Lead Accountant

Position Summary

This role will support the company’s financial close, reporting, and general ledger activities, ensuring accurate and timely financial information across multiple legal entities. This role will be responsible for balance sheet reconciliations, journal entries, and accounting activities related to projects, fixed assets, manufacturing operations, and intercompany transactions. The position requires strong knowledge of U.S. GAAP and the ability to research and resolve complex accounting issues. The Senior Accountant will also play a key role in strengthening internal controls, improving accounting processes, and driving efficiencies through standardization and automation.

Key Job Responsibilities

Month-End Close and Financial Reporting

• Support the monthly, quarterly, and annual financial close processes, ensuring timely and accurate completion of all assigned activities.
• Prepare, review, and post journal entries, including accruals, prepaid expenses, payroll, fixed assets, intercompany transactions, and other accounting adjustments.
• Perform detailed general ledger reviews and investigate unusual balances, fluctuations, and discrepancies.
• Support the preparation and review of monthly financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, and supporting schedules.
• Identify opportunities to streamline the close process, improve efficiency, and reduce the number of days required to close the books.

Balance Sheet Reconciliations and General Ledger Management

• Own and maintain monthly balance sheet reconciliations across all significant accounts.
• Ensure all balance sheet accounts are properly supported, reconciled, and reviewed within established deadlines.
• Identify accounting errors, recommend corrective entries, and implement procedures to prevent recurring issues.
• Establish and maintain standardized reconciliation schedules and documentation.

Project Accounting and Cost Accounting

• Support project accounting activities, ensuring accurate tracking, classification, allocation, and reporting of project-related costs across multiple projects and legal entities.
• Review project-related accruals, prepaid expenses, cost allocations, and journal entries as part of the month-end close process.
• Support the transfer of completed capital projects to fixed assets and ensure depreciation begins when assets are placed into service.
• Develop and maintain project accounting controls, reporting procedures, and reconciliation processes.
• Support accounting activities related to manufacturing operations, including inventory valuation, cost of goods sold (COGS), and production-related expenses.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen manufacturing accounting controls, inventory reporting, and cost accounting processes.

Multi-Entity Accounting

• Support accounting and financial reporting for multiple international legal entities.
• Assist with multi-entity consolidations and intercompany eliminations.
• Ensure proper classification and recording of transactions across legal entities, departments, and cost centers.
• Account for foreign currency transactions, remeasurement, and financial statement translation in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Technical Accounting and Compliance

• Prepare technical accounting analyses and supporting documentation for significant accounting matters.
• Research, analyze, and apply U.S. GAAP to complex or nonroutine accounting transactions.
• Demonstrate working knowledge of accounting standards related to revenue recognition (ASC 606), leases (ASC 842), fixed assets, accruals, foreign currency (ASC 830), and other relevant accounting topics.
• Assist with the development and implementation of accounting policies, procedures, and internal controls.

ERP Systems and Process Improvement

• Utilize the company's ERP system to manage general ledger activities, financial reporting, and account reconciliations.
• Identify and resolve discrepancies between general ledger balances and supporting subledgers.
• Develop standardized accounting schedules, reconciliation templates, and close procedures.
• Identify opportunities for automation and process improvements to strengthen financial reporting and reduce manual work.
• Support ongoing integration of accounting processes, systems, and reporting requirements.

Key Competencies & Skills

• CPA certified, or CPA candidate, strongly preferred
• Demonstrated ability to reconcile complex subledgers to the general ledger
• Strong understanding of GAAP, general ledger accounting, accruals, etc.
• Ability to analyze large volumes of transactional data
• Ability to identify weaknesses in existing accounting processers and implement sustainable reconciliations, controls and more efficient workflows.
• Comfortable working with limited oversight

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance or related field preferred
• Minimum of 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, including significant hands-on general ledger and reconciliation experience
• Experience in manufacturing, technology, life sciences, or a multinational corporate environment.
• Familiarity with foreign currency accounting, intercompany eliminations, and consolidated financial reporting.
• Experience working within a larger corporate reporting structure or supporting post-acquisition integration.

 Working Conditions

Work is performed inside a flex space building consisting of offices, open desk space, laboratory, machine shop, and a manufacturing floor. Level of noise is usually quiet in the office environment and temperature controlled. Noise levels are elevated in the warehouse space where temperatures can vary depending on the outside elements and weather. Travel may be required, including up to 2-8 trips per year to visit suppliers, attend conferences, meetings (customer, investor, and business) and customer sites (hatcheries).