Financial Controller

The Washington Post

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Join the future of news We’re on a mission to deliver riveting storytelling for all of America. At The Washington Post, you’ll help reinvent news. Our work is driven by a deep investigative spirit and enhanced by innovation to bring audiences closer to the stories that matter most. About Our Team The Washington Post is powered by the passion and talent of our people. It takes all of us to reinvent news. Beyond our award-winning Newsroom and Opinions teams, we work across many departments, including Brand & Events, Communications, Customer Care, Engineering & Product, Finance, Human Resources, Legal, Marketing & Advertising, Print Operations, and Sales. Why This Role Matters The Financial Controller plays a critical leadership role in ensuring the integrity, transparency, and long-term sustainability of The Washington Post’s financial operations as a privately held media organization. Reporting to the Acting CFO, this role provides enterprise-wide stewardship of global accounting, financial reporting, governance, and systems evolution—supporting informed decision-making and responsible growth. This role is designed for a strategic financial leader who can lead meaningful transformation while maintaining rigorous accounting discipline. In the near term, the Financial Controller will assess current-state accounting operations, systems, and team capabilities and lead a deliberate redesign of the controllership function. This includes rethinking how accounting work is structured, enabled by technology, and experienced by the team. Over time, the scope of this role will expand, further strengthening enterprise-wide financial stewardship. As a highly visible leader, the Financial Controller balances hands-on execution with enterprise leadership—providing trusted stewardship in a complex, evolving environment while shaping the future of how accounting operates at The Washington Post. What Motivates You Leading financial stewardship in a privately held media organization where integrity, discretion, and long-term thinking are essential Challenging legacy processes and assumptions to reimagine how accounting work can be performed and delivered Driving transformation that goes beyond incremental improvement to reshape operating models, team culture, and ways of working Serving as both a strategic leader and a hands-on expert when the work or moment requires it Building strong, capable teams through active coaching, clear expectations, and a commitment to continuous development How You’ll Support the Mission Strategic Accounting & Financial Leadership Provide enterprise leadership for global accounting operations, including general ledger, close, consolidation, and statutory reporting. Establish and advance a long-term vision for the controllership function aligned with organizational strategy and the needs of a privately held media company. Assess, redesign, and modernize accounting processes, operating models, and organizational structure to support scale, resilience, and effectiveness. Operate as a “player-coach,” moving seamlessly between strategic leadership and hands-on accounting work as needed during periods of transformation, team development, and systems change. Financial Reporting, Controls & Governance Maintain final accountability for the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of all internal and external financial reporting. Own the worldwide consolidation and end-to-end accounting close process. Develop, maintain, and enforce global accounting policies and standards to ensure consistency and compliance, including revenue recognition. Design, implement, and maintain a strong internal control environment appropriate to a privately held enterprise. Oversee financial reporting controls and internal audit activities. Prepare and present financial reports, analyses, and insights to senior leadership. ERP, Systems & Technology Transformation Lead the evaluation, selection, and migration of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, including assessment of tradeoffs, risks, and long-term implications. Own the future-state accounting systems architecture and ensure alignment with business strategy, scalability needs, and data integrity standards. Provide hands-on leadership during system migrations, recognizing and mitigating change and execution risk. Drive optimization of existing and new systems to improve automation, accuracy, and transparency across accounting operations. Audit, Risk & Stakeholder Partnership Serve as the primary liaison with external auditors, including coordination of pension and 401(k)-related audits. Partner with internal stakeholders to deliver high-quality, timely, and informative financial reporting. Collaborate with FP&A to ensure reporting supports internal decision-making and provides meaningful operational insights. Assume leadership of enterprise Risk functions as the role evolves, strengthening governance and risk awareness across the organization. People Leadership & Culture Building Build, develop, and lead a high-performing global accounting organization, recognizing that the current team is capable and still developing. Actively coach and mentor leaders and individual contributors, setting a high bar for performance, accountability, and growth. Establish a strong team culture and identity grounded in excellence, trust, inclusion, and continuous improvement. Create clarity around roles, expectations, and development pathways to support both near-term transformation and long-term capability building.

Requirements

Deep technical accounting expertise with the ability to apply standards in complex, real-world business environments
Demonstrated experience leading ERP evaluation, selection, and migration initiatives, including ownership of future-state system design
Proven ability to lead and sustain transformation, including rethinking operating models and ways of working
Comfort operating as both a strategic leader and hands-on practitioner during periods of change
Strong judgment, integrity, and discretion in handling sensitive and confidential information
Ability to translate accounting and financial concepts into clear, actionable insights for non-finance stakeholders
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance
CPA designation
5+ years of experience leading teams to include people managers
10+ years progressive experience in accounting or financial management, including senior-level leadership responsibility at Big 4 or similar organization with revenue and systems complexities
Experience leading ERP system evaluations and migrations
Experience with global accounting operations, financial reporting, and audit coordination
Experience in media, advertising, or directly related industries.
Experience with automation or leading automation strategy and implementation
Strong written and verbal communication skills

Nice To Haves

Public accounting experience
Experience in a privately held, multi-entity, or complex organizational environment
Prior responsibility for or partnership with risk management, internal audit, or governance functions
Experience leading accounting or finance transformations during periods of organizational or systems change

Responsibilities

Provide enterprise leadership for global accounting operations, including general ledger, close, consolidation, and statutory reporting.
Establish and advance a long-term vision for the controllership function aligned with organizational strategy and the needs of a privately held media company.
Assess, redesign, and modernize accounting processes, operating models, and organizational structure to support scale, resilience, and effectiveness.
Operate as a “player-coach,” moving seamlessly between strategic leadership and hands-on accounting work as needed during periods of transformation, team development, and systems change.
Maintain final accountability for the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of all internal and external financial reporting.
Own the worldwide consolidation and end-to-end accounting close process.
Develop, maintain, and enforce global accounting policies and standards to ensure consistency and compliance, including revenue recognition.
Design, implement, and maintain a strong internal control environment appropriate to a privately held enterprise.
Oversee financial reporting controls and internal audit activities.
Prepare and present financial reports, analyses, and insights to senior leadership.
Lead the evaluation, selection, and migration of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, including assessment of tradeoffs, risks, and long-term implications.
Own the future-state accounting systems architecture and ensure alignment with business strategy, scalability needs, and data integrity standards.
Provide hands-on leadership during system migrations, recognizing and mitigating change and execution risk.
Drive optimization of existing and new systems to improve automation, accuracy, and transparency across accounting operations.
Serve as the primary liaison with external auditors, including coordination of pension and 401(k)-related audits.
Partner with internal stakeholders to deliver high-quality, timely, and informative financial reporting.
Collaborate with FP&A to ensure reporting supports internal decision-making and provides meaningful operational insights.
Assume leadership of enterprise Risk functions as the role evolves, strengthening governance and risk awareness across the organization.
Build, develop, and lead a high-performing global accounting organization, recognizing that the current team is capable and still developing.
Actively coach and mentor leaders and individual contributors, setting a high bar for performance, accountability, and growth.
Establish a strong team culture and identity grounded in excellence, trust, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
Create clarity around roles, expectations, and development pathways to support both near-term transformation and long-term capability building.