Finance Transformation Lead (Contract)
- Lead finance transformation initiatives within a professional services firm.
- Enhance reporting capabilities and develop a new pricing tool.
- Collaborate with the finance team to implement sustainable changes.
Overview
Salary: circa. $200,000 + superannuation
Location: Sydney CBD
Contract: Fixed-term contract
Industry: Professional Services (partner led)
Focus: Finance uplift, capability and transformation, with a particular focus on reporting depth and pricing
The Opportunity
First things first: this is not a rescue mission.
We're working with a well-regarded professional services firm that wants to lift the performance of its finance function. The function itself is well run and well meaning, with long-serving, capable people who know the business inside out.
But when a team has done things the same way for a long time, and is flat out on the day-to-day, there is rarely the capacity to step back and ask whether there's a better way. That's where this role comes in.
The brief is a fresh pair of eyes and an extra pair of hands. Look at processes, people and systems from top to bottom, work out what should change, then roll up your sleeves and help deliver it.
Two areas sit at the top of the list. The first is the depth of reporting, so the partnership gets real insight rather than a month-end pack. The second is pricing: how the firm approaches it today, and the development of a new pricing tool that partners will actually use.
It's a fixed-term contract with a clear mission, strong leadership backing and a team that stands to benefit from the uplift. Done well, the work you leave behind will outlast the contract by a long way.’
Role Profile
- Review the finance function end to end, across processes, people, systems and reporting, and turn what you find into a practical, prioritised roadmap for change.
- Deepen the reporting provided to partners and leadership, moving from what happened last month to what is driving performance and where attention is needed.
- Lead a review of how the firm prices its work, then design and build a new pricing tool that is commercially sound and simple enough for partners to adopt.
- Identify where automation and better use of existing systems can take manual effort out of the month, freeing the team to spend more time on analysis.
- Work alongside the existing finance team rather than around them, building capability that stays in the business after you've gone.
- Engage with partners and senior leadership to test ideas, secure buy in and keep change moving, even when the partnership would prefer to discuss it for another quarter.
- Document and hand over new processes and tools properly, so the improvements stick.
Successful Candidate Profile
We're looking for a finance professional who has lived through change in a partner-led environment and knows how to deliver it without breaking what already works. The ideal background will include:
- Experience within the legal sector, a chartered accounting firm or another partner-led professional services environment. You understand partner economics, WIP, recovery and how decisions get made in a partnership.
- Strong finance transformation and change credentials. Your CV should tell a story of multiple process improvement projects, delivered rather than just scoped.
- Pricing experience, whether building pricing models, tools or frameworks, will be highly regarded.
- Enough technical depth in financial control and reporting to review a finance function credibly and earn the respect of the team running it.
- A collaborative, respectful approach. This is a tenured team that cares about the business, and nobody needs someone arriving on day one with a 60 slide deck titled "Everything You're Doing Wrong".
- Immediate availability, or very short notice.
This could suit a senior finance leader from a Big 4 or large professional services firm who has led internal transformation work, or an experienced contractor who enjoys going in, fixing the plumbing and leaving things better than they found them.
Apply Now
If you meet the key criteria and believe you're a strong fit for the role, please apply now or contact Liam Hassell at Recruitment Labs on +61 *********** for a confidential discussion.
- This is a fixed-term contract and candidates available immediately or at short notice will be prioritised.
- Candidates must be currently based in Sydney with full Australian working rights to be considered.
About Recruitment Labs
Recruitment Labs is a specialist accounting & finance search firm built on a simple belief: the right hire can change everything. We partner with businesses across Australia and New Zealand to build teams that are aligned to your strategy, culture and commercial goals. We understand how the best finance functions fit together, where the real difference-makers are, and how to build high-performing teams. Visit us: **************************
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