Controller

Arizent•New York, NY

19d

About The Position

Arizent is seeking an experienced, hands-on Controller to lead accounting operations, maintain rigorous financial controls, and modernize the finance infrastructure. Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer, the Controller manages the AP Manager, Accounting Manager, their teams, and offshore resources. The role leads financial reporting, general ledger integrity, treasury management, and audit coordination, while combining strategic financial governance with direct involvement in general ledger work as needed. The Controller has high executive visibility and communicates directly with the Board of Directors and senior leadership. The role will modernize accounting systems, streamline processes, and use automation and AI to improve efficiency and build a scalable accounting function. Arizent is a business information company serving financial and professional services communities through journalism, research, market intelligence platforms, rankings, and live events. Its brands include American Banker, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning, National Mortgage News, Accounting Today, Digital Insurance, and Employee Benefit News.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance.
10+ years of progressive accounting experience, including 5+ years as a Controller.
Full ownership of month-end close in a multi-product and revenue-stream environment.
Revenue recognition experience with subscription products, including reviewing schedules prepared by staff.
Stock-based compensation and treasury experience, including wire and payment approval authority.
Experience forecasting balance sheets and cash flow from an income statement budget.
Hands-on ERP experience.
Experience managing an accounting team through supervisors.
Project management experience.
Experience coaching and developing staff.
Self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

CPA.
Subscription information media, publishing, or services background.
Experience managing offshore or distributed accounting teams across multiple time zones.
Interest in automating close and reporting workflows using AI.
Start-up or high-growth experience defining and transforming processes and workflows at a small to mid-sized company.
Sage Intacct experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

Own the month-end close calendar, checklist, and completion.
Review and approve journal entries, accruals, and balance sheet reconciliations; perform trial balance flux analysis; maintain accurate financial statements and general ledger integrity; and own the chart of accounts, entity coding, and account mapping.
Oversee the accounting team's revenue recognition and confirm results are accurate and complete; review financial statements for potential revenue and deferred revenue misstatements and investigate variances.
Approve accounts payable transactions, ACH runs, and new vendor setup; oversee travel and expense reporting.
Approve payments and wires with direct bank account access; manage cash, banking relationships, and payment controls; monitor liquidity and debt covenant compliance; prepare lender reporting; and optimize cash yield.
Own the capital expenditure budget, multi-year forecast, actuals, and driver analysis; maintain depreciation and amortization schedules; build forecasted balance sheets and cash flow forecasts from the FP&A budgeted income statement; and maintain supporting interest and tax projections and related planning.
Support annual headcount, compensation, and organizational planning, including department structure and allocation of responsibilities.
Own the balance sheet, debt covenant, and cash flow sections of the monthly board report; explain period changes and budget-versus-actual drivers; provide accounting inputs to FP&A for the multi-year plan; and communicate directly with board members and manage those relationships.
Administer stock-based compensation accounting, expense, and disclosures; maintain grant records and coordinate with legal and HR.
Manage and develop the AP Manager and Accounting Manager and their teams; allocate responsibilities across local and offshore resources; understand team members' responsibilities and workloads; and continually improve accounting-function efficiency.
Serve as finance owner of ERP, AP, expense, and banking platforms; lead ERP and platform migrations, including AP and travel-and-expense systems; and maintain required external registrations.
Apply AI to accounting processes in partnership with the AI and data team to build agents; build and manage the offshore accounting team.
Provide audit support; manage tax provision and tax filings; and manage insurance, contracts, and procurement while improving supporting policies and controls.