Associate Director, Accounting Policy & Governance

RSM•Chicago, IL

About The Position

We are the leading provider of professional services to the middle market globally, our purpose is to instill confidence in a world of change, empowering our clients and people to realize their full potential. Our exceptional people are the key to our unrivaled, culture and talent experience and our ability to be compelling to our clients. You’ll find an environment that inspires and empowers you to thrive both personally and professionally. There’s no one like you and that’s why there’s nowhere like RSM. The Associate Director of Accounting Policy and Governance is a high-impact role that will drive the development, standardization, and governance of accounting policies and procedures across the firm. This leader brings structure, consistency, and a strong risk-awareness to ensure that accounting practices are well-defined, documented, and uniformly applied throughout the organization. This role will serve as the central accounting policy governance role within Controllership—identifying gaps or inconsistencies in existing accounting policies, owning the end-to-end policy lifecycle from development through approval, and ensuring clear, consistent application across the firm. The role requires a strategic thinker who can step back from day-to-day execution to challenge approaches, promote cross-functional alignment, and strengthen the firm’s financial control environment. This role reports to the firm Controller.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required.
Required CPA, CIA, or other relevant professional accounting certification.
Experience in a large corporate finance or Big 4/public accounting environment.
Proven ability to think strategically about accounting issues and provide governance leadership.
Experience driving cross-functional initiatives or policy implementations within a complex organization.
Exceptional analytical and risk assessment skills, with the ability to identify patterns and evaluate compliance of practices against policies.
Strong communication skills and a collaborative approach to influence and partner with stakeholders across different departments.
A background in establishing or managing control frameworks (e.g., SOX compliance, risk management programs)

Nice To Haves

7+ years of progressive experience in accounting, audit, or controllership, with deep knowledge of financial reporting processes and internal controls.
Prior exposure to accounting policy development, internal audit, or financial governance roles.

Responsibilities

Establish and maintain a comprehensive accounting policy manual, ensuring enterprise-wide GAAP compliance and consistency.
Maintain centralized documentation and tracking for all policy documents.
Conduct ongoing gap assessments to identify missing, outdated, or inconsistent accounting policies.
Prioritize policy updates based on financial reporting risk and complexity and maintain a risk-based policy roadmap to address high-impact areas first.
Regularly evaluate existing accounting policies for relevance and effectiveness.
Identify opportunities to modernize and streamline policies for consistency and clarity.
Recommend improvements or new policies where needed.
Lead the end-to-end policy update process through formal governance channels.
Coordinate cross-functional stakeholder input (e.g., Controllership, Finance, Risk, Audit, Operations) and secure necessary approvals.
Track each policy through review, approval, and implementation stages to ensure timely completion and communication to affected teams.
Partner closely with various business units and functional teams to ensure uniform interpretation and application of accounting policies.
Proactively resolve discrepancies in how policies are applied across different parts of the organization, driving firm-wide consistency.
Standardize key Controllership-related processes (such as month-end close procedures) by developing clear procedural documentation.
Ensure teams across the controllership function execute processes consistently and in line with approved policies.
Serve as a Controllership subject-matter expert on finance transformation initiatives or process redesign projects.
Advise on accounting implications and ensure that new systems and processes incorporate appropriate policy requirements and controls, reinforcing the link between policy and process design.