Head of Expense Management

Talcott Financial Group•Hartford, CT

About The Position

The Head of Expenses is a senior finance leader responsible for enterprise‑wide oversight of operating expenses, including governance, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and expense control disciplines. This role partners closely with Finance, FP&A, Accounting, Procurement, HR, and business leaders to ensure expense discipline, transparency, and alignment with strategic objectives while supporting accurate GAAP and statutory reporting.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field (MBA or CPA preferred).
10+ years of progressive experience in expense management, FP&A, accounting, or finance leadership roles.
Demonstrated experience leading budgeting, forecasting, and expense analysis in a complex organization.
Strong knowledge of GAAP, internal controls, and financial close processes related to operating expenses.
Proven people leadership experience with the ability to influence across functions and senior leadership.
Executive‑level financial acumen and analytical judgment
Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
Change leadership and process optimization mindset
High attention to detail with ability to operate at both strategic and tactical levels

Responsibilities

Own and oversee the company’s operating expense management framework, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and transparency across all functions and legal entities.
Establish and enforce expense policies, controls, and approval standards in coordination with Accounting, Procurement, and Internal Audit.
Ensure operating expenses are recorded in accordance with GAAP and applicable statutory requirements.
Oversight of accounts payable functions
Lead the annual operating expense budget and periodic forecast cycles, partnering with FP&A and business leaders.
Monitor actuals versus budget and forecast; analyze drivers of variances and provide actionable insights to senior leadership.
Develop executive‑level reporting and dashboards highlighting expense trends, risks, and opportunities.
Partner with Accounting to support timely month‑end and quarter‑end close processes related to operating expenses, accruals, allocations, and intercompany charges.
Support internal and external audit requirements related to expense processes and controls.
Develop and maintain processes and systems to track actual spend on one-time projects and M&A deals
Work with PMO office, Deal team, and FP&A to maintain budgets for one-time projects and successful deals within financial systems
Create standardized periodic reporting package on one-time projects and successful deals comparing actual spend to budget, highlighting variances to budget, and analyzing variance drivers
Lead, develop, and mentor the Expense Management team (analysts, senior analysts, managers, as applicable).
Serve as a trusted advisor to functional leaders, helping them manage spend, understand cost drivers, and achieve expense targets.
Collaborate with HR, IT, and Procurement on workforce‑related costs, vendor spend, and enterprise initiatives impacting expenses.
Partner with Department heads to assist with cost management and timely reporting of budget to actual analytics
Drive continuous improvement of expense processes, systems, and reporting, including automation and simplification opportunities.
Support strategic initiatives and new business activity by providing expense modeling, assumptions, and governance frameworks.
Develop and oversee the multi-jurisdictional expense allocations in compliance with tax guidelines
Implementation of fee charges from Holdcos to operating entities
Provide analytics of allocations and fee regimes