Vice President, Operational & Technical Accounting

Accordion•Chicago, NY

18d•Hybrid

About The Position

We are the better way to work in finance. As private equity’s value creation partner, we sit at the heart of PE—where sponsors and CFOs meet. Through financial consulting rooted in data, technology, and AI, we help clients drive value—supporting the office of the CFO to drive end-to-end value creation. If you crave challenging work and are looking to grow, come solve complex issues alongside 1,400+ finance & technology experts in a supportive, collaborative environment. Backed by premier private equity firms and headquartered in New York with 10 offices around the globe, we are a high-growth, entrepreneurial firm looking for people who want to be part of building something great. Come make your mark. Operational & Technical Accounting Practice With the increase in complexity of the business environment and transactions, CFOs of private equity-backed companies are increasingly being looked towards to drive strategic insights for their business. Finance organizations are no longer simply result reporters, but rather, they couple these results with forward-looking data to provide strategic insights which are leveraged to make business decisions. Efficiency of process and meaningful control environments allows for speed of financial reporting with increasingly accurate measures, leaving more time for the finance team to add future enterprise value, rather than look backwards. Accordion’s Operational & Technical Accounting Advisory (O&T) Practice is comprised of a dedicated team providing accounting and financial advice to support PE-backed portfolio companies on a wide range of transactions and events, including Accounting Policies & Procedures, ERP/Financial System Execution, Financial Statement Close Process, Process & Controls Implementation, Technical Accounting, Finance/Accounting Assessment & Design and Finance & Accounting Organization Standup from a Carve-Out or Merger. We are doers and problem solvers – making sense of complexity and bolstering sponsors’ value creation theses. This role can be based in any of our US office locations and is a hybrid role with the flexibility to work remotely 2 days a week. Ideal candidates should be local to the desired location. Travel to client sites will be required as needed. This position is not eligible for immigration sponsorship.

Requirements

Minimum 5-9 years of experience working in financial accounting or operations at a top-tier public accounting or financial advisory firm, and/or private company
Bachelor's degree in Accounting or related field; CPA is a plus
A strong and up-to date knowledge of US GAAP (exposure to IFRS is a plus), with deep technical understanding of topics such as ASC 606 revenue recognition, lease transactions, purchase accounting, etc.
Experience in the following areas: technical accounting advisory, audit readiness, and functional accounting / controllership support
Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills
Strong client service mindset and communication skills
Excited to be part of a growing team, with a focus on driving future growth
Experienced in advising clients on financial accounting issues
Knowledgeable of complex financial accounting and operations issues
Passionate about delivering exceptional client service
Experienced in advising clients on financial and transformation initiatives
Knowledgeable about the relationship between Private Equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, particularly within the office of the CFO
Willing to get your hands dirty in the details of a project while simultaneously seeing the whole picture
Comfortable managing projects with multiple complex workstreams while also focused on your single workstream (you are managing and doing)
A self-starter with a strong work ethic
Full of entrepreneurial spirit and comfortable in a fluid, flat organization
Able to effectively communicate complex issues and solutions, and raise issues to senior team members when necessary
A team player, able to work with team members across all levels
Someone who enjoys mentoring others and doing meaningful work
A leader of others; you lead by example

Nice To Haves

CPA is a plus
exposure to IFRS is a plus

Responsibilities

Perform deep-dives and gain an understanding of current state processes, people, and systems (both on paper and in reality)
Identify root causes and provide recommendations on how to improve broken processes, bridge control gaps, and better align roles and responsibilities with best practices
Implement tools and creative solutions that the accounting function can use to streamline their close process (e.g. introduce materiality limits, close checklists, and calendars)
Cash to US GAAP conversion, adopting key accounting standards such as revenue recognition and lease accounting
The timely and accurate preparation of financial statements, account reconciliations, and supporting schedules
Project managing the audit timeline throughout the engagement
Design a singular finance function that can serve all three businesses; you’ll put together intuitive processes and controls and realign roles and responsibilities to suit the strengths of the individuals
Draft a unified set of policies and procedures that speak to all three businesses and encourages them to operate with consistency
Design a standard chart of accounts for a consolidated business
Select, implement, and champion a robust ERP solution which meets the needs of the combined business
Conduct purchase accounting analyses and establish US GAAP-compliant opening balance sheets for each transaction
Consolidate their existing financial reporting from disparate systems, including aligning with US GAAP and adjusting for deviations in accounting policies and procedures, to produce a single source of numerical truth
Address changes in revenue recognition requirements and draft accounting policies that affirm the new normal
Challenge existing assumptions in underlying revenue forecasts and associated cost-drivers
Evolve the invoicing process to reflect new business processes