WIP Controller

About Right Formula

At Right Formula, we enable brands to push the limits of sports marketing through a unique blend of expertise, ingenuity and agility that we call the Right Formula. Our complete 360-degree service offering takes brands from partnership identification through to the delivery of fully integrated marketing strategies within Formula One and the wider sports ecosystem.

With offices in the UK and the US, we partner with leading global brands to unlock growth through the power of sport.

Role Overview

We are looking for a commercially minded and highly organised WIP Controller to take ownership of Work-In-Progress (WIP) across the business.

The WIP Controller will ensure that all quoted projects and retainers are accurately managed from a financial perspective, with costs allocated correctly, revenue recognised appropriately, billing plans maintained, and project profitability clearly visible.

This role acts as a key link between operational delivery and financial reporting, working closely with the Financial Controller, Director of Operations, Management Accountant and Client Account teams to ensure the integrity of project financials across the agency.

Key Responsibilities

WIP Management

• Maintain accurate WIP schedules across all client accounts, ensuring all jobs reflect the correct budgets, actual costs, accrued costs, accrued income and deferred income.

• Monitor and manage project WIP balances, ensuring costs and revenues are appropriately recorded and reconciled.

• Manage and track purchase orders, ensuring all third-party costs are correctly authorised and billed to clients where applicable.

• Accurately track client funds held and monitor planned future expenditure against these balances.

• Perform regular WIP reconciliations between Synergist and AccountsIQ, identifying and resolving discrepancies promptly.

• Proactively challenge and investigate aged WIP, ensuring issues are resolved and revenue is recognised or billed in a timely manner.

• Manage WIP balances sitting in intercompany cost recharges between the UK and US entities

Billing & Revenue Management

• Own and maintain billing plans for all client jobs in Synergist, ensuring they accurately reflect contractual agreements, fee structures and project milestones.

• Prepare and issue client invoices accurately and in a timely manner in line with billing schedules and contractual agreements.

• Liaise with client account teams to obtain billing approvals and resolve invoice queries promptly.

• Monitor unbilled WIP and drive timely conversion to revenue.

• Ensure revenue is recognised in the correct accounting period and in accordance with company accounting policies.

• Support credit control activities by maintaining accurate billing records and providing visibility of outstanding debtor balances.

Reporting & Commercial Support

• Provide accurate and timely job-level cost and revenue data to support profitability reporting.

• Produce regular WIP, revenue and billing reports for senior stakeholders.

• Highlight financial risks, overspends, under-recoveries and billing issues to the finance and operational teams.

• Support month-end processes by ensuring WIP and revenue data is complete and accurate.

• Assist with revenue forecasting by maintaining accurate and up-to-date billing pipeline information.

Job Management

• Manage the financial setup of new client jobs within Synergist and AccountsIQ, including fee structures, phase types, billing plans, cost allocation categories and revenue recognition methodology.

• Support the onboarding of new clients into finance and job management workflows.

• Ensure completed jobs are closed in a timely and accurate manner, with all costs captured, revenue recognised and balances reconciled prior to closure.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Act as the owner of finance data within Synergist, working closely with the Director of Operations who oversees broader system usage and operational configuration.

• Ensure consistency and integrity of data between Synergist and AccountsIQ.

• Continuously review and improve WIP, billing and revenue processes to drive efficiency and strengthen financial controls.

• Support audit and compliance requirements relating to project financial management.

Skills & Experience Required

• Previous experience in a WIP Controller, Revenue Controller, Billing Controller, Project Finance or similar role, ideally within an agency, consultancy or professional services environment.

• Strong understanding of WIP management, billing processes, revenue recognition and project-based finance.

• Experience managing project profitability, billing schedules and financial reconciliations.

• Excellent attention to detail with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Strong commercial awareness and confidence challenging and influencing stakeholders where required.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective relationships across finance, operations and client account teams.

• Highly organised, proactive and able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines simultaneously.

• Advanced Excel skills and confidence working with financial systems and large data sets.

• Experience of agency/job management systems and cloud accounting platforms is highly desirable. Experience with Synergist and AccountsIQ would be advantageous.

What You'll Bring

• A strong sense of ownership and accountability.

• A proactive, solutions-focused mindset.

• The confidence to challenge processes and drive improvements.

• The ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic agency environment.