Position Summary
Reporting to the CEO and as a member of the executive team, the CFO will have full management responsibility for Finance and Accounting and will play an important role in managing Operations and Human Resources. He/she will be responsible for overseeing the finance and accounting function and serve as a liaison to GCP. The CFO must provide leadership and coordination of financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, oversight and support of the annual audit, treasury management, debt financing and play a key role in acquisition due diligence and integration. The position will be responsible for ensuring that the company’s financial statements and accounting policies conform to generally accepted accounting principles and that the company maintains strong internal controls to safeguard company assets. The company’s current accounting and finance team is comprised of five individuals with two focused on operations, payroll and royalty payments, two focused on bookkeeping and accounting and one financial planning analyst.
The CFO must provide financial leadership necessary to support the company’s aggressive growth objectives and provide financial and strategic guidance to maximize the company’s performance and related enterprise value. The ideal candidate must be knowledgeable of new and evolving accounting best practices with experience as a senior finance executive for media, education-technology or education services businesses.
Key Responsibilities
Finance / Accounting
- Manage and oversee all aspects of the Company’s financial and accounting teams and functions.
- Oversee timely and accurate preparation and review of monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements in accordance with GAAP (income statements, balance sheet and cash flows) in addition to daily, weekly, monthly and annual KPI dashboards.
- Communicate monthly financial and operating results to key stakeholders including the management team, the Board and lender group, and participate in all board meetings.
- Manage accurate and timely financial and business planning processes, including the annual budget, mid-year forecast, periodic reforecasts, a five-year plan, and an annual strategic planning process, while working closely with revenue and operating leadership.
- Supervise and play a key role in implementing and maintaining efficient accounting and other administrative procedures, operations and staffing by deploying workflow technologies and regularly evaluating outsourced services.
- Oversee regular pricing analyses and develop strategies to help maximize revenue as the company continues to develop its portfolio of services.
Strategy and Operations
- Serve as a key member of the executive team, and a trusted partner and confidante to the CEO.
- Introduce and maintain “best in class” financial systems, related technology and processes.
- Oversee reporting and monitoring of organizational performance and key performance dashboards, and develop strategic and tactical recommendations from the completed analyses.
- Analyze product-line profitability and periodically review the product portfolio and recommend changes to organizational and portfolio structure.
- Partner with the company’s Marketing team to optimize marketing performance and ROI on marketing spend.
- Work with CEO to analyze business trends, competitive landscape, pricing, etc. in conjunction with the strategies for the business.
- Work with each department head to maximize integration benefits, expense controls, forecasting tools, and efficient organization structure.
- Participate in financial due diligence and the evaluation of prospective acquisitions, developing integration plans, financial projections and securing competitive debt financing.
- Assist in executing the company’s strategy, and its related capital and operating priorities.
- Assist in analyzing new business strategies and plans including, new capabilities and product lines, entry into new market segments, business partnerships and acquisition opportunities.
- Provide financial leadership throughout the organization by providing performance metrics and partnering and collaborating with other executives and managers.
- Demonstrate strong people-management skills through strong individual and team coaching, talent retention and succession planning.
Treasury and Risk Management
- Manage treasury function overseeing working capital, cash management and related forecasts.
- Manage lender reporting as applicable and compliance requirements with close involvement of GCP.
- Oversee the financial audit process, including managing relationships with outside auditors, and reporting of the audited financial statements.
- Manage relationship with outside tax consultants to ensure compliance with federal, state and local tax matters and timely preparation of all related tax filings, including any foreign requirements that may develop.
- Establish sound internal controls, systems and procedures that safeguard the company’s assets and maximize the efficient operation of the company.
- Assist in the review and renewal of general liability and other business insurance plans.
HR and Technology
- Work closely with the CEO to develop incentive plans that support desired behaviors. These plans should be in place prior to the start of each calendar year.
- Partner with the company’s CTO and technology teams to ensure reliable systems and procedures, and efficient use of investment capital across the business.
Qualifications and Requirements
- Minimum of 10 years of experience managing financial and accounting functions at a senior level.
- Expert technical accounting skills and experience leading accounting operations (A/P, Payroll, Fixed Assets, etc.) and an audit process.
- Familiarity with state sales and use tax, and corporate tax filings and reporting.
- Previous exposure to the acquisition process, including due diligence and integration.
- Strong aptitude for financial analysis (including high-level of proficiency building financial models in Excel).
- Previous experience working in media, information or education services, subscription or technology business is preferred.
- Highly organized, strong self-initiative, solutions-oriented, multi-tasker, analytical thinker, comfortable with complex processes in a fast-changing environment and ability to identify and execute process improvements.
- Collaborative team player with exceptional relationship and communications skills, and a successful track record of building and maintaining strong working relations both internally and externally.
- A passion for music and/or education is highly preferred.
- CPA required. Advanced Degree is a plus.
- Travel will be required to visit various TFS locations, though on an as needed basis.
Personal Competencies and Characteristics
To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:
- Creative executive and financial leader, with ability to perform in a fast-paced, hands-on start-up environment.
- An appetite for building and reengineering business processes, systems and operational staffing.
- Strategic orientation with analytical ability to synthesize complex and diverse information, good judgment and strong operational focus.
- A self-directed individual who can develop open and trust-based relationships with business partners to achieve the company’s revenue and expense management objectives.
- Inspires and motivates others to perform well and readily accepts feedback from others.
- Collaborates and includes staff in planning, decision-making, facilitating and process improvement; is available to staff; provides regular performance feedback; develops subordinates’ skills and encourages growth.
- Strong people management and leadership skills, with proven track record of hiring, developing, training high performing finance and accounting teams, with the ability to bring out the best in his/her teams.
- Effectively delegates work assignments, gives authority to work independently, and sets expectations and monitors delegated activities.
- An intelligent and articulate individual who relates to people at all levels of an organization as well as external contacts and possesses excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills. Someone who speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations.
- Track record of operating with high-integrity and honesty.
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