Finance Controller Level 4 Apprentice
THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED
Reading (RG1 8DB)
Closes in 21 days (Friday 6 March 2026)
Posted on 10 February 2026
Contents
Summary
Join Thames Water as a Financial Controller Apprentice and gain hands-on experience working with skilled finance professionals. You’ll learn the ins and outs of accounting, reporting, and financial management, tackle meaningful projects.
- Wage
-
£22,500 a year
- Training course
- Professional accounting technician (level 4)
- Hours
-
36 hours a week across four working days plus one off-the-job training day Monday - Friday, shifts to be confirmed.
36 hours a week
- Start date
-
Tuesday 1 September 2026
- Duration
-
1 year 6 months
- Positions available
-
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
What you’ll be doing as a Financial Controller Apprentice:
- Improve developer services by streamlining systems and processes
- Ensure accurate financial recording, reconciliation, and timely period‑end close
- Provide clear insights on results and key cost drivers
- Prepare audit‑ready financial information and support year‑end
- Enhance finance processes for efficiency and consistency
- Support regulatory returns and monitor reporting requirements
- Deliver ad‑hoc analysis to boost cost visibility and business cases
Where you'll work
Clearwater Court
Vastern Road
Reading
RG1 8DB
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
FIRST INTUITION SOUTH LIMITED
Training course
Professional accounting technician (level 4)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Collate and analyse financial information, and show how that information can be used most effectively to support value creation within an organisation.
- Apply accounting principles and adhere to legislation to ensure records are accurate and compliant with law or company policy when delivering accounting activities, such as the financial accounting of single entities, limited companies or partnerships or management accounting activities for an organisation.
- Apply professional scepticism when undertaking accounting activities to inform and evaluate decision making on the content of true and fair accounts, being alert to conditions that may indicate possible misstatement of financial information due to error or fraud, establishing the facts sensitively and being aware of unconscious bias.
- Interpret financial information for accounting purposes, such as using judgement to determine the correct way to report or account for transaction or undertaking ratio analysis.
- Participate in or support others with quality improvement activities, for example the improvement of personal working practices.
- Use software packages to assist with accounting tasks in line with cyber and data security requirements, using data securely and safely, including backing up data.
- Deliver accounting tasks with a critical eye to transactions and trends, demonstrating a ‘right first time approach’.
- Use workload management principles to plan, organise and prioritise own tasks, and manage time effectively.
- Use accounting information to add value to the organisation through use of data visualisations, analysis and interpretation, and communicate financial information in a way that facilitates understanding for non-finance stakeholders.
- Communicate accounting information through a variety of media to enable key stakeholders to understand what is required, considering the risks and benefits to the organisation of social media and other digital applications.
- Build and maintain collaborative, professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver accounting tasks, recognising the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Collate and analyse financial information, and show how that information can be used most effectively to support value creation within an organisation.
- Apply accounting principles and adhere to legislation to ensure records are accurate and compliant with law or company policy when delivering accounting activities, such as the financial accounting of single entities, limited companies or partnerships or management accounting activities for an organisation.
- Apply professional scepticism when undertaking accounting activities to inform and evaluate decision making on the content of true and fair accounts, being alert to conditions that may indicate possible misstatement of financial information due to error or fraud, establishing the facts sensitively and being aware of unconscious bias.
- Interpret financial information for accounting purposes, such as using judgement to determine the correct way to report or account for transaction or undertaking ratio analysis.
- Participate in or support others with quality improvement activities, for example the improvement of personal working practices.
- Use software packages to assist with accounting tasks in line with cyber and data security requirements, using data securely and safely, including backing up data.
- Deliver accounting tasks with a critical eye to transactions and trends, demonstrating a ‘right first time approach’.
- Use workload management principles to plan, organise and prioritise own tasks, and manage time effectively.
- Use accounting information to add value to the organisation through use of data visualisations, analysis and interpretation, and communicate financial information in a way that facilitates understanding for non-finance stakeholders.
- Communicate accounting information through a variety of media to enable key stakeholders to understand what is required, considering the risks and benefits to the organisation of social media and other digital applications.
- Build and maintain collaborative, professional relationships with internal and external stakeholders to deliver accounting tasks, recognising the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion.
Training schedule
- Knowledge, skills and behaviours as set out in the Assistant Accountant Apprenticeship Standard Level 4
- AAT Level 4 qualification
- Classroom and online learning, face-to-face and live online development days, with support from a dedicated skills coach and access to an online learning platform throughout your programme
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
A Level in:
Other in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Presentation skills
- Administrative skills
- Number skills
- Analytical skills
- Logical
- Team working
- Initiative
Other requirements
We are advertising for either a level 3 or level 4 apprenticeship. If you have your AAT Level 3 please specify and load that qualification up. If not you will start at the level 3
About this employer
Who are we? We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come
https://careers.thameswater.co.uk/our-roles/early-careers/ (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
- Performance-related pay plan directly linked to company performance targets
- Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances
Disability Confident
A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.
You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.
After this apprenticeship
- Permanent contract with an 18-month structured programme
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
FIRST INTUITION SOUTH LIMITED
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000014434.
Apply now
Closes in 21 days (Friday 6 March 2026)
After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.