Director, Finance Transformation

ABOUT HORIZON FIVE

Horizon Five is a practitioner-led consulting firm helping organizations improve performance through data, analytics, automation, AI, business process redesign, and practical transformation. We are not traditional consultants. Our team brings hands-on operating experience and partners with clients to solve real problems, strengthen controls, improve workflows, and build sustainable capability.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Horizon Five is seeking a Director-level Finance Transformation leader who can own client relationships, lead complex transformation programs, and stay close enough to the work to guide practical delivery. This role is more of an Engagement Leader level: credible with CFOs, Controllers, Finance leaders, auditors, IT partners, and process owners, while also strong enough in automation, SOX, data, and finance process redesign to shape how the work actually gets done.

The right candidate brings meaningful transformation experience and can lead multiple client engagements, identify expansion opportunities, translate ambiguous business problems into structured delivery plans, and guide teams building workflows, controls, reporting, and automation solutions.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Lead client engagements across finance transformation, automation, SOX controls improvement, reporting, close optimization, and ERP-enabled process redesign.
• Own senior client relationships, facilitate executive and working sessions, manage expectations, and convert business priorities into clear project requirements, milestones, and deliverables.
• Diagnose current-state finance and accounting processes, identify inefficiencies, control gaps, data issues, and automation opportunities, and define practical future-state solutions.
• Guide the design of workflows, reporting models, dashboards, data flows, automation requirements, control matrices, and operating cadences that improve accuracy, speed, and accountability.
• Ensure SOX, internal controls, audit readiness, ITGC considerations, ITACs, segregation of duties, approval workflows, evidence capture, and audit trails are built into transformation solutions.
• Partner with technical teams to implement automation and analytics solutions using tools such as Alteryx, SQL, Power BI, Tableau, Workato, Fivetran, Snowflake, Excel/Power Query, AI tools, or similar platforms.
• Lead and coach managers, analysts, and technical resources, reviewing work quality, unblocking issues, and stepping in when needed to keep delivery credible and client-ready.
• Identify risks early, including scope creep, data quality issues, stakeholder misalignment, adoption barriers, and control design concerns, and resolve or escalate before they affect client outcomes.
• Support growth by identifying expansion opportunities within existing accounts, shaping proposals, scoping new work, and bringing a practical point of view to client transformation priorities.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Clients view the Director as a trusted advisor who understands their finance operating model and can turn ambiguity into action.
• Transformation work results in measurable improvements to process efficiency, reporting quality, automation adoption, control strength, and audit readiness.
• Engagements move forward without constant senior-leader intervention because client communication, delivery planning, and team execution are well-managed.
• Horizon Five expands client relationships because the work is credible, practical, and tied to clear business outcomes.
• Teams develop stronger delivery discipline, reusable methods, and confidence in how H5 leads finance transformation and automation work.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• 10+ years of experience in finance transformation, accounting transformation, controllership, SOX/internal controls, audit, ERP transformation, automation, analytics, consulting, or related advisory work.
• Demonstrated experience leading transformation initiatives from current-state assessment through design, implementation, adoption, and value realization.
• Strong understanding of finance/accounting processes such as record-to-report, close/consolidation, FP&A, management reporting, order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, revenue accounting, or operational reporting.
• Experience with SOX requirements, control design, audit evidence, risk assessments, remediation planning, control documentation, and interaction with internal or external auditors.
• Comfort with automation, analytics, and AI-enabled efficiency, including the ability to identify use cases and guide teams translating business requirements into workable solutions.
• Working knowledge of ERP and finance systems such as SAP/S4HANA, Oracle, NetSuite, Workday, Oracle EPM, Anaplan, BlackLine, FloQast, or similar platforms.
• Extensive experience/skill with automation and analytics tools such as Alteryx, SQL, Power BI, Tableau, Workato, Fivetran, Snowflake, Smartsheet, Excel/Power Query, Python, ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or similar tools.
• Ability to lead senior stakeholders, manage client requirements and delivery timelines, write clear status updates and executive summaries, and coach teams toward practical outcomes.
• CPA, CIA, CISA, Big Four, public accounting, advisory, controllership, finance transformation, or corporate transformation experience preferred.

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

• Engagement Leader profile: senior enough to own clients and expand relationships, practical enough to understand how the work gets delivered.
• Transformation leader with strong finance/accounting credibility and a clear point of view on automation, AI, data, controls, and sustainable process change.
• Credible with CFOs, Controllers, Finance leaders, auditors, IT partners, and process owners.
• Strong communicator who can lead the room, structure the work, and help teams move from diagnosis to execution.
• Low ego, high ownership, comfortable in a fast-moving consulting environment, and motivated by helping clients improve how work gets done.
• Experience with a digital accelerator, automation COE, or innovation program focused on scaling practical digital solutions.

WHY HORIZON FIVE

This is an opportunity to join a growing practitioner-led firm where consulting is grounded in real execution. You will lead high-impact finance transformation work, help clients modernize processes, strengthen controls, adopt automation and AI-enabled solutions, and build capability, while helping Horizon Five scale its delivery model without losing the hands-on, high-trust approach that makes the firm different.