Position Overview

Korn Ferry is conducting a CFO search for our client – one of the largest law firms in Western Canada with over 100 partners and 400+ additional team members made up of associates, counsel and business support teams across British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. They have been named one of Canada's best law firms by the Globe & Mail.

Reporting directly to the Managing Partner and working closely with the Chief Operating Officer, the CFO leads and mentors a team of finance and accounting professionals, oversees all financial operations of the firm across multiple provinces, develops and executes on financial strategy and provides guidance, counsel, and advice on a broad range of business, financial and strategic matters. The CFO also implements and oversees effective processes and controls to mitigate fraud and safeguard the assets of the firm and their clients.

As a key position within the firm, the CFO must be comfortable providing high-level strategic leadership and must excel at bridging the gap between finance and other departments and stakeholders, requiring exceptional communication, interpersonal and relationship-building skills. The successful candidate will also demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of finance and accounting policies and practices, strong business acumen as well as project management capabilities. It is critical that the successful candidate is collaborative, adaptable, displays good judgment, has a strong work ethic, and operates with the highest level of integrity and professionalism.

This role offers an exceptional opportunity for a talented finance professional to make a significant, long-term impact on the firm's continued growth and success.

Location

This role can be based in one of our client's office locations in Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, or Calgary (hybrid / remote).

Travel

The role will require some travel, primarily among the six offices but also to other parts of Canada or the U.S. from time to time.

Responsibilities

• Acting as a strategic advisor to the executive board on financial matters, including preparing and presenting materials at regularly scheduled board and partner meetings.
• Providing financial metrics and advice to support decision-making to advance the firm's objectives and promote revenue, profitability, and growth of the firm.
• Conducting in-depth financial analysis and preparing detailed reporting, including annual and monthly reports to partners, comparisons to budget, forecasts, dashboards, annual audits, profitability analysis, lawyer financial performance reporting and other ad hoc reports as required.
• Managing administration of professional liability and cyber and premises insurance, including procuring, and overseeing contracts and maintaining ongoing relationships with brokers.
• Overseeing all aspects of financing for the firm, including working capital financing for partners, determining annual income per unit/per partner, capital repayments, interest payments and managing external banking relationships to support day-to-day operations.
• Working in partnership with the Managing Partner to manage partner and counsel compensation, including annual profit allocation in accordance with partnership agreement, monthly distribution payments, retirement allowances, administration of counsel agreements, and supporting the Compensation Committee in determining annual unit setting and bonus payments.
• Collaborating with external accountants to determine annual taxable income for partners, prepare and review annual tax packages for partners, and complete tax filings for related entities.
• Overseeing the preparation of the annual operating and capital budgets, including budgets for initiatives/projects and budgets for compensation for professional staff and support staff, and providing reporting of actuals against budget on a monthly basis along with forecasts.
• Developing and managing effective processes and controls, including those around purchases and payments, such as expense reimbursement processes and smart spending guidelines, and determining approval authorities.
• Hiring, evaluating, mentoring, training, and developing a team of finance and accounting professionals across multiple locations and disciplines, including accounts payable, accounts receivable, trust accounting, bank reconciliations, disbursements and financial analysis and reporting.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree specializing in accounting, finance or related area and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation or equivalent required.
• Minimum 15-20 years of progressively responsible finance and accounting experience required; must include at least 10 years' experience in people management.
• Client centric focus; highly responsive and proactively delivers value to internal and external clients.
• Experience working effectively with boards of directors and executive leadership teams.
• Proven track record of leading successful projects, executing with urgency and collaborating across areas and with key stakeholders to achieve positive business results.
• Prior experience within the legal industry or a professional services firm is considered an asset.
• Meticulous attention to detail as well as strong organizational and time management skills
• Critical thinking capabilities, problem solving skills and decision-making abilities.
• Excellent written and oral communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.
• Deep working knowledge of Excel and an understanding of specialized billing/accounting systems such as Aderant, Chrome River and BigHand revenue/profit modules and related dashboards are an asset.

SE# 510648364

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