Accounting Transformation Senior Manager

$115,425 - $250,300/Yr

Cherry Bekaert - Chicago, IL

Full-time - Senior

Chicago, IL

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

Cherry Bekaert, one of the largest accounting and consulting firms in the U.S., is seeking a Senior Manager for its Accounting Transformation team. This role is pivotal in driving the growth of our Accounting Advisory practice, which focuses on delivering innovative advisory, assurance, and tax services to clients. As a Senior Manager, you will lead a team of professionals in providing consulting services to multiple client relationships, helping them navigate improvement opportunities and implement solutions that create value within their organizations. You will be involved in all stages of consulting engagements, from planning and fieldwork to engagement wrap-up and deliverable composition. In this position, you will identify client needs and foster strong relationships through business development efforts. You will also be responsible for developing team members by providing constructive and actionable feedback, managing project resources, budgets, billing, and collections, and preparing thought leadership materials. Your role will require a diligent assessment of the current state of clients' Corporate Accounting and Finance departments, assisting them in transitioning to their desired future state. This may involve digitizing or automating accounting workflows, optimizing processes, and providing tailored solutions to improve outputs. The Senior Manager will focus on various functional areas, including process and cost improvement initiatives, strategy and organizational design for accounting processes, policy development and execution, post-acquisition accounting integration, and fractional CFO services. You will also oversee business process transformation, including process workflow documentation, change management, and strategic road mapping for company-led initiatives such as ESG readiness and reporting compliance. This role offers the flexibility to work in a hybrid capacity across multiple office locations or potentially remotely, with travel required for specific projects as needed.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of professionals to deliver consulting services to multiple client relationships.
• Participate in all stages of consulting engagements, including planning, field work, engagement wrap-up, and deliverable composition.
• Identify client needs and foster strong relationships through business development efforts.
• Develop team members through constructive and actionable feedback.
• Manage project resources, budgets, billing, and collections.
• Prepare and present thought leadership through complex written and verbal materials.
• Assess the current state of clients' Corporate Accounting and Finance departments to help transition to their desired future state.
• Digitize or automate accounting workflows and optimize processes to improve outputs.
• Focus on process and cost improvement initiatives, strategy and organizational design for accounting processes, and policy development.
• Oversee business process transformation, including process workflow documentation and change management.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting and active CPA license (strongly preferred).
• Seven (7) or more years of experience within a public accounting firm and/or industry environment performing audit, accounting, or consulting services.
• Ability to develop and implement strategies to transform accounting processes and systems to drive efficiency and accuracy.
• Demonstrated experience with business development and expansion of services within existing or new clientele.
• Experience in an environment with SAP, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Workday, Yardi, or Quickbooks.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams to identify and prioritize process improvements, system enhancements, and automation opportunities.
• Experience conducting process mapping and analysis to identify areas for improvement and streamline workflows.
• Strong organizational skills demonstrated through the management of multiple, concurrently running initiatives and experience planning and leading projects from start to finish.
• Robust written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to adapt style and messaging to effectively communicate with professionals at all levels.
• Strong analytical and diagnostic skills, with a focus on details and accuracy.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with ESG readiness and reporting compliance initiatives.
• Familiarity with change management methodologies.
• Knowledge of advanced data analytics tools and techniques.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation and total rewards package focusing on wellbeing.
• Annual bonus opportunities.
• Medical, dental, and vision care coverage.
• Disability and life insurance.
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO).
• Retirement plans with employer contributions.
• Paid Care Leave.
• Opportunities for continuous professional development and career growth.