Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Director of Accounting

🎯 Role Definition

The Director of Accounting is a senior finance leader responsible for delivering accurate, timely, and compliant financial reporting, strengthening internal controls, leading the accounting organization, and partnering with Finance, Tax, Treasury, and executive leadership to support strategic business decisions. This role owns month-end close, external audit coordination, balance sheet integrity, and the continuous improvement of accounting processes and systems (ERP/NetSuite/SAP/Oracle), ensuring GAAP (and IFRS where applicable) compliance and scalable accounting operations.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Accounting Manager / Senior Accounting Manager overseeing complex accounting deliverables
Controller with responsibility for financial statements and close processes
Senior Financial Reporting Manager or Lead Accountant from public or private companies

Advancement To:

Vice President of Finance
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Head of Accounting & Reporting / Corporate Controller

Lateral Moves:

Director of Financial Reporting
Director of FP&A or Corporate Accounting Systems

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead and own the month-end and quarter-end close processes for multiple entities, ensuring consolidated financial statements are accurate, complete, and delivered within agreed timelines while driving continuous cycle-time improvements.
Prepare, review, and deliver GAAP-compliant financial statements, footnotes, and disclosures; serve as primary owner for complex accounting areas including revenue recognition (ASC 606), lease accounting (ASC 842), stock-based compensation, and income taxes (ASC 740).
Develop, implement, and maintain robust internal control frameworks (SOX 404 and other control programs), coordinate internal testing, remediation activities, and documentation to ensure compliance and pass external audits.
Manage external audit relationships and the annual audit process—coordinate schedules, provide required documentation, respond to auditor inquiries, and lead remediation of audit findings to a timely close.
Supervise and mentor a high-performing accounting team (recruiting, performance management, coaching, career development) and create succession plans to build bench strength and technical depth.
Own balance sheet health: drive account reconciliations, intercompany eliminations, treasury/working capital reporting, and the monitoring of key balance sheet metrics to ensure accuracy and integrity.
Partner with Tax and Treasury teams to coordinate tax provisioning, quarterly estimates, cash flow forecasting, debt covenant monitoring, and bank/treasury relationships.
Lead and execute ERP implementations or major upgrades (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Workday Financials), including requirements definition, process redesign, testing, training, and post-implementation stabilization.
Drive accounting policy development and policy interpretation across complex transactions; provide technical accounting guidance to internal stakeholders and business leaders on new contracts, partnerships, and product offerings.
Oversee accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll reconciliation, fixed assets, and cost accounting functions to ensure efficient operations and accurate expense recognition.
Design and deliver scalable accounting processes, automation initiatives (RPA, AP/AR automation), and reporting enhancements to reduce manual work and improve accuracy and timeliness.
Provide monthly and quarterly financial analysis, variance analysis, and KPI reporting to the CFO and executive team; convert accounting results into actionable business insights for strategic decision-making.
Coordinate accounting due diligence and integration activities for mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and carve-outs, ensuring accounting readiness and smooth post-close consolidation.
Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and financial reporting standards, including SEC reporting obligations for public companies or private company reporting needs for lenders and investors.
Maintain and improve financial reporting infrastructure, including close checklists, reconciliations, dashboards, and documentation repositories to support auditability and knowledge transfer.
Lead cross-functional projects with Legal, Sales, Ops, and Engineering to ensure accounting considerations are embedded in contract structures, pricing models, and go-to-market initiatives.
Implement strong governance for intercompany transactions, transfer pricing, and global accounting practices to reduce risk and ensure consistent treatment across jurisdictions.
Develop and present board and audit committee packages; prepare executive summaries and talking points that clearly explain accounting topics, trends, risks, and remediation plans.
Identify and manage external advisors (accounting consultants, valuation specialists, tax advisors) when addressing complex technical accounting issues or regulatory changes.
Champion continuous training and professional development for the accounting organization, including technical accounting updates, software training, and soft-skill development for people managers.
Monitor cash collection processes and aging metrics; partner with commercial teams to manage credit risk, dispute resolution, and DSO reduction strategies.
Establish and track performance metrics for the accounting function (close timeliness, accuracy, audit findings, process improvement ROI) and report progress to executive leadership.

Secondary Functions

Respond to ad-hoc financial data requests, build bespoke analyses, and distill accounting data into clear insights for cross-functional stakeholders.
Contribute to the finance transformation roadmap including automation, data warehouse initiatives, and reporting consolidation to improve data integrity and decision support.
Collaborate with IT and data teams to translate accounting and reporting requirements into system specifications and data models, participating in user acceptance testing and change management.
Participate in cross-functional project planning and agile ceremonies for ERP, reporting, and system integration projects to ensure accounting priorities are embedded in delivery sprints.
Assist commercial and product teams with contract structuring and revenue recognition guidance during product launches and pricing changes.
Serve as a backup liaison for investor and lender due diligence processes, supporting requests for financial information and explanatory materials.
Lead special projects such as system cutovers, process centralization, and shared services stand-up to drive scalability and cost efficiencies.
Support payroll, benefits, and HR systems integrations from an accounting perspective to ensure accurate expense allocation and compliance.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Advanced knowledge of US GAAP (and IFRS as applicable) with proven experience applying complex accounting standards such as ASC 606, ASC 842, ASC 740.
Strong financial reporting and consolidation experience, including multi-entity consolidations, intercompany eliminations, and currency translation.
Demonstrated SOX 404/internal controls experience—designing controls, remediation, and coordinating testing with internal and external auditors.
ERP implementation and systems expertise (NetSuite, Oracle, SAP, Workday Financials, Adaptive, BlackLine); ability to lead requirements, testing, and deployment.
Hands-on experience with month-end close toolsets and reconciliation platforms (BlackLine, Trintech) and modern FP&A/reporting tools (Anaplan, Adaptive, Power BI, Tableau).
Proficiency in Excel (advanced modeling, pivot tables, Power Query) and familiarity with SQL or data-querying tools for report validation and automation.
Tax provisioning and ASC 740 familiarity, working with external tax advisors for quarterly and annual provision processes.
Revenue recognition and contract accounting experience, including complex arrangements, multi-element contracts, and commission accounting.
Cash flow forecasting, treasury liaison, and working capital management capabilities.
Experience managing external audits, providing audit schedules, and remediating audit observations.
Knowledge of SEC reporting and 10-Q/10-K processes for public company environments (if applicable).
Familiarity with automation technologies (RPA, scripts, process orchestration) and process improvement methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma).

Soft Skills

Strong leadership and people-management skills: coaching, developing talent, and creating high-performance teams.
Excellent verbal and written communication; ability to translate technical accounting concepts into plain English for executives and boards.
Strategic mindset with the ability to prioritize initiatives that balance risk mitigation and operational efficiency.
Problem-solving and analytical aptitude; comfort working with imperfect data and leading root-cause analysis.
Stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration: influence without authority across Finance, Legal, Sales, IT, and Operations.
High attention to detail, integrity, and commitment to ethical financial reporting.
Change management capability to lead finance transformations and promote adoption of new systems and processes.
Time management and project leadership skills, delivering on tight deadlines while managing competing priorities.
Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced, high-growth, or transformation-oriented environments.
Coaching and mentorship focus — building technical depth and professional growth paths for accounting staff.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (required).

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or MBA (preferred).
Professional certification such as CPA, CMA, or equivalent highly preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Accounting
Finance
Business Administration
Information Systems (for ERP and financial systems focus)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

8–15+ years of progressive accounting experience with 3–7+ years in a managerial or director-level role.

Preferred:

Prior experience leading accounting teams in a high-growth or multi-entity environment.
Experience with ERP implementations (NetSuite, Oracle, SAP) and close automation tools (BlackLine, Trintech).
Public accounting (Big Four or regional) experience preferred for technical accounting rigor and audit exposure.
Demonstrated track record with SOX compliance, external audits, and complex technical accounting issues.
Experience supporting M&A, carve-outs, or integrations and presenting to executive leadership and boards.