Position Summary
Harper Group is seeking a hands-on Finance Manager to oversee core accounting operations, monthly close, financial reporting, budgeting support, and internal controls. This role is also the primary owner of the sales commissions process—ensuring accurate calculation, validation, accruals, reporting, and timely payouts, leveraging MarketTime as a core system of record for rep orders and commissions.
The Finance Manager will work closely with Harper Group’s outsourced finance team, serving as the internal lead to coordinate workflows, review deliverables, and ensure financial accuracy and consistency with company policies. This person will be the bridge between outsourced partners and internal stakeholders (Sales, HR/Payroll, Operations, and leadership), driving clarity and process improvement as the business scales.
Key Responsibilities
Partnership with Outsourced Finance Team (Core to Role)
- Serve as Harper Group’s internal point of contact for the outsourced finance/accounting team.
- Coordinate timelines, close schedules, deliverables, and priorities to ensure accurate and timely reporting.
- Provide guidance, context, and business updates to outsourced partners so accounting reflects operational reality.
- Ensure smooth handoffs between internal teams and outsourced finance for data inputs and approvals.
- Identify gaps, recommend process enhancements, and support implementation of scalable workflows.
Accounting & Close
- Lead the monthly, quarterly, and year-end close processes, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and adherence to GAAP and company policies.
- Review journal entries, account reconciliations, and supporting schedules.
- Maintain and continuously improve close checklists, documentation, and SOPs in partnership with the outsourced team.
- Oversee general ledger integrity and ensure proper classification of expenses and revenue.
Financial Reporting & Analysis
- Prepare and present monthly financial statements and variance analyses for leadership.
- Develop dashboards and KPI reporting to support operational decision-making.
- Support forecasting and annual budgeting processes, including collaboration with department owners.
- Provide ad hoc analysis for pricing, margin, headcount, and strategic initiatives.
Commissions Ownership (Primary Process Lead — MarketTime)
- Own the end-to-end commissions cycle using MarketTime reporting and commission configuration as primary inputs.
- Validate that MarketTime order, invoice, and commission data are complete and aligned to internal commission plans.
- Calculate and/or audit commission outputs, including rate tables, splits, effective dates, and exceptions.
- Prepare commission statements for Sales review and sign-off.
- Record monthly commission accruals and true-ups in the general ledger.
- Coordinate commission payouts with Payroll/HR, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
- Investigate and resolve discrepancies between MarketTime and internal financial records.
- Maintain audit-ready documentation of calculations, approvals, overrides, and plan changes.
- Partner with Sales leadership to improve data quality and streamline the MarketTime → Finance → Payroll workflow.
AP/AR & Cash (as applicable)
- Oversee AP/AR processes in coordination with outsourced finance to ensure timely collections and vendor payments.
- Monitor cash flow, short-term liquidity, and working capital trends.
- Support billing and revenue tracking in coordination with operations and sales.
Controls, Compliance & Audit Support
- Maintain and enhance financial controls to safeguard company assets and ensure reporting accuracy.
- Support external audit, tax, and other compliance engagements, coordinating inputs with outsourced partners.
- Ensure compliance with company policies and relevant regulatory requirements.
Process & Systems Improvement
- Act as Finance owner for MarketTime-related process improvements, integrations, and reporting enhancements.
- Evaluate accounting and commission tools/workflows and recommend scalable enhancements.
- Partner on system implementations and integrations that syncMarketTime order/commission data with ERP/accounting systems.
- Develop training materials and provide coaching for cross-functional partners where needed.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field.
- 5+ years of progressive finance/accounting experience, including month-end close ownership.
- Demonstrated experience managing sales commissions or variable compensation processes.
- Experience coordinating with external accounting/finance partners or shared-services teams.
- MarketTime experience (admin, reporting, or operational use), particularly related to rep orders, invoicing, or commissions.
- Strong knowledge of GAAP, accrual accounting, and financial reporting.
- Advanced Excel/Google Sheets skills (pivot tables, lookups, modeling).
- Strong communication skills and confidence partnering cross-functionally.
Preferred
- Experience in distribution/manufacturing, consumer goods, or similar business models.
- Experience with ERP/accounting platforms and commission tools integrated with MarketTime.
Key Competencies
- Strong reviewer/quality-control mindset; comfortable validating work from outsourced partners.
- Clear communicator who can translate Sales/MarketTime activity into accounting actions.
- Process-oriented and collaborative, with a continuous improvement approach.
- Discretion with sensitive compensation and performance data.
- Service-minded partner to Sales and outsourced finance alike.
