The Finance & Accounting Department of Arnold & Porter has an opening for a Budget Controller located in the Washington, DC office. The Budget Controller oversees the firm’s budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis functions in direct coordination with the Director of Accounting and the Chief Financial Officer. This highly visible role within the firm requires strong analytical capabilities to interpret complex financial data, develop financial models, and provide actionable insights. The Budget Controller partners closely with the departmental leaders and firm management to ensure accurate, timely, and strategic financial reporting.

Essentials Job Functions And Responsibilities

Budget Development & Oversight

• Coordinates the Original and Revised Budget processes.
• Designs and implements budgeting policies and procedures that support effective planning, monitoring, and presentation of financial data.
• Develops and maintains strong relationships with administrative departments to assist in the development of budgeting and variance analysis processes, easing their reporting requirements.
• Uses the Budget Tool to develop budgets for firm benefits, client chargebacks, disbursement write-offs, depreciation, and other assigned areas.
• Supports departments with high spend and budget complexity in creating accurate and realistic budgets.
• Develops and maintains annual firm-wide cost allocations and related reporting.
  
  

Forecasting, Analysis & Reporting

• Applies advanced analytical techniques to interpret financial data and provides insights to inform strategic decision-making.
• Conducts detailed Variance Analysis, including compensation and benefit variances, while incorporating departmental inputs to identify trends, discrepancies, and areas for improvement.
• Maintains and distributes monthly financial reports and periodic budget reports to departments and firm leadership, including both capital and operating expenses.
• Supports firm-wide forecasting initiatives and assists with ad hoc financial modeling.
  
  

Systems Management & Data Integrity

• Serves as Administrator and maintains the Budget Tool, including user access and ensuring formula accuracy.
• Utilizes tools such as Power BI and advanced Excel capabilities to analyze large datasets and generate dynamic reports and dashboards.
• Continuously evaluates and enhances budgeting tools, processes, and reporting methods to improve efficiency and accuracy.
• Reconciles budget software data with Aderant to ensure accuracy and data integrity. Reviews internal reports to identify and correct inconsistencies.
  
  

Other Responsibilities

• Reviews Income Statement line items for large actual to budget variances. Coordinates with the Accounting Manager to research and correct variances prior to month-end close.
• Responds to day-to-day inquiries related to the budget and variance reporting. Provides detail information and reports as required.
• Performs expense audits of departments and offices to ensure proper coding of actuals and budget.
  
  

Qualifications

• Four-year degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field required.
• Minimum of five (5) years progressive experience in budgeting, financial analysis, accounting, data analysis, or related experience required.
• CPA/MBA or other relevant certification preferred.
• Public Accounting experience preferred.
• Professional services or law firm experience preferred.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, lookups, modeling) and Power BI or other data visualization tools required.
• Proficiency in Power BI or similar data visualization tools for dashboard creation and financial analysis preferred.
• Prior experience with Aderant/Elite beneficial.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate across departments and communicate complex financial information clearly to non-financial stakeholders required.
• Ability to manage and analyze large volumes of financial data with accuracy and efficiency required.
• Strong skills in financial modeling, scenario analysis, and data reconciliation required.
• Strong written and oral communication skills for creating reports, documentation, and process guides required.
• Comfortable navigating and troubleshooting cross-system data integrity issues preferred.
• Excellent communication, analytical, problem solving, organizational and interpersonal skills.
  
  

The anticipated base salary for this position is $150,000 to $175,000. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location in which the applicant lives and/or from which they will be performing the job.

For benefits information, please click here: https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/careers/professional-staff/benefits.

The firm may provide a discretionary bonus annually.