GM, Finance

General Manager, Finance

Reporting Manager: Vice President, Accounting & Finance

Location: 1300 N North Branch St, Chicago, IL 60642

Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm

Classification: Exempt

Travel: 5%

Essential Job Functions:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Primary scope of position includes but is not limited to:

• Cash & Liquidity Management: Monitor daily cash positions, maintain adequate liquidity, and lead short-term cash forecasting. Optimize the use of available funds while supporting working capital and operational requirements.
• Receivables, Credit & DSO Management: Own the end-to-end accounts receivable, credit, and collections framework. Establish DSO targets and collection priorities; monitor aging, delinquency trends, unapplied cash, disputes, and customer payment behavior; and translate findings into timely corrective actions. Lead regular collection reviews, assign clear account ownership, and ensure prompt escalation of high-risk or past-due balances. Partner with Sales, Service, Operations, and Legal to resolve billing or contractual issues, strengthen payment terms, reduce overdue receivables, and improve cash conversion. Maintain reliable collection forecasts and provide senior leadership with clear reporting on DSO performance, aging exposure, collection effectiveness, and recovery plans.
• Net Working Capital Forecasting & Management: Lead the development and analysis of net working capital forecasts, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, and inventory. Identify opportunities to improve the cash conversion cycle and partner with Operations and other stakeholders to implement sustainable working capital initiatives without compromising business performance. Report trends, key drivers, and variances to senior leadership and recommend corrective actions as needed.
• Customer Financing Governance & Financial Institution Coordination: Maintain financial control and oversight over financing offered to customers. In coordination with Sales and external financing institutions, establish and enforce approval criteria, credit standards, pricing parameters, required documentation, and acceptable financing structures. Review customer eligibility, proposed terms, lender conditions, funding status, and the company's residual credit, recourse, guarantee, or documentation exposure before commitments are made. Develop and manage relationships with banks, captive finance companies, leasing providers, and other third-party lenders to secure competitive solutions that support sales while protecting cash flow and credit quality. Monitor outstanding financing arrangements, ensure adherence to approved terms and applicable requirements, and escalate exceptions or elevated risks for appropriate approval.
• Financial Reporting & Analysis: Prepare accurate and timely financial reports, conduct risk assessments, and provide senior leadership with actionable insights regarding cash, receivables, customer credit, financing exposure, and net working capital.
• Compliance & Internal Controls: Ensure adherence to applicable federal, state, and local requirements. Maintain effective internal controls over cash, credit approvals, customer financing, receivables, collections, and related reporting, and support internal and external audits.
• Process Optimization & KPI Reporting: Identify and implement improvements across finance operations. Ensure accurate and timely reporting of cash, receivables, DSO, aging, collections, customer financing exposure, net working capital, and other key performance indicators. Leverage SAP and other systems to strengthen data visibility, accountability, and decision-making.
• Team Leadership & Development: Lead, mentor, and develop finance staff while fostering accountability, continuous improvement, and professional growth. Oversee day-to-day activities covering cash application, credit, collections, DSO management, customer financing coordination, and reporting. Establish clear priorities, performance expectations, escalation protocols, and cross-functional operating routines.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field; MBA or CPA preferred
• Progressive financial leadership experience, including responsibility for accounts receivable, credit, collections, cash flow, and working capital
• Demonstrated experience managing DSO performance, customer credit risk, collection strategies, and financing arrangements with banks, leasing companies, or other financial institutions
• Strong knowledge of corporate finance, accounting principles, financial controls, and applicable regulatory requirements
• Proficiency with SAP, Microsoft Office, and financial reporting and analytical tools
• Strong strategic thinking, analytical judgment, and problem-solving capabilities
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive results in a dynamic environment

Work Environment:

General office environment will be experienced. There will be periodic exposure to manufacturing environments which may present possible hazards such as noise, electricity, chemicals, heavy equipment, and other automated and manual machinery.

Physical Demands:

Frequent: Sitting at a desk, utilizing computers and phones. Repetitive hand, wrist, arm, and shoulder movements. Periodic: Standing, walking, bending, and stooping.

Occasional: Lifting, pushing, and pulling objects.