Finance Consultant - M&A / Transaction Support

Finance Consultant - M&A / Transaction Support

6 Month Contract

Location: London – 2/3 days a week

Rate: Market Rate (inside IR35)

We are looking for an experienced Finance Consultant / FP&A professional to join a major organisation and provide dedicated financial support to a live M&A programme.

Working closely with the deal team and senior stakeholders, you will take ownership of the financial modelling and analysis underpinning the transaction. This will include building and maintaining detailed operating models, preparing carve-out financials and producing analysis to support due diligence, valuation, negotiation and integration or separation planning.

This is a highly hands-on, delivery-focused role suited to someone who is comfortable working at pace in a transaction environment. You will regularly work with senior stakeholders and external advisers and will need to produce accurate, decision-ready financial analysis within tight and changing deadlines.

Key Responsibilities

• Build, maintain and stress-test integrated financial models covering P&L, balance sheet and cash flow.
• Develop financial models to support valuation, scenario analysis, deal structuring and transaction decision-making.
• Prepare carve-out and standalone financials for target or divested businesses.
• Analyse shared cost allocations, stranded costs, standalone cost requirements and pro forma adjustments.
• Support financial due diligence, including analysis of historical financial performance.
• Assess and normalise earnings, including quality of earnings (QoE) analysis.
• Analyse working capital, net debt and underlying financial performance.
• Review and interrogate financial data provided by target businesses and advisers.
• Prepare pro forma financial statements reflecting transaction perimeter changes, one-off items and other adjustments.
• Build clear financial reconciliations and maintain supporting documentation.
• Produce high-quality analysis for boards, investment committees and senior management.
• Prepare management presentations, scenario modelling and sensitivity analysis.
• Work closely with external advisers including corporate finance, legal, tax and due diligence teams.
• Support the management and flow of financial information through the transaction data room.
• Assist with synergy identification and quantification, as well as integration and separation planning.
• Maintain strong version control and a clear audit trail across financial models and analysis as deal assumptions evolve.

Skills & Experience

• A recognised accountancy qualification such as ACA, ACCA or CIMA, or equivalent demonstrable finance experience.
• Strong FP&A and commercial finance experience.
• Previous exposure to M&A, transactions, corporate finance or transaction advisory, gained either in-house, within practice or in an advisory environment.
• Advanced Excel and financial modelling skills, including the ability to build complex models from a blank workbook.
• Strong experience building and working with integrated three-statement financial models.
• Experience preparing carve-out or standalone financials.
• Knowledge of shared cost allocations, stranded-cost analysis and pro forma adjustments.
• A strong understanding of how the P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statement interlink.
• Good understanding of valuation, returns and transaction fundamentals.
• Experience working with incomplete, complex or unstructured financial data and forming a clear, defensible view quickly.
• Strong analytical skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Confidence presenting complex financial analysis clearly to senior stakeholders and external advisers.

About You

• Highly delivery-focused and comfortable working to demanding transaction deadlines.
• Calm and organised in a fast-moving environment where priorities can change quickly.
• Meticulous with numbers and able to maintain a high level of accuracy under pressure.
• A self-starter who can take ownership of a workstream and operate with limited supervision.
• Commercially minded and comfortable challenging assumptions where appropriate.
• Confident working directly with senior stakeholders and external advisers.
• Discreet and trustworthy when handling commercially sensitive and highly confidential information.
• Flexible during critical stages of the transaction where additional hours may occasionally be required.