Director of Portfolio Accounting
Mollenhour Gross
- Knoxville, TN
- Permanent
- Full-time
- To share context and information regarding our (MG’s) operations and culture;
- To share a description of the role; and
- To share instructions on what to do if you (or someone you know) are a good fit for this role.
- We have no outside investors, use debt conservatively, and have a long-term investment horizon.
- We love business and investing – it’s our vocation, hobby, and passion all wrapped into one.
- Our primary activities are to seek, evaluate, invest in, and govern our investments, and to identify, recruit, incentivize, and retain exceptional people to lead, manage, support, and operate them.
- We aren’t inclined towards financial engineering and prefer to solve problems and serve customers.
- We have a small staff with a wide variety of investments – this requires us to avoid managing subsidiaries, embrace decentralization, and empower autonomy.
- Life is short, and we only want to work with people we respect, like, and trust.
- Operational Autonomy – they can expect wide operational autonomy, great independence, and control over the day-to-day operations; we don’t have the desire or bandwidth to micro-manage or meddle.
- Permanent Capital – we don’t have investors to whom we’ve promised an “exit” or a “liquidity event,” so we’re insulated from turbulence or distractions due to prematurely or irrationally “flipping” an investment and “returning capital to limited partners”.
- Long-Term Orientation – they can expect us to think and behave with a long-term mindset; they won’t be beholden to irrational short-term concerns and will be relatively free to focus on long-term value creation.
- Reasonable Governance – they can expect us to be rational, reasonable, considerate, sensible, and decisive in the very limited areas in which we want to have input; we strive not to burden them with unreasonable bureaucracy, red tape, meetings, or unnecessary distractions.
- Reliability – they can expect us to honor and deliver on whatever commitments we make.
- Honesty – we expect them to always be frank and honest with us, especially where bad news is concerned; if we can't trust a person’s word and intentions, we'd rather not work with them.
- Honor - we expect them to behave in a respectable manner that enhances their reputation and our firm’s reputation; no short-term gain is worth risking one’s good reputation.
- Compliance – we expect them to comply with all applicable laws and regulations governing the business; and to only pursue opportunities and activities well inside those bounds.
- Frugality – we expect them to approach the firm’s resources as a conscientious steward; this means constantly holding down, avoiding, and cutting unnecessary costs.
- Prudence – we expect them to protect the value of the business under their care; and to avoid putting it in jeopardy as a result of imprudent risk-taking.
- Discipline – we expect them to avoid distractions and to be focused on creating value and improving efficiencies; sometimes this comes at the expense of ego-boosting growth and other "fun" projects.
- Preparation – we expect them to prepare for catastrophe, including their unexpected departure; this means having contingency plans in place and always training the next generation.
- Vision – we expect them to optimize the business for maximizing long-term value creation; we aren't concerned with short-term performance except to the extent it impacts long-term value.
- Improvement – we expect them to never stop learning, reading, and striving; the world of business is ever-changing and to stay on top one must never stop improving.
- Ownership Mindset – we expect them to treat their business as if they own 100% of it, as if it’s their family’s only asset, and as if they were going to own it for 100 years; this includes being shareholder-friendly and ROIC-mindful.
- Rational – we expect them to make clear-eyed, pragmatic, and objective decisions; this means being an independent thinker, avoiding bureaucracy, politics, and drama, and relying on an “internal scorecard”.
- Grow and strengthen our existing culture of compliance, ethical behavior, and good judgment.
- Be personally responsible for the integrity of our global accounting data and consolidated financial statements, ensuring that they are accurate, timely, and secure.
- Be personally accountable for the Company’s policies and procedures to ensure the timeliness and accuracy of accounting data and financial statements throughout our portfolio.
- Establish, document, and enforce accounting policies and procedures throughout our portfolio (including internal controls).
- Examine, scrutinize, and challenge (if necessary) subsidiary accounting policies, assumptions, interpretations, procedures, internal controls, and financial reports.
- Ensure that all financial reporting complies with current tax law and regulatory requirements.
- Oversee and monitor accounting systems, platforms, and technologies throughout our portfolio.
- Oversee and support external CPA firms when auditing subsidiaries (if any).
- Assist tax and legal professionals with tax returns, legal filings, and corporate formalities.
- Research, summarize, and educate colleagues on changing accounting trends, expectations, or rules.
- Evaluate and support our subsidiary financial leaders (CFOs, etc).
- You have integrity and character beyond reproach.
- You are extremely numerate, inquisitive, organized, and detail-oriented.
- You hold yourself and others to sometimes unrealistically high standards.
- You are passionate and curious about financial reporting, accounting, and/or audit.
- You are naturally curious about business models, specifically how a business’s economic engine reveals itself through accounting and financial reporting.
- You are eager to work alone with numbers, spreadsheets, and financial information for several hours every day, but are happy to collaborate with others on projects, large and small.
- You are deliberate and methodical, but you have a bias to action.
- You are comfortable and committed to poke, prod, challenge, and – when necessary – lead difficult conversations and resolve difficult problems.