Director of Finance; Controller

Become a valued team member in one of Arkansas' largest, premier law firms.

Friday Eldredge & Clark, LLP, an Arkansas law firm with offices in Little Rock and Rogers, Arkansas, seeks an experienced Director of Finance and Controller to provide strategic and operational leadership over the Firm's financial affairs.

The Finance Leader will be responsible for accounting, budgeting, cash management, billing and collections, payroll and benefits, tax and banking relationships, internal controls, financial systems and the leadership and supervision of the Firm's accounting and billing personnel.

The successful candidate will understand the operations of a professional services organization and will be able to translate financial information into clear, practical recommendations for lawyers and Firm leadership. The position requires both strategic judgment and a willingness to remain closely engaged in the Firm's day-to-day financial operations.

The Finance Leader will report to the Managing Partner and will work closely with the Management Committee, Practice Group Leaders, Partners and other lawyers.

• Serve as the principal financial adviser to the Managing Partner and Management Committee.
• Develop and maintain the Firm's annual budget, multiyear financial plan and rolling forecasts.
• Provide objective financial analysis to support compensation, capital expenditure and major operating decisions.
• Identify financial opportunities, emerging risks and corrective actions before they materially affect Firm performance.
• Present financial results and recommendations clearly and credibly to Partners and Firm leadership.

• Develop and maintain reporting concerning revenue, profitability, utilization, realization, leverage, billing rates, discounts, write-downs, work in process and accounts receivable.
• Analyze profitability by client, matter, lawyer, practice group and office, recognizing the limitations and appropriate uses of profitability data.
• Work with Firm leadership and responsible attorneys to improve pricing, matter budgeting, staffing and financial performance.
• Support the compensation process with accurate and timely financial information, while maintaining strict confidentiality.
• Establish dashboards that provide Firm leadership with timely and actionable information.

• Oversee the Firm's accounting functions, including the general ledger, accounts payable, payroll, billing, collections, trust accounting and financial reporting.
• Ensure timely and accurate monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements.
• Establish and maintain appropriate accounting policies, approval procedures, segregation of duties and internal controls.
• Ensure compliance with applicable trust-accounting requirements and the Firm's financial policies.
• Coordinate the Firm's annual financial statement, tax and retirement plan reporting.
• Maintain effective controls addressing wire fraud, payment fraud, cybersecurity-related financial risk and unauthorized access to financial systems.

• Prepare and maintain short-term and long-term cash-flow forecasts.
• Manage the Firm's banking, treasury, credit-facility and cash-investment relationships.
• Coordinate Partner banking and tax information and work with outside tax advisers regarding federal and state tax matters.

• Provide executive oversight of time entry, prebilling, billing and collections.
• Work constructively with attorneys to reduce billing delays, aged work in process and aged accounts receivable.
• Establish appropriate collection procedures, escalation protocols and reporting.
• Improve billing accuracy, electronic billing performance and compliance with client billing guidelines.
• Analyze write-offs, discounts and collection trends and recommend appropriate action.

• Provide financial leadership for the selection, implementation and effective use of the Firm's practice-management, accounting, billing, budgeting and business-intelligence systems.
• Automate manual processes and improve the timeliness and reliability of financial information.
• Develop responsible uses of data analytics and artificial intelligence within the finance function.

• Oversee the administration of the Firm's retirement plans and employee-benefit…