Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Backstory (formerly People.ai) is hiring a VP/SVP of Finance to lead finance end to end for its enterprise B2B software business. The role owns financial planning, accounting, and cash management; advises the CEO and executive team on strategy; and supports board and investor reporting.
Responsibilities
- Own the annual budget, scenario modeling, and rolling forecasts for revenue, headcount, opex, and cash, tied directly to how each part of the business plans and operates
- Deliver monthly and quarterly reporting with plan-to-actuals, and partner with each operating leader to highlight and understand the drivers behind their results
- Partner with Sales, Customer, Marketing, and Product leaders on investment trade-offs as we move from a cash-flow-neutral business to growing cash flow
- Provide leadership and the board with guidance on our financial trajectory in out quarters
- Serve as the CEO's and executive team's trusted financial advisor on strategic decisions
- Prepare board materials and investor reporting with the CEO, and serve as the primary contact for routine investor reporting and information requests
- Prepare the company for its next funding event
- Keep the company audit-ready: audited financials, clean metric definitions, and an organized data room
- Partner with Product on pricing and packaging, modeling the revenue, margin, and customer impact of each SKU
- Build predictable forecasting across our subscription base and its usage-based element
- Set revenue recognition policy for commits, prepaid credits, overages, and unused commitments, including allocating contract value between subscription and usage components
- Keep clear definitions for the metrics we report: ARR (recurring vs. variable), committed vs. consumed revenue, net dollar retention, and RPO
- Model and govern gross margin, including inference, cloud, and model-vendor costs
- Assist deal desk for enterprise contracts: non-standard terms, discount governance, and contract review
- Design sales compensation with Sales and People, including how subscription, commits, and usage are credited, and its accounting treatment
- Oversee billing and collections for hybrid contracts
- Ensure a timely, accurate monthly close and GAAP-compliant financials
- Own and improve internal controls, policies, and procedures as we scale
- Oversee AP, AR, payroll, revenue recognition (ASC 606, including variable consideration), and the general ledger
- Manage external auditors and tax advisors, and ensure compliance with tax filings, sales tax nexus, and other regulatory requirements
- Own cash flow forecasting, liquidity management, banking relationships, and treasury operations
- Monitor burn and runway, and flag risks or opportunities early
- Manage working capital across billing, collections, and vendor terms
- Lead and shape a lean finance team
- Partner with the VP of People on headcount planning, compensation and equity (409A, refresh pool, retention equity), benefits costs, payroll, and HR systems
- Build scalable finance systems, BI and reporting tools, and close processes
Skills
- 8+ years of progressive finance leadership, currently as an SVP of Finance or as a VP of Finance ready to step up
- Experience across the whole finance function, with real depth in FP&A and a track record of connecting planning back to how the business runs
- Time at a productized, enterprise B2B software company of 50M– 100M ARR, with a subscription or platform model and larger enterprise deals, run on ARR rather than recognized revenue alone
- A disciplined operator who has taken a business from cash-flow neutral to growing cash flow
- A track record of building finance teams, with the judgment to assess talent across accounting, FP&A, treasury, and AP/AR
- Fluency in SaaS metrics and how they connect to financial performance
- Hands-on ownership of the monthly close, GAAP reporting, internal controls, and revenue recognition (ASC 606)
- Experience managing external auditors, tax advisors, and banking relationships
- A player-coach who sets direction and rolls up their sleeves on modeling, close, or analysis when needed
- Sees Finance as a partner to growth functions, not a gatekeeper
- A sharp, clear communicator who translates the numbers into clear implications and decisions for operating leaders and the CEO
- A collaborative peer who reads the exec room, gives space when needed, and claims the mic when needed
- A steady presence for a team coming through a leadership transition
- Experience in revtech or CRM
- Experience with hybrid subscription-and-usage models, and with finding predictability in variable revenue
- Understanding of AI and cloud cost structures and how they drive gross margin
- Active involvement in a strategic exit before, during, and after close
- Experience supporting a capital raise or debt facility
Company Overview