Accounting and Financial Outsourcing Senior Manager - Nonprofit

Dean Dorton

About The Position

The Accounting & Financial Outsourcing (AFO) Senior Manager – Nonprofit Services provides strategic financial advisory and engagement leadership to a portfolio of nonprofit clients while overseeing outsourced accounting services. In a CPA firm environment, the role serves as a senior client advisor and engagement leader, partnering with executive leadership and boards of exempt organizations to strengthen financial operations, improve decision-making, and support long-term sustainability. The Senior Manager leads engagement teams, ensures high-quality service delivery, manages client relationships, and contributes to practice growth and operational excellence. The role requires deep experience supporting mission-driven organizations with complex funding structures, including grants, contracts, and donor-restricted funding, along with experience in grant budgeting, compliance, and financial reporting to funders. The Senior Manager serves as a strategic financial advisor to nonprofit clients; leads budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, and accounting operations; oversees nonprofit financial reporting and grant compliance; and develops dashboards and reports for leadership and boards. The role also leads client onboarding and accounting-system implementation, reviews engagement-team work, mentors team members, supports business development and practice development, and contributes to operational improvements, recruiting, and internal training. Dean Dorton describes itself as a large advisory firm whose outsourced accounting team partners with organizations as their CFO, controller, and/or accounting team. The team provides cloud-based, real-time financial data and advice to help clients make strategic decisions and manage cash flow.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
8–12+ years of progressive accounting experience, including significant experience serving nonprofit organizations.
Expertise in nonprofit accounting and financial reporting.
Expertise in grant accounting and compliance.
Expertise in donor-restricted fund management.
Expertise in budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling.
Experience managing client relationships and multiple engagements.
Experience leading and developing accounting teams.
Strong ability to communicate financial concepts to non-financial stakeholders, including boards.

Nice To Haves

CPA designation preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary strategic financial advisor to a portfolio of nonprofit clients, including executive directors, CEOs, finance committees, and boards.
Advise clients on financial strategy, sustainability planning, and operational decision-making.
Lead the development, monitoring, and analysis of organizational and program budgets.
Deliver cash-flow forecasting, liquidity planning, and financial modeling.
Oversee the full accounting lifecycle for nonprofit clients, including month-end and year-end close processes.
Ensure nonprofit financial statements comply with GAAP, including appropriate classification of net assets and donor restrictions.
Oversee grant accounting, compliance, and reporting across federal, state, and private funding sources.
Support the development of grant budgets, financial narratives, and funding strategies.
Advise clients on allowable costs, cost-allocation methodologies, and indirect-cost recovery strategies.
Monitor grant performance, burn rates, match requirements, and reporting deadlines.
Support clients through Uniform Guidance audits and other compliance reviews.
Develop and deliver financial dashboards, KPIs, and management reports for leadership and boards.
Design and oversee implementation of accounting systems, charts of accounts, and financial processes aligned with nonprofit operations and grant tracking.
Lead onboarding and implementation for new nonprofit clients, including cloud-based accounting platforms such as Sage Intacct and Bill.com.
Review and supervise engagement-team work to ensure deliverable accuracy, quality, and timeliness.
Maintain expertise in nonprofit accounting standards, regulatory requirements, and industry best practices.
Build trusted client-advisor relationships by understanding clients’ missions, funding models, and strategic priorities.
Communicate complex financial information clearly to non-financial stakeholders, including boards and executive leadership.
Lead engagement teams by setting expectations, coaching team members, and ensuring accountability for high-quality service delivery.
Manage client relationships through responsiveness, professionalism, and proactive communication.
Collaborate with internal technology, tax, and wealth management service lines to deliver integrated solutions.
Anticipate client needs and recommend financial strategies, operational improvements, and additional services.
Manage multiple client engagements while maintaining service quality, timelines, and profitability.
Provide ongoing feedback, mentorship, and performance coaching to team members.
Communicate expectations, deadlines, and deliverables clearly to clients and internal teams.
Meet productivity expectations and internal and client deadlines in a fast-paced, client-focused environment.
Mentor, develop, and retain AFO team members and foster a collaborative, high-performing team environment.
Serve as a supervisor and/or Career Advisor, providing coaching, feedback, and professional development support.
Contribute to the growth and development of the firm’s Nonprofit Services practice.
Participate in nonprofit-sector networking and business development, and support new client opportunities.
Assist in developing proposals, presentations, and client pursuits.
Represent the firm at nonprofit industry events, conferences, and community initiatives.
Develop and share thought leadership on nonprofit accounting, grant management, and financial best practices.
Evaluate AFO processes, procedures, and policies and recommend improvements to efficiency, scalability, and service quality.
Partner with leadership to implement operational improvements and standardization across engagements.
Champion technology adoption and process improvements, including cloud-based accounting tools.
Participate in recruiting, including interviewing candidates and supporting hiring decisions.
Develop and deliver internal training on nonprofit accounting, grant compliance, and AFO best practices.
Contribute to internal committees, firm initiatives, and practice development.
Stay informed about nonprofit-sector trends and regulatory changes and share insights with colleagues and clients.