[Hiring] Director of Commercial Accounting @Saks Fifth Avenue

Role Description

We are seeking a strategic, commercially minded Director of Commercial Accounting to lead our commercial accounting team. In this executive leadership role, you will define and execute the accounting strategy for our inventory portfolio, including owned product, consignment, leased shop-in-shops, and dropship arrangements, from end-to-end. You will act as the crucial link between Finance, Merchandising, Supply Chain, and Store Operations, establishing robust internal controls, and providing timely executive-level analysis and insights on margin and inventory to protect profitability and liquidity across our omnichannel luxury retail portfolio.

What You Will Do

• Strategic Inventory Leadership & Margin Optimization:
  • Oversee all accounting policies and operational execution related to inventory valuation, sales and margin reserves, and cost of goods sold (COGS).
  • Serve as a strategic finance partner to Merchandising and Supply Chain leaders, providing actionable insight into gross margins, markdown impacts, and inventory aging.
  • Design and maintain financial accounting frameworks for complex sales structures: consignment models, brand partner margin splits, concessions, and product licensing arrangements.
  • Ensure all margin and inventory reporting strictly adheres to US GAAP standards, applicable debt compliance standards and requirements, and applicable deadlines.
  • Prepare reference schedules and executive presentation materials for periodic accounting and disclosure reviews with the CAO, or other executives and stakeholders, as needed.
• Financial Governance, Audit & Internal Controls:
  • Direct month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close processes for inventory and sales reserves, payables reserves and settlements, and other margin impacts.
  • Lead the primary external audit relationships for inventory valuation, shrinkage provisions, and obsolescence modeling under US GAAP standards.
  • Lead the primary external audit and valuation relationships for borrowing base measurements and reporting, including key interactions with bank agents, auditors, and valuation specialists.
• Enterprise Systems & Process Transformation:
  • Lead commercial and finance participation in technology and systems initiatives impacting inventory, sales, and margin, including to upgrade ERP modules, inventory management systems (IMS), order management systems (OMS), and point-of-sale (POS) integrations, among others.
  • Drive automation across landed-costing calculations for imported merchandise, vendor allowance tracking, cross-banner inventory transfers, and reserve analysis and accounting, among other areas.
• Team Leadership & Talent Development:
  • Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of inventory and gross margin accountants, analysts, and specialists.
  • Foster a culture of analytical rigor, cross-functional partnership, and continuous process improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance required; CPA or MBA is strongly preferred.
• 8–12+ years of progressive accounting and finance leadership experience, with a minimum of 4–5 years in a managerial or director role within retail or consumer goods preferred.

Requirements

• Soft Skills & Core Competencies:
  • Executive Presence: Ability to synthesize complex GAAP rules and articulate financial narratives confidently to executive officers, auditors, and board members.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Skilled at building strong relationships across business units and functional support teams.
  • Attention to Detail: Uncompromising precision regarding financial data integrity and strict adherence to reporting deadlines.
• Domain Expertise:
  • Master-level knowledge of Weighted-Average-Cost Accounting for retail operations, landed cost structures, and luxury consignment models.
  • Strong broad technical accounting knowledge and experience applying authoritative guidance to complex cross-functional transactions.
  • Demonstrated track record of managing multi-channel inventory.
• Technical Proficiency:
  • Deep experience with enterprise-level stock ledger/inventory management, order management, and point-of-sale systems.
  • Proficiency in enterprise ERPs (e.g., Workday, SAP, Oracle) and specialized financial reporting/consolidation software (e.g., Workiva, OneStream, Hyperion, EPM).
  • Proven track record leading digital transformation or finance-system implementation projects.

Benefits

• Opportunity to work in a dynamic fast-paced environment at a company experiencing growth and transformation.
• Exposure to rewarding career advancement opportunities across the largest multi-brand luxury retailer from retail to distribution, to digital or corporate.
• Comprehensive benefits package for all eligible full-time employees (including medical, vision, and dental).
• An amazing employee discount.
• Medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, 401(k) retirement plan, basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance, disability insurance, and a variety of additional voluntary benefits (such as critical illness, hospital, and accident insurance).