Director of Commercial Accounting

Saks Global is the largest multi-brand luxury retailer in the world, comprising Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks OFF 5TH. Powered by talented colleagues, we are redefining luxury shopping through personalized experiences across our store network and e-commerce platforms.

About the role

We are seeking a strategic, commercially minded Director of Commercial Accounting to lead our commercial accounting team. In this executive leadership role, you will define and execute the accounting strategy for our inventory portfolio, including owned product, consignment, leased shop-in-shops, and dropship arrangements. You will act as the crucial link between Finance, Merchandising, Supply Chain, and Store Operations, establishing robust internal controls and providing timely executive-level analysis and insights on margin and inventory to protect profitability and liquidity across our omnichannel luxury retail portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Oversee all accounting policies and operational execution related to inventory valuation, sales and margin reserves, and cost of goods sold (COGS).
• Serve as a strategic finance partner to Merchandising and Supply Chain leaders, providing actionable insight into gross margins, markdown impacts, and inventory aging.
• Design and maintain financial accounting frameworks for complex sales structures: consignment models, brand partner margin splits, concessions, and product licensing arrangements.
• Ensure all margin and inventory reporting strictly adheres to US GAAP standards, applicable debt compliance standards and requirements, and applicable deadlines.
• Prepare reference schedules and executive presentation materials for periodic accounting and disclosure reviews with the CAO or other executives and stakeholders.
• Direct month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close processes for inventory and sales reserves, payables reserves and settlements, and other margin impacts.
• Lead the primary external audit relationships for inventory valuation, shrinkage provisions, and obsolescence modeling under US GAAP standards.
• Lead the primary external audit and valuation relationships for borrowing base measurements and reporting, including key interactions with bank agents, auditors, and valuation specialists.
• Lead commercial and finance participation in technology and systems initiatives impacting inventory, sales, and margin, including ERP modules, inventory management systems (IMS), order management systems (OMS), and point-of-sale (POS) integrations.
• Drive automation across landed-costing calculations for imported merchandise, vendor allowance tracking, cross-banner inventory transfers, and reserve analysis and accounting.
• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of inventory and gross margin accountants, analysts, and specialists.
• Foster a culture of analytical rigor, cross-functional partnership, and continuous process improvement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance required; CPA or MBA is strongly preferred.
• 8–12+ years of progressive accounting and finance leadership experience, with a minimum of 4–5 years in a managerial or director role within retail or consumer goods.

Skills

• Executive Presence: Ability to synthesize complex GAAP rules and articulate financial narratives confidently to executive officers, auditors, and board members.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Skilled at building strong relationships across business units and functional support teams.
• Attention to Detail: Uncompromising precision regarding financial data integrity and strict adherence to reporting deadlines.
• Domain Expertise: Master-level knowledge of Weighted-Average-Cost Accounting for retail operations, landed cost structures, and luxury consignment models. Strong broad technical accounting knowledge and experience applying authoritative guidance to complex cross-functional transactions. Demonstrated track record of managing multi-channel inventory.
• Technical Proficiency: Deep experience with enterprise-level stock ledger/inventory management, order management, and point-of-sale systems. Proficiency in enterprise ERPs (e.g., Workday, SAP, Oracle) and specialized financial reporting/consolidation software (e.g., Workiva, OneStream, Hyperion, EPM). Proven track record leading digital transformation or finance-system implementation projects.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• Basic and supplemental life insurance.
• Disability insurance.
• A variety of additional voluntary benefits (such as critical illness, hospital, and accident insurance).
• Amazing employee discount.

Pay

Compensation for this role varies by geographic location. The listed range ($151,000 - $196,000) reflects multiple markets, including higher-cost areas. Actual starting pay will be determined based on work location, experience, and other job-related factors.