Accounting & Finance Manager

Overview

This role supports a mission-driven legal practice focused on asylum matters in the United States. The Accounting & Finance Manager (Hands-on) is responsible for overseeing day-to-day financial operations and serving as the first level of financial analysis and operational financial control.

The position ensures financial records are accurate, timely, compliant, and useful for decision-making. It is hands-on, with an initial focus on learning the firm’s systems, working with existing staff and service providers, and establishing reliable financial operations.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day financial operations, including documentation of procedures to ensure work is accurate and completed on time
• Drive issue resolution by identifying responsible parties, next steps, and deadlines; follow up on action items and confirm completion and correctness
• Ensure accurate execution across accounting, billing, accounts receivable (A/R), accounts payable (A/P), payroll, trust accounting, collections, tax coordination, and general ledger maintenance
• Maintain clean and current financial records in the accounting system
• Provide the legal team with accurate financial information related to client matters, billing, retainers, and collections
• Monitor daily cash balances and activity across bank accounts, credit cards, merchant activity, and other key financial accounts
• Ensure bills, vendor payments, check requests, and reimbursements are processed accurately and on time
• Prepare, review, and analyze monthly financial statements and key reports on time
• Validate supporting records, calculations, and assumptions; investigate material inconsistencies and disclose unresolved limitations
• Complete monthly financial reports accurately and on time
• Prepare annual and periodic budgets and forecasts; provide budget variance reports and explain results to the Owner/CFO in clear business language, including conclusions, recommendations, and decisions needed
• Support creation, maintenance, and monitoring of the annual budget
• Maintain a forward-looking cash flow forecast to anticipate shortfalls, plan distributions, and manage working capital
• Track year-over-year revenue growth, gross profit, operating profit, and other key financial trends
• Provide financial analysis supporting strategic planning, operational planning, and decision-making
• Own and continuously improve billing and collections processes
• Supervise timely preparation and delivery of client invoices
• Monitor payment plans and ensure clients comply with payment terms
• Track, measure, and report accounts receivable aging
• Ensure collection protocols are followed consistently and professionally
• Work with billing staff and leadership to prevent unnecessary A/R buildup
• Address client billing questions and payment concerns professionally while protecting the firm’s financial interests
• Own operational handling of chargebacks, refund requests, billing disputes, and merchant service issues through documented resolution (including coordinating approvals and ensuring refunds/credits/adjustments are correctly recorded)
• Review billing records, payment history, and related correspondence to resolve disputes
• Recommend process improvements to increase collection rate and reduce financial leakage
• Monitor trust/IOLTA account activity, including reconciliation and documentation
• Own or review three-way trust reconciliations
• Identify and resolve trust accounting discrepancies with urgency
• Ensure compliance with applicable legal, ethical, and accounting requirements
• Work with the Owner/CFO and CPA to correct accounting or reporting issues
• Maintain internal controls to protect the integrity of firm financials
• Design, recommend, and enforce financial controls that protect the firm
• Identify financial risks, reporting gaps, compliance issues, cash flow risks, billing breakdowns, and process weaknesses; recommend practical corrective actions within approved policies and authority limits
• Support audits, tax preparation, financial reviews, and outside accounting reviews
• Ensure balance sheet reconciliations, payroll liability reconciliations, and bank reconciliations are completed accurately
• Monitor payroll taxes, tax liabilities, vendor obligations, debt obligations, and compliance deadlines
• Oversee existing staff and providers assigned to the role (including the bookkeeper, billing specialist, payroll provider, outsourced finance vendors, and other accounting support)
• Provide direction, accountability, and feedback to finance/accounting staff
• Progressively delegate recurring accounting and billing work while retaining controls, review, and accountability for results
• Participate in onboarding, training, and performance reviews for other assigned finance-related positions
• Ensure finance team members understand expectations, deadlines, reporting requirements, and quality standards
• Hold vendors accountable for timely and accurate work
• Serve as the internal subject matter expert for accounting software, billing systems, chart of accounts, reporting processes, and financial workflows
• Identify practical improvements in QuickBooks, Stripe, Google Sheets, Asana, and related workflows
• Define financial requirements and implement, test, and document changes with technical support as needed
• Maintain controls, data quality, security, and approval boundaries, and own completion and accuracy even when technical colleagues build the solution
• Analyze profitability (when data is available) by service, SKU, practice area, attorney, labor cost, marketing channel, and client/matter type
• Support pricing reviews to ensure services produce adequate gross profit
• Evaluate underperforming investments, expense categories, vendors, and initiatives
• Track production labor return, utilization, realization, collection rate, and cost of acquisition where applicable
• Help leadership understand Total Owner Benefit, owner distributions, working capital needs, and overall firm financial health
• Support centralized KPI reporting and scorecard development

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive accounting or finance experience, preferably in a law firm, professional services firm, or other service-based business
• Strong understanding of general accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, A/R, A/P, payroll, and month-end close
• Experience managing or reviewing trust/IOLTA accounting and reconciliations
• Experience with billing systems, client payment plans, collections, and accounts receivable management
• Strong proficiency with accounting software, legal billing systems, Microsoft Excel, and financial reporting tools
• Practical experience using AI tools and automation to improve accounting or finance workflows, with a working understanding of APIs, scripts, and how data moves between systems (advanced coding skills are not required)
• Ability to identify improvement opportunities, define clear financial requirements, collaborate with technical colleagues on implementation, and validate accuracy and reliability of results
• Ability to prepare accurate financial reports and explain them clearly to non-financial leaders
• Demonstrated ability to identify financial risks, implement controls, and resolve discrepancies
• Strong organizational, analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills
• High integrity, confidentiality, discretion, and professional judgment
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced law firm environment

Preferred Qualifications

• CPA, MBA, advanced finance/accounting credential, or equivalent experience
• 8+ years of accounting, controller, or finance operations experience
• Microsoft Excel Expert Certification (preferred)
• Experience building lightweight scripts or integrations to improve finance workflows
• Prior experience in a law firm or legal services environment
• Experience with systems such as QuickBooks Online, Clio, MyCase, Time Matters, PracticePanther, Smokeball, Lawmatics, Infusionsoft/Keap, or similar platforms
• Experience designing dashboards, centralized KPI reporting, balanced scorecards, or financial performance reports
• Experience supervising bookkeepers, billing specialists, payroll providers, or outsourced accounting vendors
• Advanced experience with complex unstructured data models and analysis, pricing analysis, SKU profitability, labor utilization, realization, collection rate analysis, and cost-of-acquisition reporting
• Experience supporting strategic planning, cash flow planning, debt repayment planning, and owner distribution planning

Compensation & Benefits

• Monthly salary range: USD 3,000 - 3,500 gross (commensurate with experience and qualifications)
• Week between Christmas and New Year’s: office closed, fully paid
• Paid national public holidays based on your country’s calendar
• Three weeks of paid vacation annually
• Comprehensive training program
• Mentorship and collaboration
• Career advancement paths (promotion from within)
• Equipment support: stipend or provided equipment to set up your home office, available after 4 months on the job

Location

• Work from anywhere (open to candidates based in Argentina)

Application Requirements

• Submit a resume and cover letter in English
• Applications require a cover letter to be considered
• Cover letters should explain why you are uniquely qualified for this position and why you would be a strong fit; generic copy/paste cover letters will be discarded
• Resume and cover letter must be uploaded in PDF format