PL
Accounting & Finance Manager
Political Asylum LawyersVerified
Contract type
Ongoing
Work mode
Remote · Houston, United States
Experience
Senior · 5+ years
Job description
The Accounting & Finance Manager serves as the firm's first level of financial analysis and operational financial control, ensuring financial records are accurate, timely, compliant, and useful for decisions. This is a hands-on role focused on learning the firm's systems and establishing reliable financial operations.
At a glance
- Work mode
- Remote · Houston, United States
- Languages
- English – fluent
What you'll do
- Perform and manage day-to-day financial operations, working with existing staff and service providers and documenting procedures so the work is completed accurately and on time.
- Follow financial issues through to resolution: identify who is responsible for each next step and its deadline, follow up, raise problems with recommended solutions, and confirm that the agreed actions were completed correctly.
- Ensure accurate execution of accounting, billing, A/R, A/P, payroll, trust accounting, collections, tax coordination, and general ledger maintenance.
- Maintain clean and current financial records in the accounting system.
- Ensure the legal team is supported with accurate financial information related to client matters, billing, retainers, and collections.
- Monitor daily cash balances, bank accounts, credit card activity, merchant activity, and other key financial accounts.
- Ensure bills, vendor payments, check requests, and reimbursements are processed accurately and on time.
- Prepare, review, and analyze monthly financial statements and key financial reports on time.
- Validate supporting records, calculations, and assumptions; investigate material inconsistencies and disclose unresolved limitations.
- Prepare annual and periodic budgets and forecasts as required throughout the year. Provide budget variance reports and explain the results to the Owner/CFO in clear business language, including conclusions, recommendations, and decisions needed.
- Support the creation, maintenance, and monitoring of the annual budget.
- Maintain a forward-looking cash flow forecast to help leadership anticipate shortfalls, plan distributions, and manage working capital.
- Track year-over-year revenue growth, gross profit, operating profit, and other key financial trends.
- Provide analysis that supports strategic planning, operational planning, and financial decision-making.
- Own and continuously improve the firm's billing and collections process.
- Supervise timely preparation and delivery of client invoices.
- Monitor payment plans and ensure clients comply with payment terms.
- Track, measure, and report accounts receivable aging.
- Ensure collection protocols are followed consistently and professionally.
- Work with billing staff and leadership to prevent A/R from accruing unnecessarily.
- Address client billing questions and payment concerns professionally while protecting the firm's financial interests.
- Own the operational handling of chargebacks, refund requests, billing disputes, and merchant service issues through documented resolution.
- Review billing records, payment history and related correspondence to understand and resolve chargebacks, refund requests and billing disputes. Coordinate follow-up, obtain required approvals, and confirm that any approved refunds, credits or other adjustments are correctly recorded in the relevant systems and account balances.
- Recommend process improvements to increase collection rate and reduce financial leakage.
- Ensure trust/IOLTA account activity is properly monitored, reconciled, and documented.
What we're looking for
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance
- Minimum of 5 years of progressive accounting or finance experience, preferably in a law firm, professional services firm, or other service-based business.
- Strong understanding of general accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, A/R, A/P, payroll, and month-end close.
- Experience managing or reviewing trust/IOLTA accounting and reconciliations.
- Experience with billing systems, client payment plans, collections, and accounts receivable management.
- Strong proficiency with accounting software, legal billing systems, Microsoft Excel, and financial reporting tools.
- Practical experience using AI tools and automation to improve accounting or finance workflows, with a working understanding of APIs, scripts, and how data moves between systems.
- Ability to identify improvement opportunities, define clear financial requirements, collaborate with technical colleagues on implementation, and validate the accuracy and reliability of results. Advanced coding skills are not required.
- Ability to prepare accurate financial reports and explain them clearly to non-financial leaders.
- Demonstrated ability to identify financial risks, implement controls, and resolve discrepancies.
- Strong organizational, analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
- High integrity, confidentiality, discretion, and professional judgment.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced law firm environment.
Nice to have
- CPA, MBA, advanced finance/accounting credential, or equivalent experience.
- 8+ years of accounting, controller, or finance operations experience.
- Microsoft Excel Expert Certification preferred.
- Experience building lightweight scripts or integrations to improve finance workflows.
- Prior experience in a law firm or legal services environment.
- Experience with systems such as QuickBooks Online, Clio, MyCase, Time Matters, PracticePanther, Smokeball, Lawmatics, Infusionsoft/Keap, or similar platforms.
- Experience designing dashboards, centralized KPI reporting, balanced scorecards, or financial performance reports.
- Experience supervising bookkeepers, billing specialists, payroll providers, or outsourced accounting vendors.
- Advanced experience with complex unstructured data models and analysis, pricing analysis, SKU profitability, labor utilization, realization, collection rate analysis, and cost-of-acquisition reporting.
- Experience supporting strategic planning, cash flow planning, debt repayment plans
Your team
Finance
Oversees existing staff and providers including the bookkeeper, billing specialist, payroll provider, outsourced finance vendors, and other accounting support.
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About Political Asylum Lawyers
Houston-based immigration law firm focused on asylum cases
Political Asylum Lawyers is a Houston-based immigration law firm focused on asylum cases. We help immigrants all over the United States secure their futures here through asylum, combining exceptional standards with deep respect for the human reality behind every case.
Mission
We help immigrants all over the United States secure their futures here through asylum, combining exceptional standards with deep respect for the human reality behind every case.
Key facts
- Legal services
- Houston-based immigration law firm focused on asylum cases
- Helps immigrants all over the United States secure their futures through asylum
What they value
- Integrity
- Excellence
- Accountability
- Teamwork
- Passion