakeholder management skills, including influencing senior and Board-level audiences
• Proactive and accountable, with a track record of driving improvements and challenging constructively
• Collaborative in approach, building strong relationships across Finance and the wider business
• Agile and organised, able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
We live by our values, and we'd love you to bring them to life every day:
• Nimble - Thrives in a fast-paced environment, adapting quickly to changing priorities, organisational needs and cost pressures
• Honest - Operates with integrity and transparency, ensuring accuracy in reporting, robust financial controls, and clarity in cost ownership
• Brilliant - Brings curiosity and a drive for excellence, using financial insight to challenge spend, identify efficiencies, and enhance business performance
• Open - Builds strong, trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, confidently translating financial data into clear, actionable insight
  
  When you join Splendid, you will enjoy a reward package to support your lifestyle, wellbeing and career. Here are just some of the benefits on offer:
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) - confidential wellbeing support whenever you need it with 24/7 access to remote GP appointments.
• Hotel Room Discounts - stay with us or our partner hotels at special team rates including discounted rates for friends and family.
• Food & Beverage Discounts - enjoy meals and drinks at reduced prices across our hotels.
• Life Assurance - peace of mind for you and your loved ones.
• Salary Sacrifice - Car Scheme - Our team members can enjoy the ultimate benefit of driving a brand new, fully insured and maintained car for a fixed monthly amount taken from your salary.
• Stream - access your earned wages up to 50% whenever you need them giving you financial flexibility and Highstreet discounts available.
• Pension - Auto enrolment into the company pension scheme.
• Learning & Development - Opportunities available to progress your skills and career.