Senior Director, Finance and Accounting

$156,200 - $260,400/Yr

Cox Automotive - Atlanta, GA

Full-time - Senior

Atlanta, GA

Wholesale Trade Agents and Brokers

About the position

The Senior Director, Finance and Accounting at Cox Enterprises is a key leadership role responsible for overseeing the financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and accounting functions within the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). This position plays a critical role in driving the organization's budget and strategic planning processes, ensuring alignment with financial goals while managing a team of financial professionals. The Senior Director will partner with various leaders to provide insights and guidance on financial decisions, ultimately supporting the AJC's transformation into a leading digital media organization.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of financial analysts, managers, and/or senior managers, currently consisting of three members.
• Manage the annual budgeting process by partnering with the Publisher, CFO, and department leadership to develop a 3-year budget that reflects the strategic plan.
• Lead the process to revise the official forecast each quarter based on results, initiatives, new information, risks, and opportunities.
• Communicate results and updated forecasts, including risks & opportunities, to the CFO and AJC leadership team.
• Analyze monthly, quarterly, and annual results by comparing actuals to budget and forecast to assess performance and identify risks and opportunities.
• Provide oversight and guidance for financial business cases and ad hoc analysis in support of strategy changes and new initiatives.
• Actively participate in internal AJC leadership forums and organization-wide strategic planning meetings to help establish long-term strategic goals that tie to financial goals.
• Lead the team who handles daily and monthly accounting activities such as accruals, invoice processing, billing, forecasting, analysis, and month-end close.
• Oversee the Accounting team by providing leadership and direction, reviewing the day-to-day functions of the team including Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, and Fixed Assets.
• Sign off on monthly financial close process to ensure consistency, accuracy, and timely completion of financial reporting packages.
• Engage with other senior leaders to define, recommend, and approve programs and solutions as well as workforce planning to drive process improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or higher degree in Accounting or Finance with 12+ years experience across finance and accounting, with at least 3 dedicated years in financial planning and analysis and at least 3 years in accounting.
• 7+ years in a finance leadership role.
• Proven track record of managing teams, with strong leadership and organizational skills.
• Ability to run business planning processes, financial modeling and analysis, and identify, analyze, and resolve complex financial challenges.
• Strong analytical skills; ability to reduce extensive data sets into relevant actionable insights.
• Excellent communication skills both verbal and written, including the ability to effectively present complex financial information to decision makers and non-financial audiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with an ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively with all levels of employees and management.
• Proficiency in financial systems such as Oracle, OneStream, Concur, Excel, PowerPoint, and other ERP platforms.

Nice-to-haves

• Strong preference for multiple years of experience within media/publishing.
• Strong preference for a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Benefits

• Flexible vacation policy allowing employees to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties.
• Seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year.
• Up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members.
• Additional paid time off for bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, parental leave, and COVID-19 vaccination leave.