SVP, Finance & Accounting, Studios

About BuzzFeed, Inc.

BuzzFeed, Inc. (Nasdaq: BZFD) is home to the best of the internet with a mission to spread joy and truth. Across entertainment, news, food, pop culture, and commerce, our brands drive conversation and inspire what audiences watch, read, and buy now — and into the future. Born on the internet in 2006, BuzzFeed, Inc. is committed to improving it: providing trusted, quality, brand-safe entertainment to hundreds of millions of people; making content on the internet more inclusive, empathetic, and creative; and inspiring our audience to live better lives. 🐝🎥

BuzzFeed Studios: Where Stories Come to Life

BuzzFeed Studios brings stories to life for hundreds of millions around the world, creating entertainment across screens of all shapes and sizes. From social media to digital video, animation, podcasting, vertical micro-drama, television, and feature film, the studio leverages insights from its global audiences to create culturally relevant, high-quality content built for today's audiences. BuzzFeed Studios boasts an enormous social following and a vast portfolio of brands from BuzzFeed Celeb to Tasty, BuzzFeed Unsolved, Cocoa Butter, the Animation Lab, and countless more.

Business Area: Content

Job Category: Studio

Salary: $250,000.00 - $300,000.00 USD

Union Status: Non - Union

BuzzFeed Inc. is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We reserve the ability to adjust the final compensation for this role based on the final candidate's experience, skillset, certifications, and geography.

The Community You Will Join

We are seeking a strategic and commercially minded SVP of Finance & Accounting to serve as a key financial steward and thought partner to senior leadership. In this high-visibility role, you will own the full financial planning cycle, drive analytical rigor across the organization, and play a pivotal role in shaping business performance and long-term growth strategy.

A Typical Day

Accounting & Financial Controls

• Oversee core accounting operations — general ledger, AP/AR, and payroll — ensuring accuracy and GAAP compliance across all functions.
• Partner with the Controller to continuously improve the month-end and year-end close process for speed and reporting quality.
• Establish and enforce internal controls, accounting policies, and procedures that protect company assets and ensure regulatory compliance.
• Lead annual external audits and serve as the primary executive liaison to auditors, tax counsel, and external advisors.
• Ensure proper revenue recognition across all business lines in accordance with applicable standards.

Strategic Financial Leadership

• Lead the continued evolution of budgeting, financial forecasting, operating plans, and financial modeling infrastructure to support business agility and decision-making.
• Develop and maintain rigorous cash flow forecasting frameworks, ensuring liquidity visibility and proactive risk management.
• Monitor industry trends and competitive positioning to deliver timely intelligence that informs strategic planning and investment priorities.

Production & Studio Finance

• Oversee end-to-end production finance for original content, including budget development, cost reporting, and final cost analysis across all stages of production.
• Partner with production, creative, and operations teams to establish production budgets, track actuals against estimates, and deliver variance analysis to senior leadership.
• Manage studio overhead budgets and allocations, ensuring accurate cost attribution across projects, departments, and revenue streams.
• Develop and maintain production financing models, including co-production structures, deficit financing, and distribution deal waterfall analyses.
• Coordinate with legal and business affairs on deal structuring, talent agreements, and rights acquisitions to ensure accurate financial representation and risk assessment.
• Oversee residuals, participations, and guild obligations tracking to ensure compliance and timely payment across all productions.
• Build robust green-light financial models to support content investment decisions, incorporating distribution projections, licensing revenue, and ROI analysis.
• Establish and enforce production accounting controls, policies, and procedures in alignment with industry standards and internal audit requirements.

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Generate high-quality quarterly and monthly financial reports; deliver ad-hoc reporting and analysis leveraging Excel and integrated financial systems (NetSuite, Nexonia, Boostr).
• Build and maintain financial models and scenario analyses to support strategic initiatives, M&A activity, and acquisition evaluation.
• Lead month-end and year-end close processes in close partnership with the accounting team and external auditors, ensuring timely and accurate reporting.

Executive Partnership & Systems

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the Senior Management Team and department heads, providing in-depth financial analyses and compelling executive-level presentations.
• Evaluate potential ERP/financial system migrations; prepare platform recommendations and oversee end-to-end implementation as required.

Who You Are

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance required; MBA strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive FP&A experience, with at least 3 years at the Director level or above; media or digital media industry background is a significant plus.

Technical Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint; strong financial modeling capabilities.
• Hands-on experience with NetSuite and/or SAP; familiarity with Nexonia and Boostr is advantageous.
• Demonstrated command of integrated financial systems and data architecture.

Leadership & Interpersonal Qualities

• Exceptional executive communication skills — clear, concise, and persuasive in both written and verbal formats; able to translate complex financial data for non-financial stakeholders.
• Creative thinker with strong problem-solving instincts; highly driven and capable of operating with autonomy in a fast-paced environment.
• Proven track record of hands-on leadership — comfortable rolling up sleeves alongside team members while maintaining a strategic altitude.
• Strong emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills; skilled at building cross-functional relationships and influencing without authority.

Use of artificial intelligence or an LLM such as ChatGPT during the interview process may be grounds for rejection of your application.

Life at BuzzFeed, Inc.

We celebrate inclusion and are committed to equal-opportunity employment. We are proud to be an equal-opportunity workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against based on age, race, gender, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or any other protected category.

You can expect:

• A supportive, inclusive atmosphere on a team that values your contributions.
• Opportunities for personal and professional growth through work experience, offerings from our in-house Learning Team, our Employee Resource Groups, and more.
• An attractive and equitable compensation package, including salary.
• A well-rounded benefits program featuring paid time off, unlimited sick time, comprehensive medical benefits, a family leave policy, access to mental health platforms, retirement plans, health and wellness discounts, and much more.