Finance Manager

Finance Manager

Location: Brea CA

Reports To: Managing Partner / Firm Administrator

Employment Type: Full-Time - Hybrid

Salary Range: $115000 - $125000 base

About the Role

NOW CFO is conducting a private search on behalf of a growing law firm in Orange County with a statewide presence. We are seeking an experienced Finance Manager to lead budgeting forecasting and financial reporting for the firm. This role is central to giving partners the financial clarity and visibility they need to make confident decisions.

This is a role for someone who thrives on turning financial data into clear actionable insight and who has direct experience working within a law firm environment.

What Youll Do

Budgeting & Forecasting

• Build and maintain the firms annual budget
• Track actual performance against budget and proactively flag variances
• Develop rolling forecasts to support partner decision-making
• Model cash flow needs and support partner draw planning

Ad Hoc & Management Reporting

• Produce fast-turnaround custom reports on request: profitability by client matter practice group or attorney
• Prepare analysis and materials for partner meetings and budget reviews
• Build and maintain dashboards to track firm KPIs
• Translate financial data into clear digestible insights for partners and firm leadership

Law Firm-Specific Financial Analysis

• Support billing analysis across fee arrangements including hourly flat fee contingency and hybrid structures
• Pull and interpret data from the firms practice management/billing system to support financial reporting and analysis

Team Leadership

• Oversee an accounting team of 7 providing guidance direction and performance management
• Ensure the teams day-to-day work supports timely accurate financial reporting and analysis
• Serve as the primary point of escalation for the accounting team

What You Bring

Required

• 5 years of progressive finance experience with a focus on budgeting forecasting and reporting
• Direct experience working in a law firm environment (required) familiarity with matter-based accounting legal billing structures and law firm financial operations
• Strong track record in budgeting forecasting and variance analysis
• Demonstrated ability to build ad hoc reports quickly and accurately including profitability analysis by client matter or practice group
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables lookups financial modeling)
• Experience working with legal practice management or time-and-billing software (e.g. Clio Aderant Elite PracticePanther or similar)
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to present financial information clearly to partners and non-financial stakeholders
• Prior experience managing or leading a team

Preferred

• Experience in Orion Accounting Software
• Experience with alternative fee arrangements and their financial/revenue implications
• Familiarity with partnership accounting concepts (partner capital accounts distributions)
• Experience with BI/dashboard tools (Power BI Tableau or similar)
• Bachelors degree in Accounting Finance or related field

What Success Looks Like in This Role

• Partners have timely accurate budget-to-actual reporting and can trust the numbers behind key decisions

• Ad hoc requests are turned around quickly with minimal back-and-forth for clarification
• The annual budgeting process runs smoothly with realistic targets and clear variance tracking throughout the year
• Financial reporting bridges the gap between the firms billing/practice management systems and the general ledger so partners see one consistent picture of firm performance

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary: $115000 - $125000 commensurate with experience

• Benefits: health insurance Dental Vision retirement plan life insurance FSA PTO
• Hybrid schedule (3 days in office / 2 days remote)