What You'll Do:As an Associate on a lean, cross-functional team, you will work collaboratively with a diverse set of colleagues with backgrounds in private equity, investment banking, FP&A, Big 4, and financial controllership, to identify and rectify issues across a broad range of scenarios. The following representative engagements are emblematic of the type of work you will do as an Associate at Accordion.
- A financial services company recently emerged from bankruptcy and underwent changes in ownership. They need additional visibility into company-wide financial and operational performance. You are brought in to:
- Determine data availability and reliability and design a structured process to aggregate relevant data sets that will serve as the foundation of all future reporting
- Work with the CFO, PE sponsor, and operating team to understand business drivers, verify KPIs, and establish a single source of numerical truth via monthly reporting packages
- Develop a reporting cadence and automated processes that combine sound data flows and insightful KPIs to generate monthly Board and management reporting packages
- Train the existing FP&A team to run and own process flows and forecast analysis tools
- A higher education enterprise that scaled up through a series of acquisitions requires a budget plan, better forecasting tools, and insightful analytics to guide decision-making. You are brought in to:
- Complete a diagnostic deep dive to identify anecdotes, root causes, and key corrective themes in the existing budgeting and forecasting processes
- Quarterback a comprehensive budget plan and process in partnership with FP&A, sales, operations, and senior leadership teams
- Build out and maintain 13-week cash flow forecasts by coordinating with the relevant departments within the company
- Leverage PowerQuery and PowerPivot for structuring, analyzing, and modeling data within Excel; despite back-end complexity, deliver reports that remain user friendly for the CFO, FP&A team, and other relevant stakeholders
- Following the acquisition of three stand-alone businesses, a PE sponsor has identified the need to consolidate operations and establish a singular finance function that will own budgeting, financial reporting, bank reporting, and new CFO onboarding, in order to realize the synergies identified in their investment thesis. Get ready to:
- Design a singular finance function that can serve all three businesses; including headcount, budget, and specific roles and responsibilities for each member of the team
- Assist in developing highly detailed, week-by-week training plans for each team member
- Select and implement a robust ERP solution which meets the needs of the newly combined business
- Build analytical tools and create template reporting
You Have:- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or Economics; MBA is a plus
- Minimum 3 years of experience at a top tier private equity firm, investment bank, and/or consulting firm
- High attention to detail and advanced quantitative skills, especially as it relates to financial modeling and corporate valuation
- Proven ability to leverage Excel and other tools (e.g. PowerBI) to manage, simplify, analyze, and present large and complex datasets
- Transactional finance experience, as well as an understanding of operational finance
- Prior experience preparing reports, presentations, and memos; ability to present data-driven insights in a clear, succinct, and comprehensive manner
- Strong drive and motivation, adhering to the highest professional standards in working with clients and colleagues
- An ability to work collaboratively and independently in a team-oriented environment, understanding how to take initiative and seek guidance when needed in order to advance your projects
You Are:- Excited to be part of a growing team, with a focus on driving future growth
- Passionate about delivering exceptional client service
- Knowledgeable about the relationship between private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, particularly within the office of the CFO
- Willing to get your hands dirty in the details of a project while simultaneously seeing the whole picture
- Comfortable managing projects with multiple complex workstreams while also focused on your single workstream (you are managing and doing)
- A self-starter with a strong work ethic
- Full of entrepreneurial spirit and comfortable in a fluid, flat organization
- Able to effectively communicate complex issues and solutions, and raise issues to senior team members when necessary
- A team player, able to work with team members across all levels
- Someone who enjoys mentoring others and doing meaningful work
- A leader of others; you lead by example
The annual salary for this role ranges from: $112,500 to $160,000 + benefits + bonus.
Actual compensation packages are determined by evaluating a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to geographic location, skill set, years and depth of experience, education, certifications, cost of labor and internal equity.
