Chief Financial Officer

Description

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is LifeMed Alaska’s senior financial leader and a key member of the senior leadership team. Reporting directly to the CEO, this role leads the finance and accounting function while serving as a collaborative business partner to leaders across the organization.

This position brings financial insight into the conversations that shape LifeMed Alaska. The CFO works closely with the CEO and senior leadership team to understand operational priorities, ask the right questions, evaluate options, and turn financial information into practical recommendations. Success in this role requires strong communication, curiosity, sound judgment, and a willingness to work across departments rather than operate finance in a silo. The role also carries full Controller responsibility for the integrity of the organization’s financial records, financial statements, accounting operations, internal controls, audit readiness, and compliance. The right leader can move comfortably between strategic discussions and the details behind the numbers, while building a strong, responsive accounting team.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Inspiring our team to achieve continuously improved results and excellence through:

- Setting and communicating the highest expectations for performance while actively demonstrating personal belief in everyone’s ability to realize superior results.
- Establishing clear goals and associated metrics that support LifeMed Alaska’s vision and drive sustainability.
- Creating a climate of accountability at every level.
- Ensuring an in-depth understanding of quality expectations.

Serve as an active agent in creating a culture that attracts and retains the best people through:

- Recognizing individual and team accomplishments.
- Involving team members in decisions that affect them through work groups and forums.
- Creating a safe environment that ensures the best outcome for the patient and LifeMed Alaska.
- Proactively supporting leadership initiatives among peer groups and other leaders.
- Actively removing barriers to success for both the individuals and the team.

Proactively work to assist others in achieving LifeMed’s objectives to be safe, sustainable, and leaders in our community.

JOB DUTIES

Partner With the CEO & Senior Leadership Team

- Serve as the senior financial advisor to the CEO and an active, collaborative member of the senior leadership team.
- Build strong working relationships with senior and operational leaders and maintain open, timely communication around financial performance, priorities, risks, and opportunities.
- Participate actively in leadership discussions by asking questions, sharing perspective, challenging assumptions constructively, and helping the team evaluate options and make informed decisions.
- Translate financial information into clear, practical insights that leaders can understand and use.
- Partner with leaders early on significant initiatives, operational changes, investments, contracts, and other decisions with financial impact.
- Bring forward concerns and opportunities proactively and work collaboratively with leaders to develop solutions.
- Support a culture of shared accountability in which Finance is viewed as an accessible business partner, not simply a reporting function.

Finance, Planning & Performance

- Lead budgeting, forecasting, cash planning, financial modeling, allocations, and long-range financial planning.
- Provide timely financial reporting and meaningful analysis of performance, variances, cost trends, and operational drivers.
- Work with board members and department leaders to understand their financial results, identify trends, and improve budget ownership and decision-making.
- Develop and monitor financial and operational metrics that help leadership understand the health and performance of the organization.
- Evaluate the financial impact of strategic initiatives and operational decisions and provide clear recommendations.
- Oversee accounting operations and overall accountability for the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of LifeMed Alaska’s accounting records and financial statements.
- Ensure effective accounting policies, procedures, internal controls, documentation, and appropriate segregation of duties.
- Continuously look for practical ways to strengthen accounting processes, controls, systems, and workflows.
- Lead the annual financial audit and work directly with external auditors on financial statements, schedules, supporting documentation, audit requests, and resolution of findings.
- Coordinate preparation and review of year-end financial statements and ensure financial information is ready for Board review and discussion.
- Prepare clear financial reports, analysis, forecasts, and supporting materials for the CEO, senior leadership team, and Board.
- Participate in Board financial discussions as requested and explain financial results, significant variances, trends, risks, and other matters in a clear and straightforward way.
- Maintain year-round audit readiness and coordinate with external tax professionals and other financial or regulatory partners as needed.

Strengthen Healthcare & Revenue Cycle Performance

- Provide financial leadership around revenue cycle performance, including reimbursement, payer trends, denials, underpayments, collections, accounts receivable, and bad debt.
- Monitor key revenue cycle metrics and payer performance, including days in A/R, collection rates, denial trends, underpayments, bad debt, and reimbursement by payer and service line.
- Partner with operational, clinical, and billing leaders to understand revenue performance and identify opportunities to improve documentation, charge capture, billing, collections, and reimbursement.
- Evaluate the financial impact of Medicare, Medicaid, commercial payer, and other reimbursement trends.
- Use healthcare finance expertise to connect revenue cycle performance with broader operational and strategic decisions.
- Provide appropriate financial oversight of third-party billing and revenue cycle partners and ensure leadership has visibility into performance, trends, risks, and opportunities.
- Identify emerging reimbursement or payer issues and proactively communicate potential financial impacts to leadership.

Financial Systems & Process Improvement

- Evaluate finance and accounting systems and processes to identify opportunities for automation, efficiency, and stronger controls.
- Recommend and implement practical system and process improvements that better support the organization.
- Partner across departments to improve financial workflows, including purchasing, approvals, reporting, and other key processes.

Lead & Develop the Accounting Team

- Lead, support, and develop the accounting team with clear expectations, accountability, and open communication.
- Create a team environment that values responsiveness, accuracy, collaboration, problem-solving, and continuous improvement.
- Ensure the Finance team works effectively with other departments and provides leaders with timely, helpful financial support.
- Model a leadership style that is approachable, curious, collaborative, accountable, and willing to engage directly when issues need to be worked through.

Requirements

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, or a related field.

- At least 7 years of progressive accounting and financial leadership experience, including responsibility for financial reporting and accounting operations
- Demonstrated experience serving as a senior financial leader and business partner to executive and operational leadership.
- Strong Controller-level experience with general ledger oversight, month-end and year-end close, reconciliations, financial statement preparation, GAAP, internal controls, and external audits.
- Healthcare finance experience with a strong understanding of revenue cycle management, reimbursement, collections, and bad debt.
- Experience leading budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis, cash-flow planning, and financial reporting.
- Experience working directly with external auditors and supporting financial statement preparation and Board-level financial reporting.
- Experience presenting financial information, analysis, and recommendations to executive leadership and/or Boards.

Preferred

- CPA or CMA designation.
- Experience in air ambulance, EMS transport, healthcare services, hospital finance, or a related healthcare environment.
- Knowledge of Medicare, Medicaid, commercial payer reimbursement, and healthcare billing practices.
- Ability to work effectively in a fully remote environment. Required travel to Anchorage headquarters approximately once per month.

Key Competencies

- High attention to detail and accuracy.
- Strong analytical and problem solving abilities.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with urgency and accountability.
- Excellent communication, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration.

Work Location & Travel

This position may be based remotely, with required travel to LifeMed Alaska’s Anchorage headquarters approximately once per month, generally for three to four days. Additional travel may be required based on organizational and business needs.

The CFO must be able to work effectively with a geographically dispersed organization and maintain strong, consistent communication and partnership with leadership and the Finance team regardless of work location.

Salary Description
$220,000.00-$260,000.00