Chief Financial Officer

About Northwestern Bank

Northwestern Bank is a locally owned, community bank proudly serving our communities for over 100 years.  We are building stronger communities where people matter, and we do that by putting our core values in action.

Northwestern Bank is a reflection of each of the communities we serve and like our communities we are strong, committed, and genuine. We treat customers like family, giving sound advice, and honest financial direction.

About Our Employees

Northwestern Bank employees are remarkable in their commitment to our communities, customers, and to each other.  They bring our values to life as they perform their day-to-day responsibilities, make decisions, and in how they treat others.  Our employees regularly rise above expectations as they seek to help others, always being truthful, respectful, and trustworthy.  They serve our communities through active volunteerism.

Chief Financial Officer

Position Summary:

The Chief Financial Officer is responsible for serving as the Bank’s lead financial executive overseeing and representing the Bank’s Accounting Department and all financial and accounting operations of the Bank.  This position reports to the President and is a member of the Senior Management team. The position is responsible for strategic financial recommendations and implementation adhering to all related generally accepted accounting principles, tax and regulatory laws, rules and regulations to adequately and accurately reflect the financial position of the Bank at all times.  Participates and assists the Bank in formulating and meeting its overall strategic business plans and goals, including the Bank’s capital plan; investment portfolio management; conducts financial and management reporting; prepares forecasting and budgeting; plans, coordinates, and executes effective processes related to the Bank’s capital and asset and liability structure; develops, implements, and monitors accounting policies, procedures, practices and internal controls. 

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Oversees the financial and accounting operations of the Bank, adheres to all related generally accepted accounting principles, tax and regulatory laws, rules and regulations to adequately and accurately reflect the financial position of the Bank at all times; develops sound, progressive and effective programs in the areas of funding, investments, cash management, forecasting, budgeting, balance sheet and liquidity management, and similar activities within guidelines established by the Bank and the Board of Directors; provides supervision and support to all assigned areas of department operations where service or assistance is needed.
2. Participates and assists the Bank in formulating and meeting its overall strategic business plans and goals, including the Bank’s annual operating budget, capital plan and budget, and interest rate risk (IRR) strategy, balance sheet and liquidity management. Develops strategies and tactical business plans to help achieve organizational objectives; participates in the development and implementation of both long- and short-range financial plans; recommends new efforts to improve ROE/ROA; determines the appropriate allocation of resources to ensure maximum profits commensurate with the best interests of shareholders, customers and employees; provides expert financial advice and input to the Board of Directors and Senior Management, contributing to their overall business planning strategy.
3. Serves as Chairperson of the Bank’s Asset/Liability Committee (ALCO); coordinates the Bank’s asset/liability management programs to facilitate the assessment and control of interest rate risk and ensures compliance with Bank financial objectives.
4. Plans, coordinates, and executes effective processes related to the Bank’s capital and asset and liability structure; evaluates the structure, position and strategies in order to maximize the Bank’s interest margin and overall profitability while managing the Bank’s interest rate risk position in a safe and sound manner, including, but not limited to, the review of the Bank’s loan portfolio for pricing and maturity distribution, ensures performance of investments and pre-purchase analysis of bond purchases and reviews the Bank’s investment portfolio to ensure that investments are performing as expected, the review of the Bank’s deposit pricing and maturity stratification, reviews investments to determine Other Than Temporarily Impaired status, and that adequate liquidity is maintained via lines of credit or liquid investments.
5. Conducts financial and management reporting processes; prepares forecasting and budgeting plans; conducts regular and ad-hoc financial reporting as required by the Board of Directors, President, shareholders, and other members of Senior Management, including, but not limited to, production reporting, financial analysis at the product and cost center level, and expense control. Balances and maintains all aspects of the Bank’s investment general ledger and investment portfolio.  
6. Develops, implements, and monitors accounting policies, procedures, practices and internal controls; establishes and maintains accounting, and fiscal controls and the preparation and interpretation of internal and external financial reports; conducts business line and product profitability analysis; works with the Chief Credit Officer in the calculation and methodology of the Bank’s allowance for current and expected credit losses (CECL).
7. Oversees the preparation of all regulatory filings including quarterly Call Reports, tax payment filings, FR2900, in addition to other reports that may be requested by various regulatory agencies.
8. Participates in evaluation of potential merger and acquisition (M&A) candidates and coordinates the preparation of M&A financial projections.
9. Manages the application of funds transfer pricing to assets and liabilities and risk-adjusted return on capital calculations in connection with the evaluation of commercial loan opportunities.
10. Supervises various accounting functions, including but not limited to, general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, prepaid and accrued and unpaid expenses, maintenance and storage of proper financial records, and computation of Federal Reserve Bank reserves.
11. Analyzes Bank operations to pinpoint opportunities and areas that need to be reorganized, downsized, or eliminated.
12. Studies long-range economic trends and project company prospects for future growth in overall sales and market share, opportunities for acquisitions or expansion into new product areas; estimates requirements for capital, land, buildings, and an increase in the workforce.
13. Assures audit compliance and procedure quality control are maintained for accounting processes; reviews, recommends and initiates corrective actions; and ensures department is in compliance with established Bank policies, procedures and state and federal regulations.
14. Reviews and approves invoices and checks prior to signature to ensure security of Bank funds.
15. Maintains advanced knowledge and awareness of financial industry status and trends.
16. Consistently applies superior decision-making techniques pertaining to inquiries, approvals and requests as they apply to existing policies and procedures, keeping within assigned approval limits and using these instances as learning tools for employee development.
17. Assumes responsibility for special projects; gathers data and prepares reports for the Board of Directors and other members of Senior Management, audits and other personnel.
18. Provides leadership in supervising Finance Department. Plays a positive role in the development and growth of assigned department staff through excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
19. Performs personnel actions including performance appraisal of the Finance Department employees' disciplinary actions, and interviewing candidates for employment.
20. Processes, solves and answers complex customer transactions, problems or inquiries.
21. Assumes responsibility for various department functions in the absence of staff members or in overload situations.
22. Treats people with respect in accordance with the NB core values; keeps commitments; inspires the trust of others; works ethically and with integrity; upholds organizational values; accepts responsibility for own actions.
23. Assures compliance with all Bank policies, procedures and processes, and all applicable state and federal banking laws, rules and regulations; adheres to Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) responsibilities that are specific to the position.
24. Completes administrative tasks correctly and on time; supports the Bank’s goals and values; benefits the Bank through outside activities.
25. Serves as a member of the Marketing Committee, Information Systems Committee, 401K Advisory Committee, CECL Committee, and IS Risk Committee.
26. Maintain and ensure compliance with Asset/Liability, Contingency Funding, Fixed Asset Capitalization, Other Than Temporarily Impaired, Investment, and Wire Transfer Policies.
27. Performs treasury function for NW Bancshares, Inc. Responsible for filing the regulatory holding company reports. Assists with Sub Chapter S processes and procedures. 
28. Maintains up-to-date job knowledge through professional reading and affiliation with appropriate industry organizations.  Keeps informed on accounting and data processing issues in banking.  Recommends policy changes to President.

Additional Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Maintains fixed asset records and accounting
2. Responsible for correspondent accounts
3. Responsible for daily investment monitoring
4. Monitor collateral for municipal customers
5. Complete personal property reports
6. Invoice the State of Wisconsin for data sharing
7. Other duties as may be necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of this position.

Work Relationships and Scope:

Reports directly to the President. Direct report includes the Finance Department.  Works closely with Senior Management to ensure operational and financial requirements of the Bank are being met. Has regular contact with all personnel. Has occasional contact with customers, mostly over the phone but also in person. Has access to highly confidential customer and Bank financial information. Works closely with bank examiners and auditors as needed.

Measures of Performance:

Quality, accuracy, reliability, friendliness, ability to gain the trust and respect of other managers and employees; accessible and responsive to the needs and concerns of management and employees; soundness of business decisions made regarding financial, and compliance, etc.  Ability to: develop new policy and interpret established policies and procedures consistent with their intent and determine when exceptions may be appropriate, effectively supervise employees and delegate work.  Effectiveness of communications and development of good working relationships with management, employees and customers; adheres to Bank’s code of conduct, avoids conflicts of interest, keeps Bank and personnel information confidential.  Understands and adheres to Bank policies and procedures; professional workplace appearance and conduct.

Benefits Offered to Full-time Positions:

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or equivalent required. A minimum of five years' experience with financial institution accounting. At least three of those years working with an institution(s) over $500MM in assets. Previous supervisory experience desired. Significant knowledge of general accounting, payroll, budgeting, and related accounting and record keeping systems in a financial institution. Strong skills related to the consolidation and reporting of Bank financial results, which includes reporting to the board regularly. Excellent organizational and time management skills with the ability to provide leadership, supervision and training for various departments as needed.

 Individual must possess: excellent common sense and problem solving skills; knowledge of GAAP and Subchapter S banking, compliance issues and procedures; excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills; professional demeanor and appearance; ability to interact professionally with a wide variety of people, dealing effectively with difficult customers and employees; willingness to assume responsibility and solve problems; ability to maintain confidential and sensitive data relating to customer and employees; a strong sense of attention to detail; ability to input and retrieve data from a variety of computer systems; understanding of complex interest rate computations; very good understanding of federal and state laws regarding banking practices and Bank accounting policies and procedures.  Must be able to compose correspondence and reports; perform complex mathematical and financial calculations; sit for extended periods of time; attend occasional overnight, out-of-town meetings.  Must be able to handle stress, prioritize multiple projects being done at the same time.

Exceptional math skills; ability to calculate interest, commissions, proportions, and percentages; balance accounts; add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals; locate routine mathematical errors; compute rate, ratio and percent, including the drafting and interpretation of bar graphs.

Exceptional verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to apply common sense to carry out instructions and instruct others, train personnel, read, analyze and interpret documents and professional journals, understand procedures, write and present reports, correspondence and procedures, speak clearly to customers and employees.

Thorough understanding of management procedures; ability to plan department or Bank activities (setting objectives, developing strategies, budgeting, and developing policies and procedures); effectively staff (selecting, training, and developing employees); directing employees towards the desired objectives (motivating, resolving problems).

Ability to deal with complex problems involving multiple facets and variables in non-standardized situations.

Ability to work with no supervision while performing duties.

Equipment and Software Knowledge:

Create reports in bank softwares for various departments, Board of Directors and management.

Advanced skills in personal computer operation, calculator, telephone; host computer system; FedLine, word processing, BoardVantage, Plansmith Asset/Liability Software, and spreadsheet software programs.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Working Conditions:

Work is performed largely sitting at a desk in a pleasant office environment with minimal chance for personal injury.  Regular contact with most employees.  Frequent mental and visual concentration for computer usage, and reading/assimilating complex and technical compliance information.  Work hours are normally during regular business hours and will average at least 40+ hours a week.  Occasional unscheduled evening and weekend work.  

The incumbent in the course of performing this position spends time writing, typing, speaking, listening, lifting (up to 25 pounds), driving, carrying, seeing (such as close, color and peripheral vision, depth perception and adjusted focus), sitting, pulling, walking, standing, squatting, kneeling and reaching.