[Hiring] Private Equity Value Creation (FP&A) - Senior Associate @CohnReznick

Role Description

We currently have an exciting career opportunity for a Senior Associate to join our Private Equity Value Creation team in our CxO Advisory practice.

CohnReznick’s CxO group offers our clients an extensive array of executive advisory (OCFO, OCOO, OCIO), digital and process transformation, and automation enablement services to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment. Our client focus is mid-market, and you will be exposed to a variety of industries including tech, consumer, manufacturing & distribution, real estate, hospitality, private equity, and renewable energy to name a few.

We are seeking a Senior Associate to execute strategic finance workstreams for private equity-backed portfolio companies. This role is built for an aspiring operator: someone who enjoys digging into data, building models and reporting that leadership actually uses, and working directly with client finance teams to solve real problems.

Working closely with Managers and engagement leadership, the Senior Associate builds the analyses, models, dashboards, and deliverables that drive our engagements, and increasingly owns workstreams and client interactions.

Responsibilities

• Execute assigned workstreams on private equity value creation engagements, delivering high-quality work on time and within scope.
• Track tasks, deadlines, and open items; communicate progress, risks, and issues proactively to the engagement team.
• Work directly with portfolio company finance and operations teams to gather data, understand processes, and validate findings.
• Collaborate with cross-functional CohnReznick teams on complex, multi-workstream engagements.
• Support 100-day plan initiatives, including finance function assessments, KPI development, and standing up reporting and planning cadences.
• Support annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, long-range planning, and monthly financial reporting processes.
• Build and maintain 13-week cash flow forecasts and support liquidity monitoring and working capital analysis.
• Build and maintain financial and operating models to support forecasting, scenario analysis, and strategic decision-making.
• Prepare monthly reporting packages, variance analysis, and KPI reporting that clearly explain business performance.
• Support buy-side diligence through financial and operational data analysis, including historical performance and KPI trends.
• Support go-to-market commercial readiness analysis, including pricing, customer, and product profitability.
• Build dashboards and visualizations in Power BI, using Power Query and Power Pivot to transform and model data.
• Use Alteryx, EasyMorph, or similar tools to cleanse, combine, and automate financial and operational data from client systems.
• Help convert engagement work into reusable templates, models, and tools for the practice.
• Prepare clear, client-ready presentations, reports, and analyses for client leadership and private equity sponsors.
• Present analyses and findings to client stakeholders with growing independence.
• Support the training of Associates and contribute to a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field.
• 2+ years of experience in accounting and/or finance, with a foundation in audit or assurance, corporate finance, FP&A, or financial consulting.
• Working knowledge of FP&A processes, including budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and financial reporting.
• Practical financial modeling experience, including operating models, forecasting, and business performance analysis.
• Advanced Excel skills, including complex formulas, lookups, pivot tables, and building well-structured models.
• Working proficiency with the Microsoft Power Platform (Power BI, Power Query, Power Pivot).
• Strong understanding of accounting fundamentals and financial statement analysis.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a commitment to accurate, high-quality work.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate financial and operational data into actionable insights.
• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 30% to support client engagements, on-site working sessions, and project delivery.

Preferred

• Experience supporting middle-market, private equity-backed companies, either in consulting or in industry.
• Consulting or advisory experience, ideally serving private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies.
• Experience building or supporting 13-week cash flow forecasts and short-term liquidity planning.
• Experience with Alteryx, EasyMorph, or similar data preparation and automation platforms.
• Big 4 or national accounting firm experience; CPA licensed or in progress.
• Exposure to ERP and planning systems (for example NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics, or Adaptive Planning).

Benefits

• Generous PTO.
• Flexible work environment.
• Expanded parental leave.
• Extensive learning & development.
• Paid time off for employees to volunteer.

Salary

In Illinois, the salary range for a Senior Associate is $85,000 to $130,000. Salary is one component of the CohnReznick total rewards package, which includes a discretionary performance bonus, generous paid time off, expanded, and inclusive parental benefits, and access to best-in-class learning and development platforms.