Vice President, Finance

Company Description

Novo is a venture-backed fintech that simplifies banking for small businesses. Since our Fall 2018 beta launch, we've expanded offerings from free checking accounts and debit cards to lending products, business tools (invoices, bookkeeping, and more), and integrations.

Today, Novo is a powerfully simple banking platform that serves over 250,000 small businesses. In addition to providing smart tools built for entrepreneurs to better run and grow their businesses, Novo has processed billions in transactions in partnership with a number of established banking partners.

Our vision is to be the go-to platform serving small businesses – from launch to everyday – so business owners can focus on growing, while Novo provides seamless money movement, money storage, and access to capital. We'd like to look back 5–10 years from now and know that we helped new generations of small businesses succeed because of the work we did at Novo.

Novo raised $170 million in venture capital and is backed by leading investors, including Stripes, Valar Ventures, Crosslink Capital, and Notable Capital (formerly GGV). Learn more at https://www.novo.co.

Role Description

Novo is seeking a highly experienced and motivated finance leader to own and scale our financial operations and strategy. This role is critical to ensuring the financial health, discipline, and rigor of the company, supporting our rapidly expanding team and business operations. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who can build and run core finance functions — FP&A, accounting, treasury, and reporting — while serving as a strategic partner to the executive team in a dynamic, regulated fintech environment. This is a high-impact, high-visibility role with significant exposure to the board, investors, and banking partners.

Responsibilities

Financial Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and execute financial strategy aligned with Novo's mission, growth objectives, and unit economics.

• Serve as a key strategic partner to the executive team, providing data-driven insight to guide major business decisions.

• Lead long-range planning, scenario modeling, and capital allocation to support sustainable growth.

• Prepare and present financial materials, performance, and projections to the board, investors, and lenders.

FP&A & Business Partnering

• Own the annual budgeting process, rolling forecasts, and ongoing variance analysis across the company.

• Build and maintain financial models that capture Novo's drivers, including interchange and card economics, deposit and money-movement dynamics, lending, and customer cohorts.

• Favor rigorous, cohort-based analysis over surface-level correlation when evaluating performance and informing investment decisions.

• Partner with Product, Engineering, Operations, and Growth to set targets, track KPIs, and translate strategy into operating plans.

Accounting & Controls

• Oversee day-to-day accounting operations, including general ledger, accounts payable/receivable, payroll, and the monthly/quarterly close.

• Ensure timely, accurate financial statements in accordance with GAAP.

• Design, implement, and maintain robust internal controls, accounting policies, and procedures.

• Manage the annual audit and relationships with external auditors and tax advisors.

Treasury & Cash Management

• Manage cash, liquidity, and working capital to ensure the company is well capitalized to execute its plan.

• Oversee banking relationships, treasury operations, and the flow of funds across partner-bank and program infrastructure.

• Monitor and forecast cash position and runway, partnering with leadership on financing and fundraising as needed.

Compliance, Risk & Regulatory

• Manage compliance with relevant financial, tax, and regulatory requirements pertinent to a fintech company.

• Partner with Risk, Compliance, and Legal to navigate the regulatory environment inherent to financial services and money movement.

• Support reporting and financial controls required by banking partners, regulators, and investors.

• Identify, assess, and mitigate financial and operational risks across the business.

Team Leadership & Operations

• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing finance and accounting team, fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

• Establish scalable systems, tools, and processes that grow with the company.

• Manage relationships with finance vendors, auditors, banks, and other key partners.

Strategic Planning & Budgeting

• Contribute to strategic planning for future financial needs and the company's broader operating roadmap.

• Develop and manage the company budget, optimizing spend while ensuring teams have the resources needed to deliver.

Minimum Qualifications

• 12–18+ years of progressive experience in finance and accounting, with at least 3–5 years in a senior finance leadership role (preferably in fintech, financial services, or banking).

• Demonstrable experience building and scaling FP&A, accounting, and treasury functions in a high-growth, regulated environment.

• Strong understanding of fintech economics, including interchange, deposits, lending, money movement, and partner-bank financial flows.

• Deep technical accounting knowledge (GAAP), with experience managing audits, internal controls, and financial reporting.

• Proven ability to lead and motivate teams, manage complex cross-functional initiatives, and communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, including the board and investors.

• Experience supporting fundraising, capital planning, and investor or lender relationships.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a proactive, data-driven approach to financial management.

• Relevant credentials (e.g., CPA, MBA, or CFA) highly desirable.

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving startup environment.

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field required; advanced degree preferred.