Accounting & Operations Support Manager

Meet the Company: 

We are MERU. A values-driven, impact-oriented team dedicated to fixing companies. We provide advisory services and data analytics support to middle-market companies. Our clients include private equity firms, credit funds, investment banks, and law firms. We bring deep turnaround experience, a group of veteran operators, and an incentive-aligned approach to any situation. The company was founded by professionals from Alvarez & Marsal and McKinsey and has seen rapid growth for MERU in the five-plus years since its founding.

MERU’s service offerings include transaction services, performance improvement (EBITDA/cash potential), interim management (CEO, CRO, CFO), restructuring services (liquidity management, business plan development, and review, and restructuring plan design and execution), and data insights services (data warehouse/ data lake development, data modeling, dashboarding, AI / ML expertise). MERU primarily caters to middle-market companies with $50M - $2B in annual sales and has deep relationships in the private equity and private credit communities.

The MERU Way: 

When you join MERU, you will help our clients solve their most pressing problems, supported by a team of people who will challenge you, support you, and inspire you. We focus on training people to be well-rounded individuals to deliver impact to clients, allowing all team members to gain experience in diligence, turnarounds, interim management, data science, and more. MERU provides an internal Coach to work with a team member on their professional development plan goals. Finally, MERU values personal time, only traveling when necessary in order to celebrate and respect your personal life. Learn more about our colleagues’ core characteristics and culture here: The MERU Way. 

About the Role

MERU is looking for a full-cycle finance professional to join our team and support both the accounting and operational objectives of the firm. In this role, you’ll partner with responsive team members who see the value you bring daily and be one of the key players in continuing our pattern of success by assisting with the management of the firm’s financial results and adjacent operational processes. We are looking for someone who will drive success by helping maintain timely and accurate financial and operational data – and interacting with internal team members to ensure the data is captured, disseminated, and analyzed to support the overall strategic objectives of a growing Professional Services Firm.

Accounting & Operations Support Manager Responsibilities:

• Prepare client invoices based on the terms of the executed engagement letters, along with engagement-specific invoicing reports.
• Regularly communicate updates on outstanding receivables and other essential engagement metrics to the engagement partner.
• Assist with adherence to federal, state, and local regulatory requirements through the creation of required reports and gathering of necessary data. Additionally, ensure ongoing compliance by studying existing and new legislation and rulings and assisting with a plan of action to ensure future compliance, as well as standing-up reporting in any new legal jurisdictions or with other governmental entities.
• Support the finance function in designing, implementing, and managing the annual budget.
• Assist the finance function in implementing and/or redesigning the accounting reporting infrastructure to facilitate tracking and reporting financial data across multiple legal entities.
• Review accounting transactions to ensure proper functional area and general ledger account classification.
• Support the tax compliance process through the creation of reports and gathering of required financial and qualitative data.
• Aid in the monthly payroll process through the creation of periodic and off-cycle payroll runs and reconciling transactions back to the accounting records.
• Assist with preparing and reviewing month-end balance sheet reconciliations.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of policies and procedures (i.e., internal controls) around financial and related operational tasks and assist with ensuring compliance with stated processes.
• Possess heightened ability to establish meaningful connections between the day-to-day operations of the firm and strategic initiatives of the business, effectively aligning them with the corresponding financial transactions and records.
• Help prepare detailed reports for periodic internal “earnings” calls and discussions with the management team.
• Act as a liaison between technical and non-technical teams, facilitating effective communication and ensuring a shared understanding of project goals and progress.
• Collaborate and assist with managing the customer relationship database in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and ensuring data captured is complete and accurate based on established processes and controls.
• Work with external and internal business teams to support Dynamics 365 system enhancements, upgrades, and migrations.
• Assist with reconciling financial and non-financial data between original data sources and various operational and financial dashboards.
• Manage change requests, scope re-alignments, and project documentation relative to Dynamics 365 while maintaining a focus on project objectives and timelines.
• Identify opportunities for innovation and improvement within the Dynamics 365 environment.
• Support overall firm strategic initiatives through the management of items outlined above. 

Accounting & Operations Support Manager Qualifications:

• 3-5 years of demonstrated progressive accounting and/or operational experience with a professional services firm or in a similar industry.
• Expertise working with accounting and time management software (preferably Xero and Harvest)
• Previous experience with Dynamics 365 and understanding of interaction of data captured in the platform with functional areas across the firm.
• Strong Excel skills, possessing the ability to design and implement complex spreadsheets for the purposes of analyzing data and providing operational and financial business insights.
• Ability to establish and maintain collaborative working relationships with firm stakeholders and peers across the firm.
• Requirement to understand, analyze, and communicate financial and related operational trends with firm leadership.
• Possession of strong understanding of US GAAP and how this interacts with day-to-day transactions within the firm.
• Ability to communicate financial data and related operational trends with firm leadership.
• Experience working with multi-entity accounting environments, including recording monthly, recurring transactions between entities and with consolidations.
• Outstanding communication (both written and verbal), interpersonal and problem-solving skills.
• Strong time management skills and ability to adjust and be agile as the business demands change.
• Must be able to work independently in a fast-paced environment and determine prioritization across competing priorities.
• Must be able to exercise discretion by ensuring financial and compensation-related data remains confidential. 

Accounting & Operations Support Manager Commitments:

• Full-time
• Ability to work in person (hybrid work arrangements may be discussed)
• Located in Atlanta, GA

Overview of MERU Service Offerings:  

Performance Improvement: 

Help companies identify and achieve their full potential by leveraging a value-focused approach to driving sustainable margin expansion impact. Services include MERU 360° Assessment, Transformation Plan Development, Chief Transformation Officer placement, Cash Cycle and Working Capital Optimization, and Implementation Performance Management.

Turnaround & Restructuring: 

Partner with clients during uncertain times to help stabilize operations and rapidly triage the causes of financial distress, charting a path back to long-term sustainability. Services include Interim Management, Turnaround Plan Development and Execution, Liquidity Management, Stakeholder Negotiations, Strategic Alternatives Assessment, Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Case Management.

Transaction Services: 

Partner with private equity firms across the investment lifecycle, from due diligence to portfolio value creation and exit planning. Services include Due Diligence, Pre-Close Planning, Post-Close Implementation, and Exit Planning.

Data Insights: 

Work with companies at all stages of their digital transformation journey to automate reporting processes, build scalable data platforms, and leverage predictive analytics to transform data from a liability into an asset. Services include Data Discovery and Analysis, Data Prep and Integration, Self-Service Analytics, Data Visualization and Reporting, Data Science and Advanced Analytics, and Strategy Enablement.

Voluntary Inclusion 

It is MERU’s policy to provide and promote equal opportunity in employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination because of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, pregnancy, marital status, family status, religion, national origin, age or disability or any other non-merit based factor in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. 

Unsolicited Resumes from Third-Party Recruiters 

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters unless such recruiters are engaged to provide candidates for a specified opening. Any employment agency, person, or entity that submits an unsolicited resume does so with the understanding that MERU will have the right to hire that applicant at its discretion without any fee owed to the submitting employment agency, person, or entity.