WHAT DOES A FINANCE DIRECTOR DO?
Updated: Mai 27, 2025 - The Finance Director provides strategic financial guidance to executive leadership, focusing on the growth of the practice and evaluating new business opportunities such as mergers, acquisitions, and revenue stream launches. This role involves planning, directing, and evaluating the organization’s fiscal function, ensuring standardization, and leading efforts to optimize reimbursement while assessing financial performance and capital structure. The Finance Director also mentors a high-performing finance team, drives continuous improvement in financial reporting, and ensures compliance with regulations and accounting principles.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Finance Director
1. Finance Director Duties
- Finance Strategy Development: Develop the Finance Strategy in line with the Emerging Brands channel and NHSc US Finance strategies.
- MBS Process Leadership: Lead Emerging Brands business MBS process.
- Financial Analysis: Drive NPV, ROI, and gross margin analysis for key business initiatives, such as new product launches and customer contract bids.
- Planning and Forecasting Management: Coordinate, consolidate, and manage the Emerging Brands planning and forecasting processes, including preparation of Dynamic Forecast, Operating Plan, and MOR presentations.
- Partnership Development: Partner with portfolio company CFOs to unlock synergies and process improvement with Nestle Health Science functions where applicable.
- Internal Control and Compliance: Build and maintain strong internal control and compliance frameworks and continually evaluate and challenge financial processes and reporting practices, implementing changes.
- Financial Reporting: Prepare, analyze, review, and communicate monthly financial reports for both local management and Global Finance management.
- Brand Co-Piloting: As part of the Emerging Brands co-piloting opportunities, this position will cover the following main brands such as Persona Nutrition, Nuun, and Klean Athlete.
- Business Development Co-Piloting: Finance Co-pilot for future Business Development opportunities within Emerging Brands.
- Acquisition Support: Support the Deal team with acquisition due diligence, and equity raises, and manage the integration of new acquisitions.
- Process Development: Develop and document key company processes.
- Insurance Program Management: Develop and manage the property, casualty, and executive risk insurance programs.
- Contract Standardization: Standardize key contracts, support teams in reviewing contracts, and ensure a robust process to manage all contracts.
- Team Structure Development: Collaborate with the VP to develop the business team structure to support growth through service channel development and intercompany transactions/cost-sharing arrangements amongst the entities (e.g., equipment pooling entity IC-DISC).
2. Finance Director Details
- Financial Strategic Planning: Oversee the financial strategic planning of the company by evaluating its performance and potential risks.
- Financial Statement Management: Responsible for preparing and analyzing financial statements, and managing all fiscal reporting.
- Month-End Close Accountability: Accountability for the month-end close process, ensuring completeness and accuracy of reported financial results.
- Team Leadership: Establish targets and manage all accounting and finance employees.
- Process Improvement Analytics: Use analytics to identify process improvement and cost efficiencies.
- Audit and Internal Control Supervision: Supervise all audit and internal control processes.
- Financial Performance Reporting: Prepare detailed reports on the company’s financial performance.
- Tax Compliance: Ensure tax compliance within Brazil standards.
- Financial Analysis and Risk Assessment: Analyze financial results, understand key trends, assess current and future business risks and opportunities, and effectively communicate insights and actions to the company's leadership team.
- Policy Implementation: Implement policies, procedures, and processes as deemed appropriate by the senior leadership team.
- Budget Development: Develop budgets that meet the requirements of company departments.
- Accounting Department Oversight: Oversight of the Accounting department including general ledger, financial reporting, AP, AR, Payroll, GL, cash management, and treasury.
- Close Process Leadership: Lead the month-end and annual accounting close process.
- Financial Reporting and Audit Coordination: Internal and external financial reporting including financial statement preparation and external audit coordination.
- Internal Controls and Compliance: Internal controls and compliance such as insurance and risk management.
- Financial Reporting and Analysis Management: Manage financial reporting and analysis.
3. Finance Director Responsibilities
- Budget and Forecast Management: Directs the preparation of the annual budget and the required forecasts for the Rooms and Food and Beverage departments.
- Financial Reporting Oversight: Prepares and/or oversees the preparation of reports summarizing and forecasting company business activity and financial position, ensuring timeliness and accuracy.
- Inventory Process Management: Oversees and/or conducts the monthly Food and Beverage inventory process.
- Staff Leadership and Training: Hires, trains, and supervises the Accounting staff, conducts performance evaluations, and provides coaching and counseling.
- Financial Data Management: Inputs and retrieves information from the computer system for file maintenance, correspondence, and preparation of financial reports.
- Cash Flow Optimization: Manages property cash flow to maximize options.
- Internal Control Implementation: Directs the development and implementation of internal controls to secure the hotel's assets and ensure accurate recording of transactions.
- Policy and Objective Setting: Establishes or recommends major economic objectives and policies for the company.
- Cross-Department Coordination: Attends hotel staff meetings and collaborates with department heads for smooth operations.
- Policy Development: Establishes and maintains policies and procedures for the Accounting Department, interprets company policies, and enforces safety regulations.
- Accounting Operations: Performs accounting duties including Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, General Ledger, and Payroll.
- Asset Depreciation Management: Directs the determination of depreciation rates for capital assets.
- Tax Code Advisory: Advises management on operational adjustments due to tax code revisions.
- Regulatory Reporting: Prepares reports required by regulatory agencies.
4. Finance Director Job Summary
- Financial Strategy Advisory: Advise executive leadership on financial strategies required to support the growth of the practice.
- Business Opportunity Evaluation: Play a lead role in evaluating new business opportunities such as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and the launch of new revenue streams for financial and operational expansion.
- Strategic Issue Resolution: Assist executive leadership in addressing key strategic issues related to clinical care, financial performance, and capital structure.
- Fiscal Management: Plan, develop, organize, implement, direct, and evaluate the organization’s fiscal function and performance.
- Dashboard and Metric Development: Establish dashboards, metrics, and best practices for the finance department to ensure consistency and standardization.
- Contract Negotiation Expertise: Provide necessary expertise to negotiate contracts and lead efforts to optimize reimbursement.
- Payer Strategy Development: Develop a payer strategy relevant to the future needs of the practice.
- Budget and Financial Trend Analysis: Provide timely and accurate analysis of budgets, financial reports, and trends to assist leadership in meeting goals and metrics.
- Operational Performance Enhancement: Assess financial operations and develop plans to enhance overall operating performance.
- Performance Improvement Leadership: Lead continuous improvement efforts in financial reporting, financial analysis, and technology to promote efficiency and best practices.
- Team Leadership and Development: Guide, mentor, and develop a responsive and high-performing finance team.
- Cash Flow Management: Develop a cash flow projection process and reporting mechanism to meet operating needs.
- Operational Compliance: Manage accounts payable, billing, payroll, and pension functions, ensuring compliance with policies, accounting principles, and regulations.
- Trend and Regulation Monitoring: Stay abreast of emerging trends and regulations to ensure effectiveness and compliance.
- Finance Team Leadership: Lead the Finance team to be viewed as responsive, collaborative, and effective.
- Compliance and Reporting: Ensure that financial reporting and related compliance requirements are met in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and accounting principles.
5. Finance Director Accountabilities
- Close Process Management: Manage the monthly and quarterly close process, including consolidated financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, and cash flows), and review with the management team.
- General Ledger Oversight: Manage general ledger accounting processes, including posting journal entries (revenue, cost of goods sold, inventory, equity, and intercompany entries), reviewing journal entries, reconciliations, flux analysis, and compliance packages.
- US GAAP Compliance: Ensure consistent implementation of accounting principles and procedures in compliance with US GAAP.
- Financial Package Preparation: Responsible for preparing financial packages for senior management and the Board of Directors.
- Stock Administration Management: Manage stock administration in accordance with 409A, payroll, and benefits, and update the capitalization table.
- Audit Coordination: Lead the financial review process, serving as the primary contact with external auditors and preparing review working papers.
- Tax Compliance: Prepare working papers and support schedules for corporate taxes prepared by external tax accountants, and oversee sales and use tax compliance.
- External Partner Relationship Management: Build and manage relationships with external partners across the company.
- Executive Team Participation: Active participant in the executive team to contribute to strategic decision-making.
- Financial Planning and Analysis Development: Develop and enhance financial planning and analysis discipline throughout the company.
- Cash Forecast Management: Monitor and manage cash forecasts to ensure alignment with the budget.
- Quarterly Goal Development: Develop quarterly goals to align with the company's strategic objectives.