Financial Controller

Financial Controller

Chopt Studio & Productions | Caringbah, Sydney NSW | $140,000 - $170,000 + super | Full-time

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Financial Controller who takes ownership and builds, not just maintains

Why This Role Stands Out

• Real ownership: You run the finance function - not a task list. Direct access to founders and genuine influence from day one.
• Built from scratch: Finance is coming in-house for the first time. You set up the systems, the reporting and the controls - and run them as we scale nationally.
• Work that matters: You'll be behind the scenes of Australia's biggest events - Australian Open, F1, Vivid, Louis Vuitton.

About Chopt Studio

Chopt Studio is a fast-growing experiential creative build company delivering large-scale projects across Australia. We design and build complex things, fast - and we're now at the stage where the finance function needs to be owned internally, not outsourced. This is your opportunity to be the person who builds it.

What We're Looking For in You

The right person for this role is someone who sees a mess and wants to fix the system, not just process what's in front of them. We need someone with a genuine ownership mindset - if reporting is late, reconciliations are messy, or margins are slipping, it sits with you. You've done this before, ideally inside a joinery, shopfitting, display, fabrication, construction or events business as it scaled from around $10m towards $50m - so you know what breaks along the way and how to get ahead of it. You'll work closely with three founders who are visionaries, not accountants, so you need to be someone who can translate numbers into decisions and hold the line. You are strong with people as much as you are with numbers, and you're comfortable with technology and AI tools - we move fast and use them heavily.

The Role

This is the senior finance seat in the business, with real scope. You'll own the finance function end to end and work directly with our external accountants and bookkeeper to keep everything clean, accurate, and on time.

Financial Operations: Own all accounts payable and receivable, process and approve supplier bills, maintain a clean Xero file, prepare and lodge BAS/IAS.

Job Costing & Margin Control: Track project budgets vs actuals in real time, run WIP and job-level margin reporting, flag margin risk early, and create visibility for Project Managers and Directors.

Cash Flow: Weekly cash flow forecasting and management across multiple entities and overlapping project timelines.

Timesheets & Payroll: Own payroll processing, ensure compliance with Fair Work obligations and relevant awards.

Reporting: Weekly and monthly cash flow reporting, monthly management accounts, and simple dashboards leadership can actually use.

Systems Ownership: Build and run the systems, own integrations, and continuously look for ways to improve how the business runs.

Skills & Experience

• Qualified accountant (CA/CPA) with 8+ years' experience, including time as a Financial Controller or Finance Manager
• Experience in a project-based build environment - joinery, shopfitting, display, fabrication, construction or events
• Strong grasp of job costing, WIP accounting and project margin management
• We run Xero - deep experience preferred, or the demonstrated ability to master it fast
• High attention to detail with a practical, get-it-done mindset
• Full working rights in Australia (Australian citizens and permanent residents welcome)

Where This Can Take You

As the business continues to scale nationally, this seat grows with it. You'll be building something from scratch - that kind of foundation gives you leverage most finance roles don't offer.

How to Apply

We'd love to hear from you - but please do not send a cover letter. Instead, in no more than one paragraph, tell us why you're ideal for this role. Applications that don't follow this instruction won't be considered - it's a simple test of whether you can follow direction, which matters a lot here.

Apply via SEEK.

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Employer questions (update in SEEK)

1. Which of the following statements best describes your right to work in Australia?
2. How many years' experience do you have as a Financial Controller or Finance Manager?
3. Have you worked in a project-based build environment (joinery, shopfitting, display, construction, events)?
4. Do you have experience with job costing and WIP accounting?
5. Do you have experience using Xero?
6. What's your expected annual base salary?
7. How much notice are you required to give your current employer?