Senior Director - Global Controller

Harbor is seeking a hands-on leader to evolve the company’s global accounting, financial reporting, and controllership function. This role reports to the CFO and ensures the accuracy, consistency, timeliness, and integrity of Harbor’s financial results across the US, UK, Canada, and other global delivery locations.

About Us

Harbor is the preeminent provider of expert services across strategy, legal technology, operations, and intelligence. Our globally integrated team of 900+ strategists, technologists, and specialists partners with leading law firms, corporations, and law departments to deliver essential resources and insights. Anchored in deep knowledge, relationships, and mutual respect, Harbor is shaping the future of the legal industry.

Responsibilities

• Lead Harbor’s global accounting, financial reporting, and controllership activities across regions and entities.
• Ensure financial results are accurate, timely, well-supported, and useful for leadership decision-making.
• Oversee global close governance, including close calendars, reporting deliverables, reconciliations, review standards, and issue resolution.
• Maintain and evolve accounting policies, reporting practices, and documentation to support consistency across the global business.
• Provide guidance on complex accounting matters, including revenue recognition, accruals, commissions, leases, intercompany activity, acquisitions, and other significant transactions.
• Strengthen scalable controls across key accounting and reporting processes.
• Support a consistent approach to documentation, approvals, reconciliations, reviews, and audit support.
• Partner with external auditors and advisors on accounting, reporting, controls, and technical accounting matters.
• Partner with external tax advisors to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and international tax requirements while identifying opportunities to reduce tax exposure and improve tax efficiency.
• Ensure the organization is well-prepared for audit and compliance requirements through proactive planning and strong underlying support.
• Partner with Finance leaders and regional teams to ensure accounting activities are coordinated effectively across close, reporting, AR, AP, billing, payroll accounting, intercompany, and statutory requirements.
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, improve handoffs, reduce manual work, and increase consistency across teams and geographies.
• Support system, process, and reporting improvements that make Finance more efficient, reliable, and scalable.
• Lead and optimize accounting processes within NetSuite, Harbor’s existing ERP system, ensuring effective use of system capabilities, data integrity, and scalable reporting processes.
• Lead, coach, and develop accounting and financial reporting team members across functions and regions.
• Build strong relationships across Finance and the business, creating trust through responsiveness, accuracy, sound judgment, and practical problem-solving.
• Foster a supportive, collaborative, and accountable team culture.
• Support M&A diligence and integration activities, including accounting policy alignment, opening balance sheets, systems integration, close process integration, intercompany setup, and control considerations.
• Translate accounting, controls, and reporting topics into clear, practical recommendations for Finance and business leaders.

Requirements

• Significant accounting, financial reporting, and controllership experience in a global, multi-entity organization.
• Experience leading financial reporting, close governance, audit, reconciliations, accounting policy, controls, and accounting operations.
• Strong technical accounting knowledge and ability to evaluate and document complex accounting matters.
• Proven track record of successfully leading, developing, and organizing accounting or financial reporting teams.
• Strong understanding of ERP systems, accounting data flows, close management, reporting processes, and internal controls.
• Strong judgment, attention to detail, and ability to balance technical accuracy with business needs.
• Collaborative leadership style with the ability to influence through partnership, clarity, and trust.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to partner with senior Finance leaders, auditors, external advisors, systems teams, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Professional accounting qualifications, such as CPA, CA, ACCA, or equivalent experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a private equity-backed, acquisitive, SaaS, professional services, or global business environment.
• Experience supporting M&A diligence and integration.
• Experience with US, Canadian, and UK accounting, statutory reporting, or multi-jurisdictional reporting environments.
• Experience helping a Finance function scale through improved processes, systems, controls, and team development.
• Experience with NetSuite strongly preferred; ability to leverage an existing ERP environment to improve accounting operations, reporting, controls, and scalability.

This is a fully remote position with preference given to candidates who can work from our Chicago headquarters office.