Finance Manager

Daniel J. Edelman•New York, NY

13d

About The Position

The Finance Manager is the day-to-day finance lead for a large, complex, and strategically important global client relationship. Reporting to the Client Finance Director, this role will primarily support the U.S., Canada, and Latin America and will coordinate closely with finance leads in EMEA and APAC to support global forecasting, month-end close, and financial reporting. This is a hands-on client finance role responsible for strong financial management, commercial discipline, and effective partnership with account leadership. The Finance Manager will own the daily financial rhythm of the account, identify risks and opportunities early, and help ensure the business is financially well managed while the Client Finance Director retains overall global finance leadership, executive-level finance relationships, major commercial negotiations, and strategic oversight.

Requirements

5-8 years of progressive experience in client finance, commercial finance, FP&A, accounting, or a related financial management role.
Demonstrated ability to manage the financial performance of a large, complex client, business unit, or portfolio; agency or professional-services experience is preferred.
Strong understanding of forecasting, budgeting, revenue recognition, month-end close, project profitability, billing, AR/WIP, and financial controls.
Commercial experience reviewing scopes, pricing, staffing models, purchase orders, and contractual financial requirements.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to identify financial risks and opportunities and translate analysis into practical recommendations.
Advanced Excel skills and comfort working across financial and reporting systems; experience with Workday, Power BI, Smartsheet, ClientLens, Ariba, or similar tools is valuable.
Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to partner effectively with senior account leaders and coordinate across markets and time zones.
Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing multiple priorities while maintaining ownership of both the detail and the broader financial picture.

Nice To Haves

agency or professional-services experience is preferred
experience with Workday, Power BI, Smartsheet, ClientLens, Ariba, or similar tools is valuable

Responsibilities

Serve as the day-to-day finance lead for the account across the U.S., Canada, and Latin America, partnering closely with account leadership and project teams on financial and commercial matters.
Coordinate forecast and close activity with finance leads in EMEA and APAC and provide a consistent global view of financial performance to the Client Finance Director.
Provide clear financial insight to account leaders, identifying risks, opportunities, and actions related to revenue, margin, staffing, scope, billing, and cash.
Participate in regular leadership, forecasting, staffing, scoping, and business performance discussions and escalate material issues with appropriate context and recommended actions.
Own forecasting, budgeting, and monthly financial reporting for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America, with oversight and support from the Client Finance Director.
Lead month-end close for assigned markets, including revenue, costs, accruals, intercompany activity, and project financials, while coordinating global close deadlines with international finance leads.
Analyze actual performance versus forecast and budget, explain key variances, and drive follow-up actions.
Monitor project and portfolio profitability, staffing mix, utilization, burn rates, fee and OOP performance, contribution margin, profit margin, and other key financial indicators.
Review scopes of work, change orders, pricing, rate cards, staffing plans, fee structures, and related commercial assumptions for financial accuracy and alignment with approved terms.
Support quarterly scoping and ongoing scope management, ensuring staffing, pricing, purchase orders, and financial expectations are complete and commercially sound.
Monitor contract compliance and client-specific requirements, including purchase order coverage and Proof of Execution (POE) requirements.
Identify scope creep, under-recovery, pricing gaps, staffing inefficiencies, or other financial exposure and work with account teams to address issues promptly.
Support the Client Finance Director on larger commercial negotiations, pricing decisions, and material contract or scope changes.
Maintain oversight of billing, accounts receivable, work in progress, unbilled revenue, purchase orders, and open financial transactions across the account.
Partner with Financial Shared Services and other operational finance resources to ensure invoices are accurate, supported, submitted on time, and aligned with contractual and client requirements.
Review revenue recognition, aged AR and WIP, project close status, and other financial controls; drive timely resolution of material issues.
Ensure compliance with Edelman financial policies, established processes, and client contractual requirements.
Provide day-to-day guidance, prioritization, onboarding, and training to Financial Shared Services and other finance resources supporting the account; formal people-management responsibility may be added as the support model evolves.
Continuously improve ways of working by simplifying processes, standardizing reporting, strengthening controls, and building scalable tools and routines.
Maintain strong data discipline and effective use of Workday, Excel, Smartsheet, Power BI, ClientLens, Ariba, and other relevant financial or client systems.