Senior Manager, CFO Advisory

Stout • Chicago, IL

18h

About The Position

Stout's Accounting & Reporting Advisory practice is growing its Strategic Finance & FP&A team within its CFO Services group. This is a market-facing role for a senior professional who will develop client relationships, lead engagements, and work cross-functionally across Stout's broader finance transformation and transaction advisory platform. This role is well-suited for a professional services individual with industry FP&A experience that is eager to bring that operating experience into a consulting environment. Exposure to private equity-backed businesses, transaction diligence, and post-close integration are strongly preferred.

Requirements

• Professional Services experience (audit, advisory, or transaction services) combined with meaningful in-house FP&A or finance leadership experience.
• Deep functional expertise in financial planning and analysis, including budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, management reporting, and business partnering.
• Demonstrated experience with private equity-backed businesses, including an understanding of sponsor priorities, reporting expectations, and value creation dynamics.
• Exposure to M&A transactions — buy-side or sell-side due diligence, post-acquisition integration, or carve-out experience strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of core corporate finance processes: Order-to-Cash (OTC), Procure-to-Pay (PTP), and Record-to-Report (RTR), in addition to FP&A.
• Familiarity with finance-focused ERP systems (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Sage Intacct) and CPM/EPM planning tools.
• Proficiency or working knowledge of data / workflow automation (e.g., Alteryx, PowerQuery, PowerAutomate) and visualization platforms (e.g., PowerBI, Tableau) to support scalable financial reporting and analytics solutions.
• Strong financial modeling skills with the ability to build and review driver-based models, scenario analysis, and management reporting frameworks.
• Ability to communicate complex financial concepts clearly to C-suite stakeholders and private equity sponsors.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a track record of building relationships and developing business in a professional services or advisory environment.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple client engagements simultaneously.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; comfort presenting at the board, C-suite, and sponsor level.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required.
• 8+ years of relevant professional experience, including a combination of public accounting/advisory and industry FP&A or finance leadership.
• 3+ years of finance process transformation and/or post-transaction integration experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in at least one or two industry verticals (e.g., healthcare, technology, industrials, consumer products, business services).
• A mix of consulting/advisory and industry operating experience is strongly preferred.

Nice To Haves

• MBA or Master's in Finance preferred.
• CPA, CFA, or MBA designation preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic FP&A engagements spanning budgeting and forecasting process design, driver-based financial modeling, long-range planning, and management reporting frameworks — with an emphasis on actionable decision support for CFOs and PE sponsors.
• Develop and deliver performance visibility solutions for clients, including KPI/metric selection, management reporting design, and dashboard-based visualization tools.
• Collaborate with broader finance transformation teams, advising clients across core business processes: Order-to-Cash (OTC), Procure-to-Pay (PTP), and Record-to-Report (RTR).
• Support transaction-oriented engagements, including buy-side and sell-side financial due diligence, quality of earnings analysis, and pre-close FP&A readiness assessments.
• Lead post-acquisition integration workstreams related to the finance function, including Day 1/Day 100 planning, IMO support, standalone reporting buildout, and FP&A process harmonization.
• Lead or support carve-out engagements, including separation of FP&A functions, reporting structures, and shared services from parent entities.
• Advise clients on interim FP&A leadership, providing hands-on support to fill capability gaps during periods of transition, transformation, or rapid growth.
• Identify and implement data automation and analytics solutions that improve the speed and quality of financial reporting and forecasting processes.
• Drive business development through client relationship management, proposal development, and thought leadership in strategic finance and the Office of the CFO.
• Design and optimize end-to-end budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning processes for middle-market and PE-backed clients.
• Build and review driver-based financial models, cash flow forecasts, ROI models, pricing and profitability analysis, and scenario/sensitivity frameworks.
• Develop management reporting packages and KPI dashboards that translate financial results into business insights for CFOs, boards, and sponsors.
• Provide point-in-time decision support including 13-week cash flow models, working capital analysis, and organizational design recommendations.
• Support clients in an interim FP&A leadership capacity as needed.
• Lead assessments and transformation initiatives across core finance processes: Order-to-Cash (OTC), Procure-to-Pay (PTP), Record-to-Report (RTR), and FP&A.
• Identify operational inefficiencies and design scalable, technology-enabled process improvements across the back-office finance function.
• Collaborate with Stout's broader ARA and integration teams to deliver holistic finance transformation recommendations arising from transaction and integration work.
• Advise clients on shared services design, finance operating model optimization, and technology-aligned process standardization.
• Support buy-side and sell-side due diligence, including financial diligence, FP&A readiness assessments, and management reporting quality reviews.
• Lead post-acquisition integration planning and execution across the finance function, establishing Integration Management Office (IMO) practices and playbooks.
• Assist clients with pre-close readiness, including Day 1 and Day 100 planning, standalone reporting buildout, and finance function separation from parent entities.
• Translate transaction findings into actionable operational recommendations, bridging diligence insights with post-close execution and value creation initiatives.
• Interact with and advise clients on finance-focused ERPs including NetSuite, Sage Intacct, SAP, and Oracle in the context of FP&A design and reporting optimization.
• Leverage data/workflow automation and visualization tools to build scalable, repeatable financial reporting and forecasting solutions.
• Identify and recommend CPM/EPM planning technologies appropriate to client scale and complexity.
• Train, mentor, and develop junior team members, fostering a culture of analytical rigor and client-service excellence.
• Contribute to the development of FP&A service offerings, intellectual property, toolkits, and thought leadership.
• Participate actively in business development, including proposals, presentations, and market-facing relationship cultivation with private equity sponsors, CFOs, and intermediaries.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Benefits and wellness options tailored to support employees at every stage of life
• Flexible work schedules
• Discretionary time off policy

What This Job Offers

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