Chief Financial Officer
Sidney E. Frank Foundation
New York, New York
 

Overview:

Born into poverty in the early 1900s, Sidney E. Frank grew up on a working farm in Connecticut and with determination and perseverance, found his way to Brown University as a member of the freshman class of 1942. Though he had to leave the university after just one year for financial reasons, he found work after the war with Schenley Distillers where he was responsible for the success of such brands as Dewar's White Label and Ancient Age. He later founded the Sidney Frank Importing Co. Inc. where he helped create Grey Goose Vodka and make a household name out of such brands as Hudson’s Bay Scotch, Jägermeister, Corazón Tequila, Gekkeikan Saké and Tommy Bahama Rum.

While his business ideas were grand and his success was evident – Frank was ranked by Forbes Magazine in 2005 as the 164th richest American – so too were his philanthropic dreams. Active in various professional, cultural, and charitable organizations, Sidney was Chairman of the Board of the Sidney E. Frank Foundation. Recently, he gave $100 million to Brown University for a scholarship fund, the single largest the school ever received, which eliminated loans for the University's neediest students. He also gave Brown a gift of $20 million for a new school building and an unsolicited $5 million in additional funds for students affected by Hurricane Katrina. His largesse had also been extended to the American Heart Association, the Robin Hood Foundation, the White Plains Hospital, and many other organizations.

One year after his death, the Sidney E. Frank Foundation aims to fulfill the legacy left to it by its benefactor, making gifts that have a profound impact on a great variety of meaningful causes. With Frank’s passing, the Foundation has even greater philanthropic potential and looks to its first Chief Financial Officer to oversee the efficient and effective implementation of systems and distribution of funds. The ideal candidate will have a deep knowledge of foundation accounting practices and procedures, be a sound fiscal manager, and be able to operate with a high degree of independence.
 

The Sidney E. Frank Foundation:

The Sidney E. Frank Foundation is now in a unique position to continue with the legacy of generosity inspired by Sidney through his long life. At this juncture, the foundation has two primary objectives: to think globally about what can be created in the world to improve the future including environmental projects and climate change research; and to respect those areas that he felt so strongly enabled Sidney to live a full robust life. As the foundation solidifies its infrastructure, the family seeks ways to enable positive and life altering opportunities for others. To that end, projects to date have been in five topic areas: the environment (climate change and clean energy), education, arts, medical research and Israeli educational projects. While discretionary funds may occur elsewhere, the foundation’s geographic focus is currently in New York State, Colorado, California, Providence, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Israel, the American West and the United Kingdom.

Currently the Sidney E. Frank foundation has assets of $400MM with a charge of giving away $20MM annually. Through lean operations and sound fiscal investments, the family’s goal is to continue to grow assets to enable the capacity to even more substantially impact the world in which we live as a permanent legacy to the life lived by Sidney E. Frank.
 

Challenges Facing the Chief Financial Officer:

The new Chief Financial Officer will oversee the financial management of the foundations records and reporting. Specific areas of oversight include: accounting, including analyzing and verifying fiscal records and reports, preparing financial and statistical reports, providing information to Foundation staff and advisors regarding accounting practices and procedures, and reconciling general ledger accounts. The CFO will assist in preparing the Foundation’s annual budgets, coordinate the annual audit and prepare all schedules and supporting information needed by the outside auditor and occasionally consult on accounting related topics for non-profit Foundations including tax law or reporting and disclosure requirements. As a member of the senior management team, the ideal candidate will have a comfort and fluency with intellectual stimulation and the capacity to seek out answers and synthesize data to make informed decisions and recommendations.

The Sidney E. Frank Foundation continues its legacy of substantial philanthropy in part by maintaining little overhead with a small but highly impactful staff. The CFO will therefore work with a high degree of independence performing accounting and financial activities for the Foundation. The ideal candidate will be fluent in generally accepted accounting practices with a knowledge of foundation accounting practices and procedures specifically. S/he will interface closely with investment consultants, foundation staff, attorneys, independent accountants and philanthropic advisors regarding monthly reports, revenue and expenditure accounts, financial reporting system and payroll activities.

The ideal candidate will be flexible and adaptable to needs that come up as the foundation grows, but will have primary responsibilities for the following functions and tasks.

• Prepare journal entries and reconcile general ledger and subsidiary accounts to external investment reports from custodians, partnerships and investment managers; prepare monthly financial statements, including distributing monthly revenue and expenditure reports to staff.

• Analyze expenditure and revenue accounts, including foundation bank accounts and investment reports.

• Develop a system of internal controls.

• Make wire transfers and journal transfers and reconcile monthly bank statements.

• Monitor grant expenditures, ensuring data is recorded in the financial accounting system.

• Calculate and prepare reimbursement billings and track receivables; reconcile monthly accounts receivable.

• Prepare audit schedules for external auditors and acts as a liaison between the foundation and auditors.

• Interface with client’s grants accounting systems and track grant commitments and grants payable.

• Prepare and file annual financial report with regulatory authorities, including the Internal Revenue Service.

• Prepare annual budgets with program staff.

Qualifications:

While no one person will embody the qualifications below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following attributes, experiences and skills.

• Experience with investment portfolio accounting; including the ability to navigate through a K-1 or other investment tax document with relative ease.

• Knowledge of generally accepted accounting practices and principles as relevant to non-profit entities including subsequent pronouncements related to foundations.

• An understanding of partnership accounting regarding hedge funds and private equity investments is preferred.

• A Bachelors degree with major coursework in accounting, finance, economics or a related field is required. A minimum of ten years in the accounting field with preference given to candidates with at least three years in accounting for a foundation or nonprofit entity. An MBA/CPA is preferred.

• The ability to work well independently; prioritize work flow, meet critical deadlines and pay exceptionally close attention to details.

• A deep ethic rudder with a natural ease making sound, independent judgments within established polices and procedures.

• Acumen in maintaining accurate financial records and preparing clear and accurate reports for informational, auditing and operational use.

• Fluency in reconciling accounts, records, reports and journals and preparing financial and/or accounting statements, schedules and reports. The capacity to interpret, apply and explain complex laws, codes, regulations and ordinances including reviewing and verifying accuracy of data.

• Superb oral and written communication skills, the gravitas to interact effectively with co-workers, managers, subordinates, estate lawyers, investment managers, accounting firm personnel, foundation executives and the general public.

• Fluency with the full Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel, and complex accounting systems.

• Flexibility, trustworthiness, adaptability a willingness to roll up his/her sleeves and a strong sense of humor are imperative.
   

Applications and Nominations:

Applications will be reviewed as received. Interviews will begin and an offer may be extended before the deadline. Please send a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word or pdf format), salary history and how you learned about the position to: seff-cfo@nonprofitprofessionals.com.

In order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please write your name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail.