Senior Associate

Job Description

Location: Ft Lauderdale, FL (Hybrid, Low Travel, Relocation Assistance)

LCG's Strategic Financial Consulting ("SFC") Group is hiring for a Senior Associate fast-track position, ideal for candidates seeking to learn and develop their career. The SFC Group offers M&A and transaction support, interim financial management, financial consulting, advisory services, and staff augmentation to businesses undergoing rapid growth, transactions, financial distress, and/or business transformation.

This position will initially be full-time onsite until you have gained complete proficiency with your job. This is a fast-track position; successful candidates can expect rapid promotion and compensation adjustments.

LCG Advisors is a Tampa-based financial advisory firm, awarded one of Tampa Bay's Best Places to work, is a leading transaction advisory firm specializing in loan and investment due diligence, M&A advisory, and other select consulting & advisory services. LCG has a nationwide footprint with over 150 professionals engaged in over 1,500 transactions annually. We serve private equity firms, institutional investors, lower and middle-market businesses, banks and debt providers, business owners, and legal professionals. Service lines include SFC, quality of earnings, business valuations, technology and integration, collateral examinations, investment banking, and litigation support.

Candidate Aspirations:

This opportunity is ideal for a self-motivated, driven, career-minded finance professional who lives in or would be excited to relocate to Ft Lauderdale, FL. They are focused on career growth (vs. balance), are seeking to grow into an incentive-based compensation arrangement or want to eventually be trained to take on a CFO/Head of Finance duties in an emerging or lower-middle-market private company. They understand the career value of working in a transaction advisory firm and having the opportunity to work closely with and learn from discerning PE firms/investment professionals. They also thrive in situations that require a high level of commitment and dedication to keep pace when companies are in the midst of a critical transaction. Most importantly, they value a career progression based solely on performance, not tenure.

A successful candidate can expect to pursue several career paths:

• Be promoted to the Director level with incentive-based compensation and run a team; or
• Pursue opportunities to work in different LCG divisions (Investment Banking, Quality of Earnings, Commercial Asset Based Lending, Valuation, Litigation Support, Integration IT Support), or
• Be groomed to be ready for a CFO role or other high-level financial position; or
• Pursue a more balanced work schedule in the SFC group

The Role:

The Senior Associate (fast track) reports to a Vice President or Director on their respective projects. The Senior Associate will lead and/or support a portfolio of projects and communicate with and help manage client expectations.

Typical projects involve a company taking on or preparing for its first institutional investment or a transaction (sale, capital raise, acquisition) and will require temporary or permanent oversight of the finance function, transactional accounting support (e.g., opening balance sheet, net working capital adjustment, etc.) conversion to accrual-based accounting for a GAAP audit (balance sheet reconciliations, accrual development), preparation of a month-end financial reporting package for key stakeholders (e.g., PE firm, Investors, Lenders, Board of Directors), and/or financial planning and analysis (e.g., strategic planning, operating model, budgeting, forecasting, 13-week cash flow forecasts, etc.). Alternatively, it may be an existing company that requires remediation and/or oversight of its finance function.

Projects can range from fully outsourced accounting solutions to supplementing an existing team. Success usually requires finance and accounting expertise, project management, and often requires long days and weekend work to achieve the desired results.

The Ideal Candidate:

Below outlines the ideal candidate, however, highly motivated and determined candidates who are prepared to prioritize work commitment to overcome any lack of experience to apply are encouraged to apply.

The ideal candidate will have 5 + years of progressive finance experience with a mix of public (audit or transactional) and private accounting experience and may have worked in or performed a portion of the financial planning and analysis ("FP&A") function (e.g., strategic planning, annual budgeting, board deck preparation, etc.). They may have worked with private equity, or a similar demanding institutional investor class (e.g., family office, venture capital, etc.), and have routine experience communicating with and managing executives’ expectations.

They will have either performed GAAP audits in public accounting or managed/participated as part of a company being audited, ideally being exposed to all P&L and balance sheet line items. They will have had private company experience, performing and overseeing reconciliations, developing and calculating accruals (e.g., revenue, COGs, payroll, PTO, etc.), booking journal entries, and preparing financials.

They may have had experience/exposure with/to the FP&A process; specifically, they could have participated in a portion of the annual budget process and been involved in monthly budget variance meetings with department heads and executives. They may have updated/consumed a comprehensive monthly reporting package, including KPIs and other company-specific analyses, such as revenue and cost analysis beyond the standard financials. They may also have had experience contributing to month-end and quarterly BOD decks.

They may have had exposure to the treasury cycle, updating a 13-week cash flow forecast, facilitating/approving check runs, and managing day-to-day cash.

Additionally, they may have had experience/exposure to the M&A lifecycle (e.g., diligence, transaction, transition, integration, etc.), including pre & post-transaction workstreams such as due diligence/quality of earnings, opening balance sheet, purchase price allocations, net working capital adjustments, managing escrows, and transition/integration activities (e.g., cash-to-accrual, payroll, ERP conversation, changing bank accounts, etc.).

They should also have best-in-class experience in a recognized firm (e.g., public accounting or consulting) or Fortune-recognized (or Equivalent) Company, or experience working with institutional investors (e.g., PE-backed companies).

Primary Responsibilities:

• Help manage the clients’ expectations and support project lead
• Perform day-to-day tasks required to complete the project scope
• Help project manage the overall project

Qualifications & Experience:

• An unwavering desire and determination to succeed in high-pressure, time-constrained environments
• 4-year degree in accounting or finance or a similar degree from a credible university, required.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in accounting and/or finance, required.
• Public accounting (audit or M&A/transaction), or private accounting (for private-equity/institutional investors), or significant well-rounded FP&A background.
• Experience in investment banking, institutional investors, or other compelling non-traditional backgrounds to be considered.
• Acumen/aptitude to prepare 3-statement models, 13-week cash flow forecasts, dynamic KPI packages, and complex ad hoc analysis.
• Ability to deliver and craft articulate, persuasive presentations, with elevated attention to messaging, structuring, formatting and quality control.
• Desire to manage, coach, and mentor degreed and non-degreed professionals
• Proven ability to build rapport, and desire to influence senior executives, middle managers, line workers, private equity firms, and lenders in challenging environments
• Advanced Excel skills (e.g., x-lookups, pivot tables, sumifs, index match, etc.), required.
• Project demands will require after-hours or weekend work
• CPA, preferred.

Optional / Enhanced Experience:

• Experience in investment banking, consulting, private equity, restructuring or distressed companies, or other formal financial modeling training.
• ERP remediation and/or system implementation experience (especially Netsuite and Sage), preferred.
• Due diligence experience for new investments, analysis of industry trends, financial modeling, and valuation, preferred.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.
• Travel on an as needed basis.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Salary will be competitive and commensurate with experience
• Competitive Medical Benefits
• 401(k) plan with employer contributions
• Flexibility to work from home