The posting
The Company
The Columbus Symphony has served as central Ohio’s flagship music organization since 1951. Our musicians, conductors, chorus, and world-renowned guest artists enrich the central Ohio community through extraordinary talent, passion, dedication, and the highest standards of musicianship. Guided by the artistic vision of Music Director Rossen Milanov, the Columbus Symphony offers four programming “brands” – Masterworks, Pops, Picnic with the Pops, and Education/Community Engagement. This segmented approach, innovative within the American orchestra industry, is helping the Columbus Symphony to reach new, younger, and more diverse audiences.
The Opportunity
- Are you ready to level up your financial reporting with financial forecasting?
- Are you successful at analysis and modeling?
- Do you like to look down the road and use data to find the "why", not just the "what"?
- Are you excellent at translating financial and operational data into meaningful forecasts, models and insights for leadership?
- Are you excited about what your role can contribute to ensuring a world-class symphony experience?
Primary Function
The Financial Planning & Analysis Controller is responsible for leading financial planning, forecasting, analysis, and financial reporting for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. This role combines strong controllership fundamentals with a significant focus on forward-looking financial analysis and decision support.
The position is responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of financial information while also translating financial and operational data into meaningful forecasts, models, and insights for leadership. The Financial Planning & Analysis Controller will work closely with Finance and organizational leadership to understand financial performance, identify trends and risks, evaluate opportunities, and maintain a clear view of both current-year expectations and the organization's longer-term financial outlook.
This position goes beyond reporting what has occurred. A key responsibility is using financial and operational data to understand what is changing, why it is changing, and what those changes mean for the organization's future financial performance.
Duties, Responsibilities, and Key Performance Objectives
Financial Planning & Analysis
- Own and maintain the organization's rolling financial forecast, incorporating actual results, current operational information, and updated assumptions throughout the year.
- Lead development of the annual operating budget in partnership with organizational leadership and department leaders.
- Translate the annual budget into multi-year financial models and projections that support longer-term organizational planning.
- Develop scenario and sensitivity models to evaluate changes in earned revenue, contributed revenue, programming, staffing, compensation, and other significant financial assumptions.
- Analyze actual results against budget and forecast, with particular emphasis on understanding whether current results change the expected full-year outcome.
- Partner with departments to identify and maintain the key operational drivers underlying financial forecasts.
- Develop and maintain financial and operational KPIs, dashboards, and management reporting that provide leadership with timely visibility into organizational performance.
- Analyze trends within earned and contributed revenue, operating expenses, personnel costs, programming costs, and other significant financial drivers.
- Build financial models to support strategic initiatives, new programs, capital projects, contract negotiations, and other management decisions.
- Improve the organization's ability to use financial and operational data as identifying emerging risks and opportunities before they are reflected in year-end financial results.
- Prepare clear financial analysis and materials for senior leadership, Finance Committee, and Board discussions as needed.
Accounting & Controllership
- Oversee and execute the monthly and year-end financial close, ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting.
- Prepare and review monthly financial statements, balance sheet reconciliations, journal entries, and supporting schedules.
- Maintain the integrity and accuracy of the general ledger and financial reporting structure.
- Ensure appropriate accounting treatment in accordance with GAAP and organizational accounting policies.
- Monitor internal controls and recommend improvements to financial processes and procedures.
- Coordinate financial information and schedules required for the annual audit and other external reporting requirements.
- Maintain appropriate documentation supporting significant accounting transactions and financial statement balances.
- Partner with CAPA's broader Finance team on shared accounting processes, systems, reporting standards, and financial best practices.
- Support cash-flow planning and monitoring and provide leadership with visibility into anticipated liquidity needs.
- Ensure financial information provided to management, and the Board is accurate, timely, consistent, and understandable.
Data, Systems & Process Improvement
- Develop more efficient methods of integrating information from financial and operational systems into forecasts and management reporting.
- Establish consistent data sources and reporting definitions so that Finance and operating departments are working from the same information.
- Identify opportunities to automate recurring reporting, forecasting, reconciliations, and financial analysis.
- Strengthen processes for reconciling financial forecasts with information maintained by revenue-generating and operating departments.
Business Partnership
- The Financial Planning & Analysis Controller will serve as a financial partner to organizational leadership and department leaders. The role requires regular interaction with individuals outside of Finance to understand the operational activity behind the numbers and translate that activity into financial expectations.
- The successful candidate will be comfortable asking questions, challenging assumptions when appropriate, and helping leaders understand the financial implications of decisions while maintaining strong collaborative relationships across the organization.
This job description is not designed to cover or contain an exhaustive list of duties, responsibilities, and key performance objectives that are expected of the employee. These items may change, or new job-related items may be assigned from time to time.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Strong foundation and experience with monthly close and financial statement preparation.
- Significant experience with budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, and variance analysis.
- Ability to build and maintain sophisticated financial models and translate complex information into understandable conclusions.
- Strong analytical skills and demonstrated ability to identify trends, risks, and relationships within financial and operational data.
- Advanced Excel skills; experience with Business Central, Power BI or similar financial and business-intelligence tools preferred.
- Experience working across departments and translating operational information into financial assumptions
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present financial information to non-financial leaders.
- Ability to walk, stand, and sit for extended periods.
- Ability to climb stairs and ladders, bend and kneel, and lift up to 50 pounds.
Credentials and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field, and/or equivalent work experience.
- Typically, 5-10 years of experience working in a non-profit, performing arts, entertainment, or similarly complex organization are needed to have sufficient experience and judgement to lead an team of this size and complexity.
- Base pay for this role is $90,000 - $100,000.
Special Requirements
- Successful background check.
- This position requires a credit check that is satisfactory to management.
The Columbus?Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) are Equal Opportunity Employers. CAPA and the CSO do not discriminate in its employment decisions on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, lactation status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other protected status.
