Finance Director

M+C Saatchi Group • New York, NY

2h • $100,000 - $125,000

About The Position

We are seeking a commercially minded Finance Manager to support the Finance Director and lead the day-to-day finance function for our New York Sport & Entertainment agency. The role sits at the intersection of commercial decision-making, revenue recognition, and financial performance management.
The Finance Manager will own management reporting, revenue integrity, forecasting, and cashflow insight for the business, while working closely with a South Africa–based Shared Service Centre responsible for transactional processing. This is a hands-on role requiring strong judgement, attention to detail, and the confidence to partner with senior stakeholders across client services, operations, and leadership.
Experience within a Media, PR, Creative, or Agency environment is highly advantageous.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related discipline.
• 5+ years’ experience in finance roles, ideally within Media, Advertising, PR, Creative, or Agency environments.
• Strong management accounting and financial reporting experience within a project-based or client-led business.
• Solid working knowledge of IFRS, particularly revenue recognition under IFRS 15.
• Experience working within a multi-entity, international group structure.
• Advanced Excel skills with the ability to build and maintain robust financial models.
• Professional accounting qualification (CPA, ACA, ACCA, or equivalent).
• Commercially minded finance professional with strong business partnering capability.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, deadline-driven agency environment.
• High attention to detail combined with the ability to see the bigger picture.
• Confident communicator, able to explain financial concepts clearly to non-finance stakeholders.
• Proactive, structured, and solutions-oriented, with sound judgement and integrity.

Nice To Haves

• NetSuite experience strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own the monthly management reporting for the New York agency, including P&L, balance sheet, cashflow, KPIs, variance analysis, and performance commentary.
• Lead the month-end close process, ensuring accuracy, discipline, and adherence to Group timelines.
• Monitor revenue, cost of sales, operating expenses, and client / account-level profitability.
• Provide clear, forward-looking financial insight to support commercial and strategic decision-making.
• Act as the day-to-day finance lead for the business, escalating key risks and issues to the Finance Director.
• Prepare and maintain detailed monthly and project-based revenue schedules aligned to client contracts, scopes of work, and delivery milestones.
• Ensure revenue is recognised accurately and consistently in line with IFRS (including IFRS 15) and Group revenue recognition policies.
• Apply appropriate revenue models across retainers, project-based work, milestone delivery, and percentage-of-completion arrangements.
• Review client contracts, statements of work, change orders, and amendments to ensure correct financial treatment.
• Act as the primary point of judgement and escalation for revenue recognition matters within the business.
• Support the annual budget and rolling forecast processes for the agency.
• Partner with department heads and client leads to challenge assumptions, track performance, and identify risks and opportunities.
• Support new business, pricing, and client profitability analysis where required.
• Prepare and maintain cashflow forecasts and working capital analysis.
• Partner with client services teams to drive billing discipline, timely invoicing, and effective PO management.
• Monitor accounts receivable, billing cycles, and cash collection, escalating risks proactively.
• Support effective management of reimbursable costs, pass-through spend, and fee vs non-fee revenue.
• Act as the primary finance owner for outputs delivered by the South Africa Shared Service Centre across AP, AR, intercompany, and month-end processing.
• Ensure accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of SSC outputs, minimising rework and ensuring adherence to Group standards.
• Own intercompany recharges, reconciliations, and eliminations, working closely with Group and regional finance teams.
• Serve as the key interface between the agency, the SSC, and the wider Group finance function.

Benefits

• We offer a competitive salary, a comprehensive employer subsidized benefits package which includes group medical (up to 100% Coverage), 50% Guardian Dental, vision coverage, Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Accounts, 401(k) retirement plan with up to 3% annual employer match, generous paid time off including Summer Fridays and Holiday break, and employee volunteer day to encourage social responsibility giving time to the non-profit, community service or charity of choice.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees