Director, Client Accounting Operations

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Oversee the daily management operations of Alta's client accounting department across various client engagements.

• Ensure the delivery of client accounting services is accurate, consistent, and timely throughout monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting cycles.

• Maintain transparency regarding progress on closings, deadlines, staffing capacity, delivery risks, and obstacles within the accounting team.

• Foster the discipline, consistency, and rigor expected from a top-tier client accounting department.

• Manage, mentor, and assist controllers, senior accountants, and other accounting personnel within Alta's client delivery framework.

• Establish clear expectations for quality, timeliness, ownership, communication, and follow-through.

• Review team outputs at appropriate levels to uphold high standards and support the professional growth of team members.

• Identify skill gaps, training requirements, and areas for enhancement in staffing, supervision, and team structure.

• Define, enhance, and standardize accounting workflows for clients and team members, covering aspects like close management, reconciliations, reviews, onboarding, cleanup, reporting, and documentation.

• Assess the utilization of Alta's core accounting systems and upstream tools across clients, including QuickBooks Online and related finance systems such as accounts payable, payroll, spend management, billing, and revenue tools.

• Identify system deficiencies, recurring process issues, inefficient handoffs, data quality challenges, integration problems, and manual tasks that need improvement or elimination.

• Propose and implement practical enhancements to how Alta provides accounting services to increase efficiency, reliability, quality, and scalability.

• Lead the integration of AI, automation, and contemporary workflow tools within the accounting function.

• Determine appropriate and inappropriate applications of AI across the accounting function, focusing practically on leverage, quality, and scalability.

• Enhance the firm's use of templates, checklists, SOPs, documentation, communication workflows, review layers, and recurring routines to boost leverage.

• Develop a modern, AI-enabled accounting department that combines sound human judgment with disciplined, repeatable processes.

• Act as a senior authority above client-level controllers, stepping into client discussions as necessary to assist with delivery, communication, issue resolution, and relationship management.

• Support client onboarding, accounting transitions, cleanup efforts, and workflow stabilization initiatives.

• Ensure that clients perceive Alta's accounting function as organized, responsive, and reliable.

• Collaborate with controllers and other team members to address issues before they impact client confidence or the quality of delivery.

• Uphold quality standards across financial statements, reconciliations, supporting schedules, closing documentation, and reporting workflows.

• Ensure that issues are identified early and escalated appropriately when complex technical accounting, compliance, audit, ERP, or other specialized support is required.

• Collaborate closely with Alta's Managing Partner and senior accounting leadership to enhance delivery quality and inform scaling decisions.

• Lead internal initiatives focused on process improvement related to client satisfaction, closing performance, team efficiency, and departmental scalability.

⛳️ Requirements

• Over 10 years of progressive accounting experience, including substantial responsibility for closing, financial reporting, accounting operations, and team management.

• Previous experience managing accounting delivery across multiple clients, entities, or business units in an accounting firm, fractional finance firm, or similar multi-client professional services environment.

• Prior experience in directly managing, coaching, or supervising accountants, controllers, accounting managers, or similar team members.

• Strong background in reviewing accounting work, maintaining quality standards, and enhancing team performance within a delivery-focused environment.

• Hands-on experience with venture-backed startups, high-growth companies, or similarly dynamic operational settings.

• Sound operational judgment regarding prioritization, staffing, escalation, accountability, and delivery consistency.

• Proficient with systems, including QuickBooks Online, Excel, Google Sheets, and common upstream finance systems such as payroll, accounts payable, spend management, billing, revenue, or reporting tools.

• Proven ability to adopt AI, automation, and modern workflow tools, with tangible examples of enhancing accounting efficiency, visibility, documentation, review, communication, scalability, or operational leverage.

• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage credibly with clients, founders, finance leads, operators, and internal team members.

• Must reside in the United States and be capable of effectively working with US-based clients and team members.

🏝️ Benefits

• Fully remote, US-based position within a distributed team.

• A role that encompasses both managing the current client delivery structure and assisting in its refinement as systems, automation, and AI-enabled workflows advance.

• A cross-functional position that includes team leadership, client support, oversight of closures, workflow design, systems evaluation, process improvement, and management of accounting delivery.

• Increased workload periods during month-end, quarter-end, year-end, audits, investor diligence, client onboarding, cleanup projects, and times of organizational change or growth.