Finance Consultant

Summary:

An exciting New York-based ad agency is seeking a strategic and hands-on Strategic Finance Consultant to optimize financial operations, improve reporting processes, and support the leadership team in financial decision-making. The Strategic Finance Consultant will integrate financial systems, streamline workflows, and enhance financial oversight to position the company for continued growth and scalability.

Responsibilities:

• API Integration & Platform Connectivity: Identify and implement API integrations to connect platforms and enhance financial workflows (i.e. Quickbooks & Accountability)
• QuickBooks Optimization: Expand QuickBooks functionality to replace manual financial snapshots and improve reporting efficiency
• Reduce Reliance on Excel: Transition financial tracking and reporting from Excel to more automated and scalable systems in an effort to improve security and minimize potential for human error
• Process Streamlining: Assess and optimize financial processes for efficiency and accuracy across receivables, payables and other facets of the Finance Department (i.e. client billing and approvals)
• Billing Ownership Transfer: Transition Social, and Google billing responsibilities to the finance team and build out respective processes to ensure all invoices are captured within appropriate systems (i.e. vet OneStrata for digital media needs)
• AmEx Reconciliation: Overhaul reconciliation processes to reduce time spent and improve security
• Resource & Role Audit: Evaluate internal financial resources and responsibilities to optimize efficiency and cost-effectiveness (including consideration for potential outsourcing)
• Accounting & Tax Support: Act as the liaison with external accountant to support tax preparation and the closing of 2024 books as well as future needs

First 60-90 Day Milestones:

Financial Systems & Reporting:

• Conduct a thorough audit of current financial systems, reporting structures, and workflows
• Develop a roadmap for API integrations and QuickBooks enhancements

Operational Efficiency:

• Begin transitioning key financial tasks (e.g. Social & Google billing) to the finance team
• Assess current AmEx reconciliation processes and implement improvements

Strategic Financial Oversight:

• Review financial forecasting models and suggest enhancements to support business goals
• Evaluate existing in-house roles and provide recommendations, as applicable, for improvement

Tax & Compliance:

• Align with external accountant to establish a clear process for tax preparation and closing 2024 books

First 90-180 Day Milestones:

System & Integration Implementation:

• Implement API integrations and expanded QuickBooks functionalities
• Transition financial reporting away from Excel reliance

Process Optimization & Handoff Completion:

• Complete the transfer of Social & Google billing to the finance team
• Finalize improvements in AmEx reconciliation

Planning:

• Collaborate with CEO to establish clear financial oversight structure as key personnel continue to take steps back, ensuring a seamless transition
• Support CEO in projecting 2-5 year plans utilizing data available to influence HC costs, business development priorities, etc.
• Create process and establish cadence for providing strategic recommendations to CEO in support of efforts to increase profit margin
• Support leadership team in improving financial literacy

Financial Governance & Compliance:

• Finalize tax preparation processes and ensure the smooth closure of 2024 books as well as focusing on improvements to process in support of 2025 needs and beyond
• Implement refined financial controls and reporting mechanisms to support scalability

This job is being represented by Media Recruiting Group, the premier recruiters for Digital Media, AdTech, MarTech, Media SaaS and related companies. In business for more than 26 years, we place quality at the heart of all that we do. Clients include: AdTech companies, Digital Publishers, Out of Home (including Digital-Out-Of-Home), Digital divisions of Media Companies, SaaS (Software as a Service) / Enterprise, Programmatic... Sell Side Platforms (SSP), Ad Exchanges, Demand Side Platforms (DSP), Marketing Technology companies, Ad Agencies, Data Providers, Aggregators, & DMP’s, Video, Social, Mobile companies, Event Sponsorship companies, Behavioral Targeting companies, Media Buying Platforms, Lead Generation/Co-Registration companies, Ad Serving Platforms, Rich Media companies.

Required Notification: Certain states require that job postings indicate a minimum and maximum base salary in an effort to not discriminate – a very worthwhile purpose that Media Recruiting Group supports. MRG’s practices are and have always been non-discriminatory, and jobs are open to all candidates with respect to race, color, religion, national origin, military status, sexual orientation, sex/gender, age, national origin, disability, etc. That said, companies require that we supply them with candidates with very specific experience, and the commensurate compensation for every job varies. It is a function of a person’s years of experience, type of experience, skills, knowledge of certain computer programs, etc. And every job may have a unique requirement. And every job could come in higher or lower than the range we are given. We do not control the upper and lower ranges for our clients, so we make a best efforts attempt to include information requested by said states. In the case of sales people, most time it is also a function of their contacts. If the job is an analyst, analytical skills and experience matter. Etc. This makes stating a reasonable minimum and maximum challenging absent all of this information about a given candidate. Companies also have other elements of compensation, including but not limited to, commission, bonus, equity, profit sharing, varying levels of healthcare coverage and how much a person would have to contribute to the premium, various perks like continuing education, commuter reimbursement, phone reimbursement, etc. – not included in “salary” as the law states. Thus, know that anything we note in a salary range does NOT include such other compensation elements. And, as recruiters, we don’t know what all of those elements are, as we are recruiting for a company, not for ourselves, and they do not brief us as to each benefit. We are a 3rd party and can only estimate to the best of our knowledge, and thus offer the minimum and maximum salary MRG in good faith believes at the time of the posting the client is willing to pay for the advertised job.

Qualified by all of the above, for this job with requisite/required years of the required experience and skills, the minimum and maximum rate is approximated at $80 and $100/hour respectfully, exclusive of commission, bonus, equity, profit sharing, any element of healthcare coverage, any reference to how much a person would have to contribute to the premium of a healthcare plan, any perks, or other forms of compensation. Fewer years of experience could bring the base salary lower, and more experience could bring the base salary higher, if the company is willing to increase their salary band.