Director of Accounting

About this position

Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Accounting owns the accounting organization end to end: the global close, technical accounting and U.S. GAAP policy, internal controls, and audit. You will act as the company's de facto Controller — the final word on how transactions are recorded and how the numbers are defended.

This role suits a candidate who trained at a large public accounting firm, then moved in-house and grew through Senior Manager or Director of Accounting roles at technology companies. You have carried a close, survived audits, written the memos, and built the processes that let a finance team close faster with fewer surprises. You are comfortable being both the technical expert and the operator, and you have done it across time zones.

Immediate priority: lead the 2026 audit, conducted to PCAOB standards with a Big 4 audit firm, to a clean and on-time opinion. This is the defining deliverable of the role's first year and the primary lens through which candidates will be evaluated.

Close, Reporting & Controllership

· Own the global month-, quarter-, and year-end close across all entities, driving cycle-time reduction without sacrificing accuracy.

· Own the consolidated financial statements, intercompany accounting, foreign currency translation, and the supporting reporting package delivered to the CFO, executive team, board, and investors.

· Own the general ledger, chart of accounts, and accounting systems roadmap, including ERP process design and automation of manual work.

· Own accounting operations — revenue, AR/collections, AP, payroll accounting, equity, leases, fixed assets, and treasury accounting.

Technical Accounting & Policy

· Serve as the internal authority on U.S. GAAP. Research complex transactions, write the technical position memos, and defend those positions with auditors.

· Own the accounting treatment for revenue recognition (ASC 606) across multi-element, milestone, and usage-based arrangements; leases (ASC 842); stock-based compensation (ASC 718); business combinations (ASC 805); and capitalized software (ASC 350-40).

· Maintain the global accounting policy manual and drive consistent application across all entities and regions.

· Assess and implement new accounting standards, and advise the CFO on the accounting implications of new commercial structures, financings, and M&A activity.

Audit, Controls & Compliance

· Lead the 2026 audit to a clean, on-time opinion — conducted to PCAOB standards with a Big 4 audit firm. Own the audit plan, the PBC calendar, sampling and evidence requests, and every technical position put in front of the engagement team.

· Own the Big 4 auditor relationship end to end, including the engagement partner and manager cadence, scoping and materiality discussions, component and international audit coordination, and timely resolution of open items.

· Drive the company to a PCAOB-grade documentation standard: control descriptions, evidence retention, review sign-offs, and audit trails that withstand inspection-level scrutiny.

· Design, document, and operate the internal control environment, building toward SOX-grade controls as the company matures — with no material adjustments or significant deficiencies.

· Partner with Tax, Legal, and external advisors on direct and indirect tax provisions, transfer pricing support, statutory filings, and local regulatory compliance across international jurisdictions.

Process Automation & Systems Modernization

· Own the accounting automation agenda: identify manual, spreadsheet-dependent, and error-prone processes and systematically engineer them out.

· Modernize the close using current tooling — close management and task orchestration, automated account reconciliation and transaction matching, AP/expense automation, revenue and billing systems, and reporting and analytics layers.

· Partner directly with Engineering and IT to specify, prioritize, and implement internal tools and integrations that serve Accounting — data pipelines between operational systems and the ERP, automated journal entry feeds, custom reporting, and workflow and approval automation.

· Write clear functional requirements, act as business owner on internal tooling projects, and manage them through UAT, cutover, and adoption.

· Evaluate where AI and intelligent automation can responsibly reduce cycle time and manual review — and apply the control and auditability standards that make those tools defensible to auditors.

· Track and report efficiency outcomes: close-cycle days, manual journal entry volume, reconciliation automation rate, and cost per transaction.

Global Team Leadership

· Build, lead, and develop a distributed accounting team spanning U.S. and international locations, including offshore shared-service and outsourced resources.

· Set clear close calendars, ownership, and quality standards across regions and time zones, and hold the organization to them.

· Partner cross-functionally with FP&A, Legal, Sales, Operations, and Delivery leadership — translating accounting requirements into terms the business can act on.

· Serve as a trusted deputy to the CFO on special projects: systems implementations, financing and diligence support, entity setup, and integration work.

Required

· Active CPA license, in good standing.

· Approximately 10+ years of progressive accounting experience, including a foundation at a large public accounting firm (Big 4 or comparable national/international firm).

· Prior in-house experience at technology companies as a Senior Manager or Director of Accounting.

· Demonstrated controllership experience — you have owned a close, owned the balance sheet, and owned an audit, not just supported them.

· Direct experience leading a Big 4 financial statement audit as the company-side owner, and demonstrated ability to lead an audit conducted to PCAOB standards. You have been the person the engagement partner calls.

· Track record of accounting process automation — you have replaced manual processes with modern tooling and can point to measurable results.

· Proven experience partnering with IT and Engineering to scope, prioritize, and deliver internal tools, system integrations, and data automation that serve the accounting function.

· Deep technical U.S. GAAP expertise, with hands-on application of ASC 606, ASC 842, ASC 718, and consolidation and foreign currency principles — and the judgment to know when a transaction needs a memo.

· Proven experience working with international teams in a multi-entity, multi-currency environment, including managing or coordinating staff and stakeholders across time zones.

· ERP ownership experience (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar) and comfort driving process automation and system improvements.

· Excellent written communication — you can produce a technical memo an auditor accepts and a summary an executive can act on.

· Ability to work on-site in the San Francisco Bay Area or Redmond, WA on a hybrid schedule.

Strongly Preferred

· Professional fluency in Mandarin — our delivery organization and a significant share of our partners and stakeholders operate in Greater China and across Asia-Pacific.

· Experience at a high-growth, venture- or private-equity-backed company, and experience preparing an accounting function for audit readiness, IPO, or SOX compliance.

· Hands-on experience with close-management, reconciliation, or automation platforms (e.g., BlackLine, FloQast, Numeric, Trintech) and with reporting or BI tooling (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).

· Comfort working with data directly — SQL, Power Query, Alteryx, or scripting — enough to prototype and to speak credibly with engineers.

· Experience in AI, data services, technology-enabled services, or a global professional-services delivery model.

· Experience with international statutory reporting, transfer pricing, and cross-border intercompany structures.

· Experience integrating acquisitions or standing up new legal entities.

Location and commute

Palo Alto, CA .

Plan your route with Google Maps. Travel times and transportation options vary; confirm the work location with the employer before commuting.

How to apply

Review the vacancy and complete the application on the employer or recruitment partner’s website. Requisition ID: WJ-3121944768.