Director of Finance (Controller)

Friday, Eldredge & Clark seeks Director of Finance / Controller (Little Rock)

Become a valued team member in one of Arkansas’ largest, premier law firms. 

Position Summary

Friday Eldredge & Clark, LLP, an Arkansas law firm with offices in Little Rock and Rogers, Arkansas, seeks an experienced Director of Finance and Controller to provide strategic and operational leadership over the Firm’s financial affairs.

The Finance Leader will be responsible for accounting, budgeting, cash management, billing and collections, payroll and benefits, tax and banking relationships, internal controls, financial systems and the leadership and supervision of the Firm’s accounting and billing personnel.

The successful candidate will understand the operations of a professional services organization and will be able to translate financial information into clear, practical recommendations for lawyers and Firm leadership. The position requires both strategic judgment and a willingness to remain closely engaged in the Firm’s day-to-day financial operations.

Reporting Relationship

The Finance Leader will report to the Managing Partner and will work closely with the Management Committee, Practice Group Leaders, Partners and other lawyers.

Principal Responsibilities

Strategic Financial Leadership

·       Serve as the principal financial adviser to the Managing Partner and Management Committee.

·       Develop and maintain the Firm’s annual budget, multiyear financial plan and rolling forecasts.

·       Provide objective financial analysis to support compensation, capital expenditure and major operating decisions.

·       Identify financial opportunities, emerging risks and corrective actions before they materially affect Firm performance.

·       Present financial results and recommendations clearly and credibly to Partners and Firm leadership.

Law-Firm Economics and Performance

·       Develop and maintain reporting concerning revenue, profitability, utilization, realization, leverage, billing rates, discounts, write-downs, work in process and accounts receivable.

·       Analyze profitability by client, matter, lawyer, practice group and office, recognizing the limitations and appropriate uses of profitability data.

·       Work with Firm leadership and responsible attorneys to improve pricing, matter budgeting, staffing and financial performance.

·       Support the compensation process with accurate and timely financial information, while maintaining strict confidentiality.

·       Establish dashboards that provide Firm leadership with timely and actionable information.

Accounting, Reporting and Controls

·       Oversee the Firm’s accounting functions, including the general ledger, accounts payable, payroll, billing, collections, trust accounting and financial reporting.

·       Ensure timely and accurate monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements.

·       Establish and maintain appropriate accounting policies, approval procedures, segregation of duties and internal controls.

·       Ensure compliance with applicable trust-accounting requirements and the Firm’s financial policies.

·       Coordinate the Firm’s annual financial statement, tax and retirement plan reporting.

·       Maintain effective controls addressing wire fraud, payment fraud, cybersecurity-related financial risk and unauthorized access to financial systems.

Cash, Capital and Banking

·       Prepare and maintain short-term and long-term cash-flow forecasts.

·       Manage the Firm’s banking, treasury, credit-facility and cash-investment relationships.

·       Coordinate Partner banking and tax information and work with outside tax advisers regarding federal and state tax matters.

Billing and Collections

·       Provide executive oversight of time entry, prebilling, billing and collections.

·       Work constructively with attorneys to reduce billing delays, aged work in process and aged accounts receivable.

·       Establish appropriate collection procedures, escalation protocols and reporting.

·       Improve billing accuracy, electronic billing performance and compliance with client billing guidelines.

·       Analyze write-offs, discounts and collection trends and recommend appropriate action.

Technology and Process Improvement

·       Provide financial leadership for the selection, implementation and effective use of the Firm’s practice-management, accounting, billing, budgeting and business-intelligence systems.

·       Automate manual processes and improve the timeliness and reliability of financial information.

·       Develop responsible uses of data analytics and artificial intelligence within the finance function.

·       Work with information technology leadership to protect the confidentiality, availability and integrity of financial data.

Retirement Plans and Employee Benefits

·       Oversee the administration of the Firm’s retirement plans and employee-benefit programs, including health, hospitalization, prescription-drug, dental, vision, life, disability and other insurance benefits.

·       Manage relationships with retirement plan recordkeepers, third-party administrators, investment advisers, insurance brokers, carriers, auditors, legal counsel and other service providers.

·       Support the Retirement Plan Committee in conducting and documenting periodic reviews of plan investments, service providers, fees and plan performance.

·       Lead the financial evaluation and annual renewal process for health, hospitalization, prescription-drug, dental, vision, life, disability and other employee-benefit programs.

·       Coordinate with HR and outside advisers regarding compliance with ERISA, the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, HIPAA, tax-reporting requirements and other applicable employee-benefit laws.

·       Coordinate with HR on annual enrollment, employee communications and implementation of benefit changes, while HR remains primarily responsible for participant enrollment, employee questions and individual benefit or claim matters.

·       Protect the confidentiality of employee health, compensation and benefit information and restrict access to such information in accordance with applicable law and Firm policy.

Team Leadership

·       Recruit, develop and retain a capable and service-oriented finance team.

·       Establish clear responsibilities, performance standards, succession plans and professional-development expectations.

·       Foster a culture of accuracy, accountability, responsiveness and continuous improvement.

·       Ensure that the finance department provides timely and professional service to lawyers, staff, clients and vendors.

Required Qualifications

·       Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration or a related field.

·       At least 10 years of progressively responsible accounting or financial-management experience, including at least 3 years leading an accounting or finance function.

·       Experience as a CFO, vice president of finance, finance director, controller or comparable senior financial executive.

·       Demonstrated competence in budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, cash management, internal controls and financial analysis.

·       Experience supervising accounting, billing, collections and financial-reporting personnel.

·       Experience with enterprise accounting, practice management or professional services financial systems.

·       Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and spreadsheet-based financial analysis, including pivot tables, complex formulas, data modeling and reporting, together with proficiency in SQL for querying, extracting and analyzing financial and operational data.

·       Demonstrated ability to communicate complex financial matters clearly to senior executives, owners or partners.

·       Sound judgment, discretion and a demonstrated record of handling highly confidential information.

·       Strong leadership, interpersonal and change-management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

·       Significant financial management experience with a law firm or other partner-owned professional services organization.

·       CPA, CMA, CGMA or MBA. A CPA license is preferred but is not required.

·       Familiarity with law firm practice management and accounting platforms such as Aderant or comparable systems.

·       Experience with law firm pricing, matter budgeting, profitability analysis, and trust accounting.

·       Experience managing bank relationships.

Leadership Attributes

The successful candidate should be:

·       A strategic thinker who is also comfortable engaging with operational details.

·       Credible and composed when working with partners holding differing perspectives.

·       Able to challenge assumptions respectfully and support recommendations with reliable data.

·       Collaborative, service-oriented and capable of building consensus without sacrificing financial discipline.

·       Highly ethical, discreet, and committed to the confidentiality obligations of a law firm.

·       Proactive, organized, and able to establish priorities in a deadline-driven environment.

Measures of Success

During the first year, the Finance Leader will be expected to:

·       Establish reliable monthly reporting, forecasts, and executive dashboards.

·       Improve visibility into client, matter and practice group performance.

·       Strengthen cash forecasting, billing and collection processes.

·       Evaluate the Firm’s internal controls, finance staffing and financial systems.

·       Deliver a disciplined annual budgeting and planning process.

·       Develop constructive working relationships with Firm leadership, Partners and the finance team.

Compensation

The Firm offers a competitive executive compensation package consisting of base salary, annual performance incentive and comprehensive benefits. Salary is dependent upon experience, qualifications and demonstrated law firm or professional services expertise.

Application review will begin the week of October 12, 2026. Early application is encouraged.