About the business We're a specialist consultancy based in Canberra. We do serious technical work for government and industry, and we've built the business around a small, senior team that takes pride in doing things properly. We're past the startup scramble and building toward something bigger. The role We're hiring a Finance Manager to own our finance function end-to-end. This is a single point of accountability with a direct line to the Managing Director. The same person who reconciles the month will present the numbers to the Board. The role is scoped as 0.6 FTE (three days per week) by design. Transactional volume is genuinely low, and the working rhythm is built around a three-day week that gives the analytical and strategic work room to breathe rather than being squeezed in around bookkeeping. What makes this role distinctive You are the finance function end-to-end — from monthly reconciliation to board briefing. You get to run a clean set of books. For someone who takes pride in a tidy Xero, well-described asset registers, and reconciliations that actually reconcile, we're honest about wanting that hands-on care rather than delegating it away. You shape how the function evolves. The scope has been deliberately drawn in-house because consistency matters more than scale. How that gets bedded down — the rhythms, the controls, the tooling — is yours to design. The strategic work builds on the transactional, not around it. The person keeping the ledger clean is the same person forecasting cash, running the budget cycle, and interpreting what the numbers mean for the business. Board-facing work sits alongside the hands-on work, not above it. Contributing to the board pack, maintaining the business health model, and briefing the Managing Director on cashflow are standing duties, not stretch assignments to earn. Small, senior, and technically strong team. You will work directly with the founders, the operations lead, and the delivery leadership — a group used to structured thinking and one that welcomes it back. What you'll do Prepare and issue client invoices in Xero on a monthly cycle, reconciling hours against purchase orders and proposals, and proactively driving the billing process to protect cashflow. Process supplier bills and expense claims, queue payments for MD authorisation, and keep records clean and audit-ready. Own the day-to-day operation of Xero — chart of accounts, contacts, assets, reconciliations — so it stays fit for purpose for BAS, budgeting, and management reporting. Draft and maintain financial policies (delegations, expense, procurement) and operate the day-to-day controls that give effect to them. Facilitate the annual budget process, report monthly against budget, and run quarterly reforecasts. Maintain a short-term cashflow forecast that gives the Managing Director early visibility of the cash position. Operate our Fathom management reporting environment and evolve it as the business matures — including interpretive commentary that helps leadership make decisions. Contribute financial content to the board pack, produce an annual shareholder report, and maintain the share register. Coordinate twice-yearly dividend payments and the annual employee share scheme issuance, including certificate issuance. Coordinate the inputs that feed the Board's business health model, working with our data team to keep the sources flowing reliably. What we're looking for Required: Demonstrated experience running a finance function end-to-end in an SME environment Strong working knowledge of Xero — chart of accounts design, tracking categories, reconciliation Practical experience preparing management reports, budgets, and cashflow forecasts Comfort operating across the full spread of finance work, from monthly invoicing through to board-level reporting, without needing the transactional layer offloaded Ideal but not essential: Bachelor's degree in accounting, commerce, or a related discipline CA or CPA (or working toward) Fathom certification or demonstrable operating experience Experience in a professional services or consulting business Exposure to due diligence, capital events, or share register maintenance What's outsourced (so you know what's not on your plate) Payroll, BAS, statutory tax lodgements, ASIC filings, and insurance are all handled externally. External accountant support is available on an ad-hoc basis for technical accounting and leave coverage. The offer 0.6 FTE (three days per week). 0.8 FTE considered for the right candidate. $130,000–$155,000 FTE 12% superannuation, dependent on experience. Pro-rata to FTE. Hybrid working — at least one day per week in our Canberra office, balance flexible. Permanent role, reporting to the Managing Director. How to apply Apply through Seek with your CV and a short covering note that tells us what draws you to this role in particular. We read every application ourselves.
