Finance Operations Manager
PEAK6 · Chicago, IL · 1 mo ago
HybridFinance$98k–$122k/yrFull-time
About the role
The Finance Operations Manager owns the day-to-day health of PEAK6's finance shared services function—Accounts Payable, Travel & Expense (T&E), accounting support, and systems administration. The role maintains core platforms (Ramp, NetSuite), manages a small AP/T&E team, and drives process standardization across entities.
Responsibilities
Systems & Platform Ownership
- Administer Ramp (T&E and P2P): user access, workflow configuration, and issue triage.
- Partner with IT and vendors to resolve system issues and manage platform upgrades.
- Own system documentation (SOPs and user guides) for finance platforms.
Travel & Expense (T&E) Management
- Own the end-to-end T&E process: expense review, policy compliance, and timely reimbursement.
- Maintain T&E policy with the Senior Finance Director and communicate changes to employees.
- Monitor T&E spend and flag anomalies, out-of-policy spend, or misuse.
- Be the primary contact for employee questions on expenses and card usage.
- Clock in with HR/Payroll on T&E items requiring payroll processing (e.g., imputed income).
Accounts Payable Operations
- Oversee multi-entity AP: timely, accurate invoice processing, approvals, and payments.
- Monitor approval chains, escalate bottlenecks, and streamline multi-entity routing.
- Support AP-related month-end close, including accruals and reconciliations.
- Ensure accurate GL coding of AP transactions and resolve discrepancies with Accounting.
- Support balance sheet reconciliations for AP accounts (e.g., accrued liabilities, prepayments).
- Help maintain accounting policies for payables and system-generated transactions.
Controls & Compliance
- Maintain and strengthen internal controls over payment processing and system access.
- Support internal and external audit requests related to AP and systems.
- Monitor compliance with company policy and regulatory requirements across entities.
- Track and remediate control gaps identified through audits or process reviews.
Reporting & Analytics
- Produce and distribute recurring finance ops reporting (AP aging, T&E spend, cycle time, exception rates) to the Senior Finance Director and stakeholders.
- Develop and maintain dashboards and KPIs for operational performance, service levels, and spend across entities.
- Deliver ad hoc analysis to support decisions and respond to leadership requests.
- Ensure accurate, consistent, timely reporting from Ramp, NetSuite, and adjacent systems.
- Establish reporting cadences and standards and automate reports to reduce manual effort.
Process Improvement & Automation
- Identify manual, repetitive tasks across AP and systems and design automated solutions.
- Partner with the Senior Finance Director on the finance team's broader AI and automation roadmap.
- Lead or support system implementations (e.g., Ramp go-live): testing, training, and change management.
- AI Projects & Initiatives
- Own AI-driven automation projects across AP and systems, from use case through implementation.
- Evaluate and pilot AI tools (e.g., invoice extraction, exception detection, workflow assistants) to cut manual processing.
- Build AI-assisted reporting and reconciliation tools to speed month-end close.
- Document AI project outcomes and ROI and present recommendations to the Senior Finance Director.
- Train the team on new AI tools and workflows and champion AI adoption within finance ops.
Team Management
- Manage a team of AP/T&E analysts and coordinators: hiring, onboarding, and performance management.
- Set priorities, assign workload across entities, and monitor turnaround and quality.
- Hold regular 1:1s and team meetings and coach direct reports.
- Complete performance reviews and support career development planning for the team.
- Foster a culture of accountability, process discipline, and continuous improvement.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Serve as liaison between finance operations and business stakeholders across PEAK6 entities.
- Coordinate with FP&A and Accounting on data accuracy and reporting needs.
- Communicate system changes, deadlines, and process updates clearly to affected teams.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, or related field.
- 5+ years in finance operations, accounts payable, or accounting, ideally multi-entity.
- Prior experience managing a team, including performance management and coaching.
- Working knowledge of accounting fundamentals: journal entries, reconciliations, and month-end close.
- Hands-on experience administering finance/T&E platforms (Ramp, NetSuite, or comparable) strongly preferred.
- Experience improving or automating financial processes, including AI-enabled tools.
- Strong analytical skills with advanced proficiency in Excel.
- Excellent communication skills; able to explain technical topics to non-technical audiences.
- High attention to detail and comfort operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
Preferred Qualifications
- Prior experience in a shared services or centralized finance operations model.
- Experience leading or contributing to AI or automation projects within a finance function.
- Familiarity with AI-enabled workflow tools and interest in applying them to finance operations.