Working Capital Controller

About the role

A&O Shearman is a new global industry-leading law firm, with nearly 50 offices in 29 countries worldwide. Our fluency in English law, US law, and the laws of the world’s most dynamic markets enables us to provide unmatched insight and seamless delivery to clients. We work on challenging and important deals and disputes that have the potential to shape the future. We offer exceptional opportunities for our people; opportunities to work for the world’s leading businesses; to transform the status quo, and to deliver your best work, helping you and your career to thrive, while delivering unparalleled outcomes for our clients.

Whether you’re helping clients solve complex challenges, transforming the ways we manage our business, or ensuring the smooth-running of our operations, this is an environment where you can belong and excel. We provide first-rate training and development, we are committed to an inclusive environment, and we provide support and ways of working that help you optimize your wellbeing.

What truly defines a career with us? We recruit the best and ask for the best of you. And together, we will redefine success.

Department purpose and structure
Achieving the firm’s vision requires a world-class Finance department, and our teams add value when the information we produce enables great decisions. That means producing information that is relevant, accurate and understandable and doing so as quickly as possible. It also means building relationships with the Partners and other decision-makers in the firm so that they trust us to advise them on what the information means and what the best course of action is.

Role purpose
The primary role of the US Working Capital Controller (WCC) is to add value to US partners in managing their practices by providing full lifecycle profitable cash conversion, as well as matter management and pricing support. This involves active engagement with partners and matter manager lawyers across the life of a matter. WCCs also play an active role in achieving a deep understanding of the financial metrics and risk for the legal matter, setting and monitoring matter fees versus budgets, driving client collections, client reporting, general pricing and rate support. The Working Capital Controller is also the primary liaison for US Partners and other fee earners to ensure that client invoices are being rendered and then collected in compliance with all agreed client terms, Solicitors Accounts Rules, tax regulations, and relevant A&O Shearman compliance policies.

As a Working Capital Controller, you will be expected to handle a portfolio of partners that may include those with more complex practice areas and therefore require more experienced support. While the role does not include any direct line-management responsibilities, you will have dotted line relationships with other Managers and Working Capital Controllers on the team. This will include ownership of tasks throughout the client financial process, including fostering strong relationships with the shared services center.

Key relationships

• US Head of Pricing and Commercial Management and US CFO
• Americas Senior Working Capital Managers
• Direct Working Capital Manager
• Partners, Matter Managers, and Legal Personal Assistants
• US Pricing Team
• Legal Operational Practice Managers
• Shared Service Teams in Belfast

Responsibilities

Supporting the billing process

• Meet with partners at least monthly to review current matter status and risk, obtain billing forecast information and follow up to ensure that all pledged billing is actioned in a timely manner each month.
• Oversee and follow up on the processing of action items, such as time transfer, time write off, dispatch of billing guides, disbursements, etc., handled mainly by our Revenue Assistants in our Belfast Shared Services Center.
• Oversight and review (occasional preparation/processing) of invoices, ensuring time and disbursements are accurately charged in accordance with client billing guidelines.
• Uphold Firm and departmental standards and preserve integrity of established revenue accounting controls.
• Final verification for accuracy of invoices before sending them to partners for distribution to their clients.
• Provide training and technical financial system support to Legal PAs and Fee Earners where necessary.
• Review and management to minimize working capital lock-up days – monitor trigger points where write offs occur to ensure early attention and counteraction.
• Constant review of partner inventory for working capital hygiene purposes, to clear balances no longer recoverable, in a timely manner.

Working Capital Management

• Brief assigned Working Capital Manager as required, sharing a holistic understanding of the working capital position of your partners and practice areas, with the goal to increase client profitability and minimize preventable fee write-offs.
• Take the lead on client collections wherever possible.
• Assist with matter inception process data, review engagement letter and agreements to ensure that agreed billing rates are accurate for new instructions.
• Proactively review client/matter working capital balances (WIP and Debts), take ownership of reporting on and escalating matters where we have increasing aging or client exposure.
• Send regular working capital related reporting to partners with concise narratives.
• Provide support to the cash allocations team to assist with the allocation of client-related payments.
• Oversee client money balances and ensure that funds are being applied/refunded in a timely manner.
• Review billing write offs and ensure any material amounts are escalated; prepare write-off narratives for write-off committee approval.
• Review unbilled disbursements balances and disbursements written off on a monthly basis and investigate any significant movements.
• Diligently maintain thorough matter-status notes and retain key backup and records surrounding the billing, collections, write-downs, and client money for assigned clients.

Relationship Management

• Act as trusted business advisor to assigned partners and other fee earners, working closely with their assistants and other support functions.
• Provide concise supporting materials and information to assist and prepare partners for client meetings – determine nature of meeting and provide succinct financial advice in relation to time submission, billings, profitability and collections.
• Draft matter budgets for all significant instructions in conjunction with the matter manager and ensure automatic alerts are activated to ensure progress is reported on an ongoing basis.
• Establish effective working relationships with the offshore SSC Finance Teams (Revenue, eBilling and Credit Control).

Other duties

• Involvement in ad hoc projects to help advance Firm and departmental goals.
• General administrative housekeeping requests.
• Learn and adopt usage of Firm AI tools to constantly make the Working Capital Process more accurate and efficient.
• Provide ad hoc reporting in support of Marketing/BD related efforts.
• Help in coverage of duties for peer WCCs who are out of office.
• Assisting other non-finance support teams as required.
• Missing timesheet review and follow-up.

Requirements

• Proactive self-starter with drive, enthusiasm and tenacity, possessing excellent communication skills both written and verbal. Will need to be visible with the confidence to advise, encourage, and sometimes challenge partners.
• Excellent analytical and numeracy skills are a prerequisite for the role, plus the individual will need to adopt a “broad bush,” big-picture approach and appreciate the commercial realities of a dynamic, fast-moving legal practice.
• Excellent attention to detail, prioritization, and organizational skills. Ability to work under pressure and cope with high demands and varied workloads.
• A recognized bachelor-level business degree is preferred but not essential.
• Experience with 3E financial software is advantageous but not essential.
• Intermediate level experience or above in Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint.

Pay

• For individuals assigned to or hired for this opportunity in New York, the estimated annualized base salary range for this position is $96,000 – $123,000.
• For individuals assigned to or hired for this opportunity in Dallas and Houston, the estimated annualized base salary range for this position is $75,000 – $103,000.
• The actual base salary offered will depend on the overall qualifications of the individual applicant for the position and other job-related factors permitted by law.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation and benefits package which includes a discretionary bonus
• Paid leave
• Life, health, accident, and disability insurance
• 401(k) plan