SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Happl is building next-generation employee benefits infrastructure using AI, serving global teams across flex allowances, benefits, insurance, recognition, and wellbeing. The company is YCombinator-backed, FCA-regulated, has raised $11M, and was named in the UK's top 100 startups for 2026.
As Financial Controller, you will own the complete financial engine of the business, reporting directly to the CEO with a seat at the leadership table. This is a hands-on, high-autonomy role where you design and build the finance function as you run it—not maintaining someone else's process.
Key responsibilities include:
- Owning the monthly close cycle: management accounts, balance sheet integrity, accruals, prepayments, and revenue/cost reconciliations
- Writing narrative commentary explaining business performance beyond the numbers
- Producing monthly investor reporting packs and board financial materials (ARR, revenue analysis, cash/runway, burn efficiency, unit economics, cohort/retention metrics, budget vs. actual)
- Managing the full revenue cycle: invoicing, collections, aged debt, and revenue recognition across multi-currency, multi-contract subscription base
- Leading rollout of automated billing and revenue recognition tooling to scale without headcount growth
- Managing two legal entities (US TopCo and UK operating company): statutory accounts, audit preparation, intercompany accounting, transfer pricing, FX exposure
- Owning compliance calendar across both jurisdictions: UK VAT returns, corporation tax, US federal/state filings, sales tax, payroll taxes
- Supporting FCA regulatory reporting obligations and underlying financial controls
- Running monthly payroll across jurisdictions, pension/benefits administration, employee expenses, finance side of onboarding/offboarding
- Owning cash position and treasury strategy: cash flow forecasting, working capital, FX management, fund structuring for returns without unnecessary risk
- Managing outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, and tax partners to quality and deadline standards
- Owning finance tech stack with strong opinions on automation and AI-assisted workflows (reconciliations, invoice processing, variance analysis, reporting)
- Leveraging AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT) to accelerate personal work and build scalable finance systems
- Acting as financial conscience of the business with direct founder access and real influence on growth strategy
The role sits at the center of an ambitious growth phase with expanding international footprint across 160+ countries and 70+ languages. You'll build the foundation of a finance function that grows with the business.
Requirements:
- Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA) or equivalent experience with strong track record
- Genuine ownership of monthly close cycle and management reporting pack, start to finish
- Strong technical grounding in revenue recognition, accruals accounting, and balance sheet control
- Comfort with tax and compliance across VAT, corporation tax, and payroll, ideally spanning UK and US
- AI-native approach: already using AI tools in day-to-day work with specific examples of automation and time savings
- Exceptional attention to detail with judgment to balance precision and speed
- Clear communicator able to explain financial concepts to non-finance audiences
- Ideally: SaaS or subscription business experience, particularly ARR reporting and deferred revenue; familiarity with modern billing infrastructure (Xero, Stripe)
- Bonus: Comfort with SQL, Python, or low-code automation tools
