Finance Controller: Garder La Trace De L'Argent (Tant Qu'il En A)

À Propos

On cherche un Finance Controller pour gérer notre finance.

Tu vas: Tracking expenses, manage cash, report to investors, audit.

Pas sexy. Mais absolument essentiel.

Responsabilités

• Monthly close (make sure the books are right)
• Cash flow forecasting (do we have enough runway?)
• Expense management (approve/reject spending)
• Investor reporting (make the numbers look good)
• Audit preparation (the auditors come once a year)
• Tax compliance (pay what we owe to the state)
• Vendor management (negotiate payment terms)

Profil Recherché

• 3-5 ans finance/accounting experience
• Strong Excel (you'll live in Excel)
• French accounting knowledge (PCG, GAAP, etc.)
• Startup experience (you know cash is king)
• Attention to detail (every euro matters)

Ce Qu'On Veut

"We need someone to manage our finances professionally!"

Reality:
- We've been managing finances... casually
- There's probably some mess to clean up
- You'll spend time fixing past mistakes
- And preventing future ones

La Comp

Salaire: 45k€
Equity: 0.1%
Benefits: Standard

Le Jour Typique

• 9h-10h: Check bank accounts (how much cash do we have?)
• 10h-12h: Process expense reports (did we approve this?)
• 12h-13h: Lunch while reconciling accounts
• 13h-15h: Forecast cash flow (do we have 6+ months runway?)
• 15h-17h: Report to CEO (here's our financial position)
• 17h-18h: Respond to questions from other teams

The Cash Crisis

Startup raised 2M€ 6 months ago.

Burn rate: 200k€/month

Runway: 10 months

Current month: Month 7

CEO just announced: "We're hiring 5 more people"

You: "That's +100k€/month in burn"

New runway: 5 months

Now you're fundraising urgently.

Welcome to finance in startups.

The Investor Relations Problem

Investors want: Monthly financial reports

What they really want: Good numbers (growing revenue, controlled burn)

Your job: Make the numbers look good (without lying)

The tension: You want to be conservative, investors want to be optimistic

You find a middle ground (usually leaning toward investor optimism).

Common Issues

Issue 1: The Missing Receipt
- CEO spends 5k€ on a meal (client entertainment)
- No receipt
- You can't claim it as expense
- You have to tell CEO: "We need the receipt"
- CEO gets annoyed

Issue 2: The Expense Surprise
- Department head says: "We need 50k€ for new equipment"
- You look at the budget: "We budgeted 10k€"
- You have to say no
- Or negotiate with CEO to find money elsewhere

Issue 3: The Accounting Error
- Accountant booked something wrong
- You discover it in review
- Have to fix it retroactively
- Takes 4 hours for a 10-minute fix

The Runway Obsession

Every finance person in a startup thinks about runway.

It's your north star.

"How many months of runway do we have?"

If it's <3 months: Panic.

If it's 6-12 months: OK.

If it's 12+ months: Luxury.

You're constantly monitoring this number.

After 18 Months

Best Case:
- Finance is clean and organized
- Investors trust your reports
- Cash flow is predictable
- Fundraising is easier

Realistic Case:
- Finance is mostly organized
- Some historical issues cleaned up
- Cash flow forecasting is accurate (mostly)
- You're reasonably happy

Worst Case:
- Fundraising fails
- Runway runs out
- Layoffs happen
- Company dies
- Your job disappears

Why It's Stressful

Finance people live with uncertainty.

You don't know if the company will exist in 12 months.

Your salary depends on it.

But you also have to be the voice of reason about spending.

You're kind of... responsible if things go wrong.

The Advice

If you like: Numbers, organization, financial strategy:
Maybe yes.

If you want: Job security:
No.

Finance in startups is high-stress.

You're managing an uncertain future.

With money you don't fully control.

But if you love the challenge?

It's interesting.