VP, Finance

Location: Alpharetta, GA (HQ); EST or CDT time zone (required)

The Company:

Merit is a fast growing, pioneering financial services firm that invests heavily in the growth and development of team members. Merit seeks to establish, educate, and help individuals reach their financial goals as they transition into and experience retirement. With an unswerving commitment to excellence and reliability, Merit provides objective financial advice and believes in establishing long-lasting relationships. By offering an array of services, clients can receive tailored solutions that promote growth and help them achieve financial goals.

Merit believes in addressing the retirement challenges in America by helping clients reach financial freedom and confidence to the working population and retirees alike. This focus on comprehensive financial wellness enables us to deliver the ultimate client experience.

Headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, with over 90 locations across the country, Merit balances tactical advice with innovative strategy. Our 470 hardworking employees are leaders rooted in humility and we are poised to grow. Merit is a multi-generational firm with a foundation built around servant leadership and total team leadership. We have been recognized as a “Best Places to Work” by InvestmentNews and have made the fastest growing companies list in both INC 5000 and Georgia’s Fastest 40. As we expand and work to bring our relationship-driven approach to the financial industry, we are looking for the right individuals to join our team.

Position Summary

• The VP, Finance leads Merit Financial Advisors' FP&A and Treasury functions, reporting to the CFO and partnering with Accounting leadership, the Chief Technology Officer, and business stakeholders to build the Company's future-state finance operating model — spanning FP&A, treasury and liquidity management, strategic finance, business performance and management reporting, capital planning, and finance transformation.
• This role will build scalable, tech-enabled planning, forecasting, treasury, and analytical capabilities that give management, the Board, Sponsors, lenders, and investors timely, insightful and actionable information to drive decision making. The role will help modernize Finance through reporting automation, dashboard development, chart of accounts redesign, and enhanced scenario and long-range planning.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. FP&A and Treasury Leadership

• Lead and develop the Company's FP&A and Treasury functions, including oversight of the Manager, FP&A – Growth; Manager, FP&A – Performance; Manager, Treasury; and related analyst resources.
• Establish organizational priorities, operating cadences, and governance and review processes across FP&A and Treasury, and build a high-performing, accountable team — driving talent development, performance management, and succession planning.
• Oversee treasury operations — liquidity management, cash forecasting, lender compliance, and credit facility and cap table administration — including strategic oversight of the 13-week cash flow model, covenant compliance, and debt service.
• Support debt and equity financing, refinancing, and related investor/creditor diligence; partner with the CFO on liquidity strategy, leverage management, and capital structure planning; and ensure treasury processes remain documented, controlled, and scalable as the Company grows.

2. Board, Sponsor, and Executive Stakeholder Reporting

• Lead preparation of Board, Sponsor, executive, lender, investor, and shareholder reporting and presentation materials, delivering financial insights, strategic recommendations, and forward-looking guidance, and ensuring materials are accurate, timely, transparent, and aligned to stakeholder needs.
• Serve as a strategic finance partner across Accounting, Treasury, FP&A, Technology, Data, Operations, Corporate Development, Legal, HR, and executive leadership; build relationships with lenders, investors, and Sponsors; and support special projects and transformation efforts as directed by the CFO.

3. Budgeting, Forecasting, and Business Performance Management

• Lead budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning — including the Company's future-state planning framework spanning office-level, departmental, human capital, revenue, and acquisition-related planning — and oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual management reporting, budget-to-actual analysis, and forecast updates.
• Ensure timely identification and communication of business performance trends, risks, and opportunities, and lead development of management reporting packages, KPI reporting, operational scorecards, and executive dashboards.

4. Strategic Finance and Enterprise Analytics

• Lead development of enterprise financial models and enhanced scenario, sensitivity, and risk modeling to support growth initiatives, acquisitions, capital allocation decisions, and operating plans, and oversee long-range strategic planning and forward-looking analysis — ensuring these capabilities effectively support executive, Board, Sponsor, lender, and investor decision-making.

5. Finance Transformation and Systems Modernization

• Partner with the CFO and Chief Technology Officer to design and implement the Company's future-state finance operating model, evaluating and implementing planning, forecasting, reporting, dashboarding, and business intelligence tools, and redesigning the chart of accounts, reporting hierarchy, KPI structure, and planning architecture.
• Drive automation of recurring reporting, planning, forecasting, and treasury processes, partnering with Technology, Data, and Accounting to improve data quality, integration, governance, and reporting infrastructure.

6. M&A, Growth, and Performance Reporting Oversight

• Oversee M&A financial modeling, acquisition underwriting support, post-acquisition deal performance tracking, and actual-vs.-model reporting, partnering with Corporate Development and executive leadership on acquisition evaluation and integration planning.
• Oversee organic growth and office performance reporting — revenue analysis, growth channel ROI, departmental operating expense and human capital budgeting, and budget-to-actual reporting — integrated into the broader FP&A operating model.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Directly manages FP&A and Treasury leadership roles and related analytical resources, setting performance expectations and succession plans, providing coaching and technical guidance, and participating in recruiting, hiring, and onboarding as the Finance organization scales.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong FP&A, Treasury, strategic finance, and finance transformation leadership capabilities, with a strong understanding of finance systems, reporting automation, dashboarding, and scalable, data-enabled operating models.
• Strong understanding of budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, scenario and risk modeling, capital allocation, liquidity management, and capital structure planning.
• Ability to lead organizational change and build high-performing teams in a fast-paced, private equity-backed environment, and to translate complex financial and operational information into actionable insights for executives, the Board, Sponsors, lenders, and investors.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and talent development skills, with sound professional judgment and the analytical rigor to identify, escalate, and help resolve significant financial, operational, liquidity, or strategic issues.

Performance Expectations

Success in this role will be measured by the individual's ability to:

• Build and lead a high-performing FP&A and Treasury organization and cross-functional partnerships that support Merit's growth, stakeholder reporting, and strategic decision-making, while developing high-performing finance talent and sustainable organizational capabilities.
• Develop and implement the Company's future-state finance operating model in partnership with the CFO and Chief Technology Officer — implementing scalable planning, forecasting, reporting, automation, and analytical capabilities that improve the speed, quality, accuracy, and consistency of reporting and analytics.
• Deliver effective budgeting, forecasting, scenario, and strategic finance processes, and enhance management, Board, Sponsor, lender, shareholder, and investor reporting capabilities.
• Provide effective oversight of treasury, liquidity, lender compliance, capital structure, and shareholder-related finance activities.

Salary + Benefits:

• Competitive, based on experience
• Medical Insurance  
• Dental/Vision Insurance   
• Life & Personal Accident Insurance 
• Short-term Disability Insurance   
• Long-term Disability Insurance  
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Health Savings Account (HSA) or Dependent Care FSA  
• 401(k) Plan with company matching
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays 

Best Places To Work for Financial Advisors 2018-2024: Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 – Recognized firms were required to be a registered investment advisor (RIA) that has been in business at least one year and having a minimum of 15 full-time/part-time employees. The assessment consisted of a questionnaire on benefits and policies completed by human resources staff along with an engagement & satisfaction survey completed by a minimum of 40% of staff. 50 firms were selected for this award from an undisclosed list of submissions. There was no charge to be included in this award listing.

Georgia Fast 40 2019 and 2022: The Georgia Fast 40 for 2019 and 2022 was awarded by the Atlanta Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. To be eligible companies must be for profit and headquartered in Georgia and the most recent year-end revenues ranging from $15 million to $500 million and have three years of verifiable revenue and employment growth.

Inc 5000 2019, 2020 & 2021: The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, which consists of more than 5000 companies, represents virtually all of the capitalization of the entire U.S. stock market

Compensation: Merit Financial Advisors offers competitive compensation based on experience, qualifications, location, and market data. Where required by applicable law, salary ranges will be provided during the hiring process.

Requirements

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field required; MBA, CPA, CFA, or other advanced finance credential preferred.
• Preferably 7–10+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, Treasury, strategic finance, corporate finance, investment banking, transaction advisory, or private equity portfolio-company finance, with demonstrated experience leading FP&A and/or Treasury teams in a private equity-backed, acquisition-oriented, or high-growth environment. Wealth management experience preferred.
• Experience developing budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, and KPI/management reporting capabilities, and implementing finance transformation initiatives — reporting platforms, planning systems, BI/dashboarding tools, or enterprise performance management frameworks — including partnering with Technology, Data, or Systems teams on automation and data quality.
• Experience supporting Board, Sponsor, lender, investor, shareholder, and executive-level reporting required; experience in multi-entity, private equity-backed, financial services, wealth management, or similarly complex organizations preferred.
• Advanced Excel, financial modeling, reporting, planning, analytical, and executive presentation capabilities required.