Private Equity Value Creation (FP&A) - Senior Associate

CohnReznick • , IL

2d • Remote

About The Position

CohnReznick is seeking a Senior Associate to execute strategic finance workstreams for private equity-backed portfolio companies as part of its Private Equity Value Creation team within the CxO Advisory practice. The role is designed for an aspiring operator who enjoys analyzing data, building useful financial models and reporting, and working with client finance teams to solve business problems. Working closely with Managers and engagement leadership, the Senior Associate develops analyses, models, dashboards, and other engagement deliverables, and increasingly takes ownership of workstreams and client interactions.

The CxO group provides executive advisory, digital and process transformation, and automation enablement services. Its mid-market clients span industries including technology, consumer, manufacturing and distribution, real estate, hospitality, private equity, and renewable energy. This role is remote and does not require work near a CohnReznick office, though attendance at an office may be requested with notice for client work, meetings, or training. Travel of approximately 30% is expected for client engagements, on-site work sessions, and project delivery.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field.
• At least 2 years of experience in accounting and/or finance, with a foundation in audit or assurance, corporate finance, FP&A, or financial consulting.
• Working knowledge of FP&A processes, including budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and financial reporting.
• Practical financial modeling experience, including operating models, forecasting, and business performance analysis.
• Advanced Excel skills, including complex formulas, lookups, pivot tables, and building well-structured models.
• Working proficiency with Microsoft Power Platform tools, including Power BI, Power Query, and Power Pivot.
• Strong understanding of accounting fundamentals and financial statement analysis.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accurate, high-quality work.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate financial and operational data into actionable insights.
• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 30% for client engagements, on-site working sessions, and project delivery.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting middle-market, private equity-backed companies in consulting or industry.
• Consulting or advisory experience, ideally serving private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies.
• Experience building or supporting 13-week cash flow forecasts and short-term liquidity planning.
• Experience with Alteryx, EasyMorph, or similar data preparation and automation platforms.
• Big 4 or national accounting firm experience.
• CPA license or progress toward CPA licensure.
• Exposure to ERP and planning systems such as NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics, or Adaptive Planning.

Responsibilities

• Execute assigned workstreams on private equity value creation engagements, delivering high-quality work on time and within scope.
• Track tasks, deadlines, and open items, and proactively communicate progress, risks, and issues to the engagement team.
• Work with portfolio company finance and operations teams to gather data, understand processes, and validate findings.
• Collaborate with cross-functional CohnReznick teams on complex, multi-workstream engagements.
• Support 100-day plan initiatives, including finance function assessments, KPI development, and establishing reporting and planning cadences.
• Support annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, long-range planning, and monthly financial reporting processes.
• Build and maintain 13-week cash flow forecasts and support liquidity monitoring and working capital analysis.
• Build and maintain financial and operating models for forecasting, scenario analysis, and strategic decision-making.
• Prepare monthly reporting packages, variance analysis, and KPI reporting that explain business performance.
• Support buy-side diligence through financial and operational data analysis, including historical performance and KPI trends.
• Support go-to-market commercial readiness analysis, including pricing, customer, and product profitability.
• Build dashboards and visualizations in Power BI, using Power Query and Power Pivot to transform and model data.
• Use Alteryx, EasyMorph, or similar tools to cleanse, combine, and automate financial and operational data from client systems.
• Help convert engagement work into reusable templates, models, and tools for the practice.
• Prepare clear, client-ready presentations, reports, and analyses for client leadership and private equity sponsors.
• Present analyses and findings to client stakeholders with growing independence.
• Support Associate training and contribute to collaboration and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off.
• Flexible work environment.
• Expanded parental leave and inclusive parental benefits.
• Learning and development opportunities and platforms.
• Paid time off for volunteering.
• Discretionary performance bonus.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level