Senior Manager, TV Networks Accounting - Record to Report

Company Description

VERSANT (Nasdaq: VSNT) is an industry-changing media and entertainment business and home to trusted brands that shape culture, inform audiences, and build lasting connections. It operates across four core markets: political news and opinion, business news and personal finance, golf, and sports and genre entertainment. These markets are served through a powerful portfolio of iconic and innovative brands, including CNBC, MS NOW, USA Network, Golf Channel, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Versant's sports division USA Sports, along with complementary digital assets including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and GolfPass.

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior Manager, TV Networks Accounting – Record to Report to lead accounting operations for Versant’s TV Networks business. This role will oversee the timely, accurate, and controlled execution of TV Networks Record to Report activities, including journal entries, account reconciliations, month-end and quarter-end close support, account analysis, issue resolution, and business-unit accounting partnership.

The Senior Manager will serve as a key liaison between Accounting Operations, TV Networks Controllership, Finance, business stakeholders, and outsourced service providers. This individual will provide ownership over day-to-day service delivery, offshore team oversight, close execution, controls, and process improvement.

This role is designed for a leader who can manage operational complexity, partner directly with key stakeholders, hold offshore teams accountable to service commitments, and help guide the organization through continued centralization, system transformation, and ongoing scalability.

Responsibilities:

Service Delivery

• Lead TV Networks-specific Record to Report activities, including journal entries, account reconciliations, close activities, account analysis, and recurring reporting deliverables.
• Oversee outsourced provider execution for assigned TV Networks activities, including work performed by Accenture resources supporting journal entry preparation, account reconciliation preparation, close support, and related transaction activity.
• Execute and complete assigned accounting deliverables to ensure accuracy, completeness, timeliness, and compliance with Versant accounting policies and control requirements.
• Serve as the primary Record to Report liaison to TV Networks Controllership, ensuring clear communication, issue resolution, and strong service delivery.
• Coordinate with Corporate Accounting, Consolidations, Financial Systems, Finance, and other stakeholders to support month-end and quarter-end close requirements.
• Manage close calendars, deliverable tracking, escalations, and handoffs across internal and outsourced teams.
• Support the evolution of TV Networks accounting work into the future-state Record to Report operating model, including activities moving from business units or legacy support structures into centralized Accounting Operations.

Standards, Controls & Compliance

• Maintain a strong SOX-compliant control environment across assigned TV Networks accounting processes.
• Ensure account reconciliations, journal entries, supporting documentation, and review procedures are completed in accordance with internal control expectations.
• Partner with Risk & Compliance, Audit, Technical Accounting, Corporate Controllership, and other teams to resolve control issues and strengthen process discipline.
• Maintain and improve standard operating procedures, desktop procedures, close checklists, and process documentation for assigned TV Networks activities.
• Identify control gaps, documentation issues, or recurring process defects and drive corrective action with internal and outsourced teams.
• Support audit requests, account fluctuation explanations, and other controllership inquiries related to TV Networks accounting activity.

Performance & Transformation

• Manage service delivery performance for assigned TV Networks Record to Report activities, including timeliness, quality, issue aging, reconciliation status, journal-entry accuracy, and close readiness.
• Hold outsourced providers accountable for service levels, quality standards, escalation protocols, and continuous improvement commitments.
• Drive process improvements that reduce manual work, improve quality, strengthen controls, and increase scalability.
• Support adoption and optimization of Record to Report enabling technologies, including Blackline, Promenta, SAP, and other close, reconciliation, workflow, and reporting tools.
• Participate in ERP transformation and future-state operating model initiatives, ensuring TV Networks accounting requirements are understood and incorporated into process design.
• Partner with the Sr. Director and Controllership leadership to identify opportunities for additional centralization, automation, standardization, and improved service delivery.
• Provide ownership for issue resolution, root-cause analysis, and sustainable remediation of recurring accounting or process challenges.

BPO, Shared Services & Governance

• Own executive-level governance of outsourced TV Networks related R2R delivery, including Accenture and other third-party providers.
• Ensure outsourced teams meet agreed SLAs, KPIs, quality standards, control requirements, and service expectations.
• Establish governance routines that provide transparency into performance, backlog, issue resolution, capacity, controls, and continuous improvement.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Build organizational capability to support expanded scope, greater centralization, ERP transformation, and future-state accounting operations.
• Provide clear direction, role clarity, feedback, and performance expectations to internal and offshore teams.
• Build strong working relationships with TV Networks Controllership, Finance, Corporate Accounting, Consolidations, Technical Accounting, Audit, IT, and outsourced providers.
• Communicate effectively with senior stakeholders, including Director, VP, and SVP-level business and Controllership partners, on operational status, risks, decisions, and escalations.
• Promote a culture of accountability, operational excellence, partnership, continuous improvement, and strong customer service.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field.
• 5+ years of progressive experience in accounting, controllership, corporate accounting, shared services, or Record to Report operations.
• Experience managing month-end close activities, journal entries, account reconciliations, account analysis, close coordination, and audit support.
• Strong understanding of US GAAP, internal controls, SOX requirements, and accounting operations best practices.
• Experience managing or overseeing outsourced, offshore, BPO, or shared service teams.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, meet close deadlines, resolve issues, and maintain high-quality service delivery in a complex environment.
• Strong systems experience with ERP, reconciliation, journal-entry, workflow, or reporting tools; experience with SAP, Blackline, and/or Promenta strongly preferred.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder-management, and escalation-management skills.
• Ability to partner with senior leaders and explain accounting issues, operational risks, and process requirements clearly and effectively.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and root-cause analysis skills.

Desired Characteristics:

• Experience in media, entertainment, digital, advertising, news networks, streaming, technology, or similarly complex industries.
• Finance transformation experience.
• Experience with BlackLine transaction matching, reconciliation automation, journal entry workflow, or AI-enabled finance operations tools.
• International accounting experience.

Why Join Us

• Lead a critical media network segment accounting process during a pivotal stage of Versant’s growth and transformation.
• Help shape the Record to Report operating model for a modern media and entertainment company.
• Partner directly with leadership across Controllership, Finance, Technology, Treasury, Audit, Compliance, and business operations.
• Promote a culture of accountability, operational excellence, partnership, continuous improvement, and strong service.

Additional Requirements:

• Hybrid: This position has been designated as hybrid, generally contributing from the office a minimum of three days per week. 
• This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks.

.

Additional Information

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT Media employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT Media's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to [email protected].

VERSANT Media is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc.

VERSANT Media is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at VERSANT via-email, the Internet, or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from VERSANT's Talent Acquisition team will be deemed the sole property of VERSANT. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by VERSANT as a result of the referral or through other means.