Director of Finance

Customized Energy Solutions•Philadelphia, PA

About The Position

The Director of Finance will provide financial leadership and oversight for CES’s U.S. and international finance operations, including India, Vietnam, Japan, and Canada. This role will supervise the U.S. Controller and India Finance Manager, who are responsible for managing day-to-day accounting operations and their respective accounting team members. The Director of Finance will be expected to lead while maintaining strong visibility into close quality, reporting accuracy, controls, deadlines, invoicing procedures, cash flow, and business-facing financial analysis. The role is both strategic and hands-on at the leadership level, with responsibility for FP&A, management reporting, accounting oversight, controls, audit support, cash management, and cross-border finance coordination. Because CES’s India operations are complex, experience with India finance operations, statutory compliance, tax coordination, and/or energy market accounting is highly desired.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business, or related field required; advanced degree or relevant credential preferred.
CPA, CA, CMA, MBA, CFA, CTP, or comparable finance/accounting credential.
10+ years of progressively responsible finance/accounting experience, including leadership of accounting or finance teams.
Prior experience supervising controllers, accounting managers, or comparable finance leaders.
Hands-on experience with monthly close, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, audit support, and internal controls.
Experience overseeing or coordinating India finance operations, including GST, direct and indirect tax matters, invoicing, reconciliations, statutory compliance, documentation, audit support, and return-support processes.
Experience working with international operations, offshore accounting teams, subsidiaries, or multi-location finance structures.
Strong Excel, financial modeling, reporting, and analytical skills.
Experience with ERP/accounting systems required; experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or a comparable mid-market ERP/accounting platform strongly preferred.
Ability to evaluate and improve financial reporting, accounting workflows, payroll interfaces, approval processes, and data flow between Business Central, payroll, project reporting, and business leadership.

Nice To Haves

Experience with power trading, energy markets, electricity market accounting, commodity/transaction-based energy operations, or similarly complex settlement-driven financial activity.
Experience in professional services, consulting, energy, technology, or project-based businesses.
Experience working with India-based entities, statutory auditors, tax advisors, corporate/secretarial compliance providers, or charitable/nonprofit entities such as Section 8 companies.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership oversight to the U.S. Controller and India Finance Manager, including expectations, deadlines, reporting cadence, controls, and accountability across the full finance/accounting team.
Ensure timely and accurate monthly, quarterly, and year-end close processes by setting standards, reviewing results, monitoring key reconciliations and accruals, and holding finance teams accountable for execution.
Review financial statements, close packages, balance sheet reconciliations, AP, AR, billing, collections, intercompany activity, and other accounting outputs for accuracy, completeness, and business impact.
Lead budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, financial modeling, and management reporting for U.S. and international operations.
Prepare executive-level financial reports, dashboards, and analysis that explain performance by business unit, geography, project, service line, and/or cost center.
Partner with leadership on financial planning related to staffing, compensation planning, project economics, pricing, vendor spend, office costs, and growth initiatives.
Provide senior-level oversight of India finance operations, including invoicing, reconciliations, GST and other direct and indirect tax matters, statutory compliance coordination, corporate/secretarial compliance coordination, documentation, audit support, and return-support processes, while working through the India Finance Manager and local advisors for day-to-day execution.
Oversee financial activity related to power trading and energy market operations, including settlements, revenue recognition support, payables, receivables, accruals, reconciliations, margin reporting, and working capital impact.
Coordinate finance processes for Vietnam, Japan, and Canada, including local reporting support, cross-border expenses, vendor payments, intercompany activity, and local compliance coordination.
Strengthen internal controls, approval processes, documentation standards, audit readiness, and financial policies across the global finance function.
Support cash flow forecasting, banking relationships, liquidity planning, international payments, and foreign currency considerations as needed.
Identify opportunities to improve finance systems, reporting tools, workflows, automation, and data flow between finance, operations, payroll, project reporting, and business leadership.
Maintain visibility into finance and compliance coordination for CES Foundation, a separately registered Section 8 company in India, including coordination with the India finance team and local advisors to ensure its distinct statutory and compliance obligations are appropriately tracked and supported.
Coordinate with business line team members to streamline client invoice processes.