Senior Manager of Client Accounting
New York, NY; Roseland, NJ or Washington, DC
Summary
Reporting to the Director of Revenue, the Senior Manager of Client Accounting will manage the lifecycle of all billing, collections and eBilling process for assigned clients and partners. More specifically this role will function at a more strategic level within the revenue team while maintaining a sharp eye on details. The Senior Manager of Client Accounting will be the primary point of contact for assigned partners and clients to promptly resolve any issues to facilitate getting invoices across the finish line (processed and paid) and meet department objectives. This role will have high visibility to assigned partners, and other senior leadership and stakeholders.
The individual in this position is responsible for leading and overseeing the billing and collection teams for specific partners and clients and in conjunction with firm best practices as well as in accordance with client requirements. Working as an integral member of the revenue team, this individual will lead initiatives with the billing managers, collections manager, pricing and client compliance / on boarding that reduce errors, cycle times for billings and collections and lead to enhanced client compliance and satisfaction.
This position will (i) collaborate with partners, practice group leaders and other finance teams including the client on-boarding, pricing and billing teams, (ii) ensure team members are receiving appropriate training and development to respond effectively to partner or client requests, (iii) ensure team members are following client outside counsel guidelines and rates are in-line with client agreements before billing, and (iv) ensure quality and timely reporting for senior management.
Essential Job Requirements
- Build strong relationships across finance as well as with practice groups and partners
- Oversee and lead the billing and collection process to ensure accurate and timely invoicing and payment of clients for assigned partners and individual clients
- Collaborate with internal clients and other finance teams, such as pricing and ebilling, to ensure accurate client invoices, submission requirements, and reporting
- Manage all off-cycle billings for transactional matters ensuring completeness of time entries, amounts owed and estimates to complete to ensure billings at closings are complete and accurate
- Maintain deal closing information and follow up on a timely basis
- Respond to billing and AR inquiries from assigned partners and clients
- Monitor AR reports and follow-up with partners to escalate any billing or collection issues or delays
- Performs regular audits of invoices to identify billing errors; identify training or development gaps on team and address
- Ensure teams have documented for their areas of responsibility their partner requirements, key client requirements (billing, collecting, fee arrangements) in order to allow more streamlined collaboration and coverage among teams
- Identify opportunities to improve billing efficiency and accuracy and implement strategies to achieve these goals
- Review and analyze overall billing and collection data to identify trends and areas for improvement and follow up by the collections team
- Provide monthly updates on unbilled time and AR status, including reports, metrics and presentations
- Ensure team timely and accurately updates key finance reports (e.g., projection amounts, clear and concise billing or AR comments), to improve reporting for Senior Management
- Participate in office and/or practice group meetings to understand strategy, challenges, goals of assigned practice groups or offices
- Together with the Revenue Management Team, manage and lead the revenue team and provide training, development, and support; including review and updating of billing policies and procedures; best practices; and client requirements
- Together with firm and revenue team management, develop and implement continuous process improvement reviews in order to help shorten revenue cycle timing, improve reporting, and matter intake information
- Coordinate with technology teams, as needed
- Special projects, as assigned
Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, or related fields
- Minimum of 7 years of relevant billing and client relationship experience at a law firm is required
- Proven record of implementing operational and procedural improvements
- Proficiency with Aderant, Excel and Word
- An innovative team player that is willing to pitch in when needed and offer ideas to better the group
- Flexibility to work outside of the business day to meet deadlines for closings, month end and the like
- Excellent writing, organizational and communication skills, which are effective at all levels, particularly with attorneys
- Detail-oriented with a mastery of billing and collections processes, ability to investigate issues and errors, as well as strong interpersonal skills
- Ability to work effectively in a collaborative, consensus-driven, partnership environment with highly skilled professionals
Schedule: Full-time, Monday through Friday
NY: 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
NJ: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
DC: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Amount of Travel Required: 10-25%
*For candidates meeting the requirements, the expected base salary is $160,000 to $175,000. The range provided is the salary that the Firm in good faith believes at the time of this posting that it is willing to pay for the advertised position. Exact compensation will be determined based on individual candidate qualifications and location. Our benefits package includes coverage options for medical, dental, vision, prescription drug, life insurance, disability, FSAs, 401K, and paid time off.
**This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties or responsibilities required by employee.
***The Firm is committed to equal employment opportunity and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. We value and encourage diversity and solicit applications from all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
#LI-Hybrid
Job Type: Full-time, Hybrid
Salary: $160,000 to $175,000, plus bonus
Date Active: 5.10.2024
Exempt/Not Exempt: Exempt