Manager, Finance

Fasken is a leading international business law and litigation firm, and was voted one of Canada’s Best Employers for 2024. Our firm’s 950 lawyers are located across offices in Vancouver, Surrey, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City, London and Johannesburg and an office in the professional and retail district known as Taza (/Ta-Zah/) on Tsuut’ina lands. Providing strategic and thoughtful advice in all areas of business law, our broad range of clients include close to half of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as corporate clients, government agencies, regulatory authorities, non-profit bodies and individuals.

Our clients interests are paramount in all that we do and we take pride in supporting our communities. We are a place where bright, talented, and collegial people want to work together and we work hard together to achieve our goals in a collaborative and efficient way.

Your Role

Reporting to the Senior Director, Finance, the Manager, Finance is responsible for all operations related to Partners’ income allocation, payroll, accounting and taxation. This role includes designing, implementing, and enforcing policies and procedures to ensure compliance with firm standards, accounting principles, and tax regulations. The Manager also leads efforts to streamline financial processes and manages all Ontario-specific requirements for lawyers, including compliance with the Law Society of Ontario, LawPro, and other insurance providers.

Primary Responsibilities

General

• Lead team of Analysts in establishing and implementing short/long term goals which aligns with the department objectives and facilitating training and development of staff.
• Support strong internal control environment and continuously assess processes and practices, and recommend changes in internal control procedures to strengthen controls
• Look for opportunities for efficiencies through process changes and technology solutions, and contribute to initiatives and projects to achieve continuous improvements.

Partner Payroll, Accounting and Taxation

• Prepare, review and ensure accurate and timely:
  • Payment of monthly draws/ advances, post year-end distributions, and all other partner payment amounts. This includes for existing, new, departing and former partners.
  • Payment of counsels’ monthly and annual incentive compensation.
  • Account analysis and posting of monthly, quarterly and annual entries and accruals as needed.
• Prepare, maintain and review partnership accounting schedules that support accurate and timely income allocation, disbursements, taxation, WIP, adjusted cost base and capital calls for partners. Schedules for review and approval include:
  • Computation of individual partners WIP entitlements and ensuring timely payment of WIP entitlement to former partners.
  • Adjusted Cost Base schedules for each partner.
  • Parking, Charitable and Political donations, deductible and non-deductible expenses, and Annual BAR calculation.
• Calculate and report on partners estimated and final annual income allocation including overall profit per partner, ensuring accurate allocation of income to all partners.
• Prepare, review and distribute reports on income, tax slips, tax packages and capital call packages for partners throughout the year.
• Support Management in annual compensation review cycle and partner promotion process.
• Determine capital amounts and coordinate the capital call process, including communication/exchange of documents with bank for partners’ capital loans.
• Provide ongoing support to partners and their accountants in answering their income allocation, payroll and taxation questions.
• Monitor and approve partner Personal Business Expenses and ensure compliance with policy and latest tax guidance. Revise policy as business needs and tax guidance change.
• Monitor and ensure timely responses to queries to the Ontario Partner Services mailbox.

Financial Planning, Analysis and Reporting

• Maintain accurate, complete and current financial records, including for all assigned P&L and Balance Sheet accounts. Maintain account reconciliations for all accounts.
• Provide inputs to Treasury team on key aspects of cashflow forecasting related to partner and counsel payments.
• Prepare annual forecasts and budgets for all partner and counsel expenses including Full Time Equivalent tracking and calculations.
• Analyze and report on monthly/quarterly/annual actuals vs. forecasted and/or budgeted results.
• Support audit requirements including annual external audit, and external audits by governing bodies should they arise for Ontario (e.g. LSO, CRA).
• Ensure process documentation and financial records are properly maintained/filed for historical purposes and easy reference.
• Leverage firm-wide data analytics and operational reporting tools and reports to improve, streamline and develop processes and reports.

Other Duties as Required

• Oversee implementation and maintenance of Partner Accounting and Payroll tools by gaining detailed understanding of tools, assisting with testing and providing ongoing support and input to maintain tools and accuracy of the tools data and output.
• Complete ongoing and annual insurance requirements for LawPro and other firm insurance policies. Support timely and efficient onboarding and offboarding of lawyers with LawPro and other insurance policies.
• Ensure ongoing and annual LSO requirements are met for Annual Return and membership fees and communication with lawyers, compliance and LSO on requirements and timelines throughout the year. Support timely and efficient onboarding and offboarding of lawyers with LSO.
• Provide trust payment approval and vendor payment approval support to ON Finance team.
• Provide regular and ad-hoc reports and presentations to the Senior Director, Finance (Ontario Region), CFO, and Regional Managing Partner as required on financial results, analysis or other decision making.
• Coordinate with Firmwide and Regional finance teams on an ongoing basis to ensure all firmwide deliverables are completed accurately and on time throughout the year.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert for Partner Payroll/Accounting/Taxation firmwide.
• Lead and support special projects and other duties as required.

Required Knowledge and Experience

• CPA designation or equivalent accounting designation from other countries.
• Minimum of 5 year experience in accounting and financial analysis at a senior accounting level.
• Previous experience working within a partnership with partner payroll and accounting experience is preferable.
• Sound knowledge of relevant ASPE accounting rules.
• Experienced in preparation of F/S, notes to F/S and consolidation of F/S.
• Ability to analyze financial data and prepare financial reports, statements and projections.
• Knowledge of LSO regulations/ requirements.
• Strong computer skills – advanced level for Excel.
• Experience in 3E and taxation software is an asset

At Fasken, Success Means

• Having a strong client service approach – you’re ready, willing, and able to put our clients first and exceed their expectations
• Caring about one another – you possess strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build harmonious working relationships within your immediate team, across other departments in the firm, and the community
• Working collaboratively – you’re a self-starter who values working in a collaborative team based environment
• Possessing exceptional communication skills (both verbal and written) when dealing with lawyers, clients, staff and third parties
• Approaching your work with agility and the willingness to learn and utilise new technology
• Being adaptable to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment while being organized and maintaining accuracy with a high attention to detail
• Demonstrating strong research, investigative and problem solving skills with the ability to exercise judgement to resolve issues
• Treating sensitive and confidential matters with discretion and diplomacy at all times

Accessibility and Accommodation

It is important to our Firm that all its members, including those with disabilities, find our workplace to be welcoming and supportive. Reasonable accommodations are available on request for candidates with disabilities taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

Background and Reference Checks

Any offer of employment may be conditional upon full background checks including a criminal record check, a credit check and employment and educational verifications. A reference check will also be conducted.

Your Application

We appreciate hearing from all qualified candidates, however, only those applicants whose background and experience match our requirements will be contacted. You can submit your application via our Careers page.