Client Ally (Accounting & Client Services Manager)
AKA The Coolest Accounting Job You’ll Ever Have!
OUR WHY
We are here to be the game-changer and difference-maker for every changemaker so that, together, we can make the world a happier, healthier, and better place for all.
OUR JUST CAUSE
We imagine a world where every business leader feels informed and empowered to make decisions that will create positive change in their employees' and customers' lives.
We believe that the best way to do this is to democratize access to the strategies that make businesses impactful, successful, and profitable.
OUR VALUES
We live and work through our values every day. Join us to:
Put HUMANS First
See and support those around us. Celebrate our unique passions, strengths, and abilities. Demonstrate care, respect, and compassion in all we do.
CHAMPION What's Right and Good
Stand up for integrity, ethics, justice, and inclusivity. Be radically honest in the service of others and in our work.
Empower OTHERS
Elevate others to their full potential through empathy, collaboration, discovery, and a strengths-based approach.
Lead with EMPATHY AND HEART
Embody servant leadership. Work towards common goals and shared understanding of what drives us. Ignite excitement for work, life, and impact.
OUTFOX Tradition
Fearlessly embrace innovation and technology. Adopt an infinite mindset and be willing to learn, experiment, fail, adapt, and iterate.
Shine a LIGHT on It
Champion transparency and an ethical approach. Illuminate blind spots. Build on abilities and share our knowledge.
Make it FUN
‘Nuf said. :)
To that end…
We are committed to providing world-class support to our team and clients.
We believe in servant leadership.
We do not micromanage, and we do not create busy work.
We work smarter not harder to achieve high quality of life and work product.
We have zero tolerance for drama.
We believe that everyone has the right to question processes and ask for help.
We believe in taking time off when we need it.
We believe that if team members are trusted and supported well, everyone wins.
WHAT WE DO
Blue Fox cheerfully provides nonprofits and social enterprises with the highest quality accounting, advisory, payroll, compliance, HR, tax, and other consulting support. We work with dozens of companies all over the country as a fully virtual outsourced finance department. Focused on deep impact and long-term relationships, we solve the back office pain points for all our clients.
Our proactive, warm, and thoughtful approach has led to remarkable growth at Blue Fox year over year since we started in 2015. Our mindset is human-centered and tech-forward, and we invite you to grow with us as we continue to disrupt the traditional accounting firm model.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Blue Fox is looking for a Client Ally – a unique combination of an experienced accountant and a tirelessly positive client care advocate. The Client Ally is an accountant with several years of work experience, preferably in nonprofit or public accounting, a proven track record as a leader and team member, and likely an accounting degree.
The ideal individual is a servant leader who is customer service-oriented, analytical, self-disciplined, extremely detail-oriented, tech-savvy, and warm-hearted. (We know – we’re looking for a FOXicorn!)
The Client Ally is charged with controller/CFO-level tasks, accounting and payroll oversight, client care, and relationship management for up to 10 client accounts.
The Client Ally may be supported by, and manager of up to 3 bookkeepers. Ensuring the keepers of books are happy, healthy, and high functioning is job #1 for the Client Ally. Keeping Blue Fox clients happy is a close second.
The Client Ally trains and collaborates with the senior accounting team regularly. An open, authentic, light-hearted, and learning demeanor is required for success. Blue Fox is a fast-growing company, and we seek innovative, forward-thinking team members capable of going with the flow and adjusting to ever-changing internal and external needs.
TIME COMMITMENT
This is a full-time position, 32-40 hours/week required. A negotiable, flexible schedule is offered to accommodate working parents and caregivers. Overtime is not expected and rarely required.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS
We are happy to provide competitive pay commensurate with experience, education, and your unique value added. The expected pay range is $60,000-75,000/year. Increased compensation may be offered based on experience and skills.
Benefits for full-time employees (valued at $28,000 annually) include:
- Group medical, vision, dental, life, and disability insurance
- 401k with a 4% employer match
- Office equipment, computer, and cell phone allowance
- All federal holidays are honored as paid time off
- Paid time off the week of Thanksgiving and between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day
- Sick leave and partially paid parental leave
- Unlimited PTO (paid time off) + paid time off incentives
- Financial support for continuing education
- Annual performance bonuses
We strive to treat our team not just as we want to be treated, but as they themselves want to be treated. If you have additional benefit needs or requests, please bring them to us during the application process.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
This is a virtual/remote position – our team and clients are distributed across the US. The Client Ally must have high-speed internet access, a dedicated work computer, a device with a web camera, and a home office or other suitable workspace conducive to deep thinking, phone, and video calls. The Client Ally must be available intermittently throughout the day to respond to client and team communications. Read more about Blue Fox client services on our website.
ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES
1) Manage a portfolio (AKA a Blue Fox “client den”) of up to 10 clients and our relationships with client staff:
a. Provide top-notch accounting and advisory services with professionalism and warmth. b. Maintain regular, professional, and cheerful client service and support with a focus on proactive problem-solving of client pain points. c. Create strong bonds with client staff and points of contact; foster trust, collaboration, kindness, and empathy between stakeholders. d. Continuously look for opportunities to streamline client and internal processes and build efficiencies in financial workflows. e. Develop a deep understanding of our value-added for each client relationship and use that to balance the priorities and needs of each client on a rolling basis. f. Take a 30,000-foot view of client accounting functions and records. Make ongoing recommendations for improvements to data architecture and systems.
2) Coach, oversee, and support the bookkeeper(s) assigned to your client den:
a. Support and supervise your accounting team's work daily. b. Regularly review their assigned tasks and help them to prioritize their workload. c. Provide guidance and feedback to ensure tasks are completed accurately and efficiently. d. Ensure procedures are fully documented and updated regularly. e. Coach and train new and existing staff to help your bookkeepers level up. f. Hold weekly meetings with your team to create opportunities for learning, support, and team building. g. Solve your team’s issues related to software quirks, integrations, and data entry errors. h. Work with software tech support as needed. i. Coach your team on documentation and professional communication.
3) Payroll oversight and execution and related payroll accounting:
a. Ensure all payroll deadlines are met. b. Oversee the bookkeeping team’s execution on payroll; provide support as needed. c. Support the management of and accounting for client benefits and retirement plans. d. Ensure client payroll/employee records are accurate and up to date on a rolling basis. e. Lead and support client staff onboarding and offboarding to payroll platforms. f. Reconcile payroll journals to the general ledger and ensure accurate accounting and payroll allocations across functional expenses, departments, or locations. g. Evaluate opportunities to streamline the management of client payroll.
4) Monitor compliance needs:
a. With guidance from our payroll and HR partners, ensure that clients are compliant with federal, state, and local compliance requirements. b. Ensure compliance deadlines (income tax returns, state registrations, charitable solicitation registration, etc.) are met by our team and/or clients. c. Support sales tax reporting and accounting as needed. d. Communicate with clients and solve compliance issues as needed.
5) Provide support to sales or philanthropy teams:
a. Hold regular meetings with client revenue generators to ensure alignment between sales/donation records and the general ledger. b. Confidently communicate with revenue generators about the differences between the two data sets. c. Consider and recommend process improvements to ensure more insightful and accurate reporting.
6) Take the lead on most risk management activities:
a. Ensure that our workflows adhere to established financial controls and policies. b. Identify control gaps and work with the clients/our team to resolve them. c. Coach bookkeepers to watch for and understand fraudulent bank and credit card transactions. d. Lead the process of transaction fraud mitigation when it occurs. e. Identify internal and external fraud risks and work with clients to mitigate them. f. Review and recommend changes to client insurance policies.
7) Act as a final approver of all month and year-end closing activities for each client:
a. Review bank and credit card reconciliations for accuracy, verify balances, and investigate discrepancies. b. Review all journal entries made by the accounting team. This can include everything from daily transactions to adjusting entries made at the end of the period. c. Verify the accuracy of revenue recognition for the period, including restricted and unrestricted donations, multi-year grants, reimbursable or fee-for-service grants, conditional pledges, capital campaign pledges, deferred revenue, and fundraising event revenue. d. Ensure all expenses have been categorized and recorded accurately. Understand and review the accuracy of functional expense allocations (program, administrative, and fundraising expenses). e. Check fund allocations to ensure the accuracy of restricted and unrestricted fund balances. f. Review grant and fee-for-service contracts to determine their accounting needs. Adjust accounting procedures for the bookkeeping team as needed. g. Review any adjusting entries that need to be made. This could include things like recognizing in-kind contributions or accounting for depreciation of assets. h. Assess the effectiveness of accounting procedures and controls, making sure that they are being consistently applied and meet all compliance standards. i. Reconcile balance sheet accounts for the period and adjust balances as needed. j. Manage the month-end close process and ensure that all required work is completed within the established deadlines and that financial reports are prepared on time.
8) Prepare monthly financial statements and supporting analysis:
a. With extreme accuracy and attention to detail, review or prepare standard and monthly financial statements. b. Provide highlights and observations on the financial statements upon request. c. Update custom pro formas, dashboards, and cash flow forecasts as needed or… d. Ensure automated reporting tools (via review and analysis platforms) are operational and accurate.
9) Present monthly financial statements to clients:
a. Lead monthly meetings with client principals to discuss their financials. b. Confidently present your financial opinion, significant trends, variance analysis, and any other relevant insights. c. Have a working understanding of industry benchmarks and macroeconomic trends that may impact the financial position of our clients. d. Present to nonprofit finance committees, boards, and other stakeholders as required.
10) Support the annual budget development process for all clients:
a. Lead and/or support client staff in the development of their annual budget. b. Manage the budget development calendar and timeline to ensure budget approval prior to fiscal year-end. c. Work with the bookkeepers to provide detailed reports and recommendations to client staff during the budget process. d. Create spreadsheets to automate the budget data gathering and input into the accounting software. e. Review client-prepared budget worksheets for accuracy. f. Develop budget narrative and assumptions in collaboration with clients. g. Be prepared to present budgets and variance reports to committees and boards.
11) Take point on external audit and tax preparation support annually:
a. Serve as the main point of contact for external auditors during financial audits. b. Liaise with client staff and the bookkeepers to provide accounting schedules and test transaction records. c. Ensure all records are accurate, complete, and compliant with financial regulations and standards. d. Identify strategies to make the audit process smoother and more efficient. e. Review drafts of the audited financials and management letters with clients; make recommendations and request revisions when required.
12) Support and/or lead banking relationships and treasury management:
a. Work with client bankers to secure lines of credit, manage investment vehicles and stock transfers, and anti-fraud protections. b. Monitor banking and FDIC risk for all cash accounts. c. Facilitate wires and bank transfers upon client request. d. Understand client cash flow and business cycles to make appropriate recommendations for cash management.
13) Act as a financial technology champion for all client accounts:
a. Continuously evaluate the financial tech stack in use for all client accounts. b. Make recommendations for technology adoption to improve efficiency. c. Coach bookkeepers to automate as much of their daily work as possible.
KEY PERSONALITY TRAITS FOR SUCCESS
- Kindness and honesty are non-negotiable – this is a no-drama environment
- Humility and the ability to ask for help or support are also a must
- A deep love of data (numbers nerds only, please!)
- Commitment to putting your team and your clients first and strong ethics required
- Sense of humor (it’s just accounting – not life or death!)
- An innovative, systems approach to tasks
- A keen ability to identify opportunities for automation and streamlining workflows
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: SKILLS & EXPERIENCE
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in accounting or a related field
- 5+ years of accounting experience with demonstrated management experience
- Proven track record of managing multiple clients’ or companies’ books
- CPA or EA preferred
- Nonprofit accounting experience, or CNAP, CNC, or similar nonprofit certification preferred
- Strong understanding of GAAP and nonprofit accounting standards required
- Government grant accounting and reporting experience preferred
- QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor Certification (basic) required; Advanced certification preferred
- BILL and Gusto certification a plus
- Advanced Excel and Office365 skills
- Experience working with forecasting and financial projection tools like Fathom, Digits, or similar
- Experience with Asana, Slack, Hive, or similar
- Comfort with cloud-based technologies and document storage tools
- Interest in deepening your skill sets as needed to get the job done
- Superior organizational and leadership skills required
- Excellent communication and writing skills
- Extreme attention to detail
- Deep commitment to client confidentiality (NDA required)
- Extra consideration will be given to candidates who have demonstrable experience in people, portfolio, or program management
- US-based applicants only please
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Please submit a RESUME AND COVER LETTER. If selected to advance through the process, you will be asked to submit a video response to a series of questions. You will then have a series of video interviews, and you will be required to complete some skills tests. You will also be asked to complete a national background check during the application process and supply at least three references.
OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Our goal is to be a diverse and inclusive workforce that is representative, at all levels, of the organizations and communities we serve. Blue Fox embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. We strive to be a virtual workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.
We strongly encourage the following equity groups to self-identify during the application process: women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, and veterans.
Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.
BLUE FOX: Agile Accounting for Impact | www.yourbluefox.com | 321.233.3311
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $60,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) 4% Match
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Disability insurance
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid sick time
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Referral program
- Retirement plan
- Travel reimbursement
- Tuition reimbursement
- Unlimited paid time off
- Vision insurance
- Work from home
Schedule:
Supplemental Pay:
Education:
Experience:
- Accounting: 5 years (Required)
- Non-profit accounting: 2 years (Required)
License/Certification:
- Quickbooks ProAdvisor Certification (Required)
Work Location: Remote
