Financial Controller

Founded in 2003 by Dong Hyun Kim, his mission was simple, to make fresh and flavorsome sushi and bento available to everyone. Almost 20 years later Wasabi have 43 successful branches across London, other UK major cities and New York.

The journey continued in 2019 with the launch of Wasabi Home Bento exclusively into Sainsburys. After several years of great success there, the grocery business expanded launching into Tesco in September 2022. Wasabi has now firmly established itself as the No2 chilled ready meal brand and a driver of significant market growth. And we’re just getting started. The leadership team have set out their 5 year strategy which encompasses company growth, franchise and international expansion.

Our menu is renowned for its distinctiveness, freshness and flavour. The cold food range of sushi, pokes and salads are made fresh daily in our branch kitchens and our hot bento, noodle bowls and soups offer an indulgent and comforting alternative to our broad and democratic demographic.

As we prepare for out next phase of growth and innovation, we have an incredibly exciting opportunity for a Financial Controller to join our Team based in Park Royal.

Key Responsibilities:

Reporting to the CFO, the Financial Controller will be accountable for:

• Managing the transactional finance team at Wasabi including management accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash and treasury
• Owning all the regulatory reporting requirements that sit within the Accounts team, primarily being the annual audit and preparation of the business Financial Statements.
• Managing day to day relationships with external stakeholders including the bank and HMRC
• Managing month end process with the management accounts team reporting into the CFO
• Cash and working capital management
• Cost management, supporting and challenging the business.
• Defining and managing Wasabi’s financial controls
• Company Secretary duties involving Board meeting attendance and minutes and circulating written resolutions for signature as well as maintaining the statutory registers and manage consequential filings at Companies House.

Our Requirements:

The ideal candidate for this role will be an ACA qualified accountant with big 6 experience with extensive experience in a financial control position. Candidates should have experience within retail, grocery or hospitality and ideally have multi-site and food manufacturing business knowledge. Additionally, candidates should bring:

• Previous experience managing a cross functional team.
• Experienced controller, detailed understanding of bottom-up finance systems and processes
• Strong technical accounting knowledge and ability to apply this to commercial transactions to provide the business with practical accounting treatment decisions.
• Knowledge of UK taxation
• Strong Excel skills.
• Proficient with accounting software packages
• Track record of process improvements
• Organisational, communication and teamwork skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Commercially orientated as the incumbent will work closely with other teams across the business with lots of exposure to senior executives and investors

In return we provide:

• A great working environment
• Pension scheme
• Target Bonus
• Refer A Friend Scheme
• Free Sushi or hot food (vegan options available)
• 50% discount in our Branches
• Employee Assistant Programme
• Hybrid working model
• Long Service Awards
• Life Assurance
• Free on-site parking
• A variety of discounts (shopping, food & drink, entertainment and health & fitness) through Perkbox and
• The opportunity to develop your skills within a growing company.

Our people make us who we are. If you're looking for an exciting challenge and this sounds like the job for you please apply today as we can't wait to hear from you.

COME ROLL WITH US!