Director of Accounting Operations

About Piedmont Global

Piedmont Global is a Strategic Globalization Organization (SGO) integrating cultural fluency, strategic insight, and custom technology to help clients scale with speed, navigate complexity, and operate seamlessly across cultures, markets, and systems. Headquartered in Washington D.C with team members spanning five continents, Piedmont Global equips organisations with the people, capabilities, and strategies to lead - globally, fluently, and confidently.

Position Summary

As the Director of Accounting Operations at Piedmont Global, you will report directly to the CFO and lead the day-to-day operation of the Accounting department. You will hold accountability for the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of the department's work, direct and assign the staff accountants, and keep the department's controls, logs and measures current. You will relieve the Controller of operational management so the Controller can concentrate on the integrity of the books.

You will work in close partnership with the Controller, Financial Reporting, the AP and AR Leads, and the technology, people and contracts teams. You will also coordinate the accounting for entities that are not yet fully integrated into Piedmont Global, ensure their results arrive on time, and roll them in with the Piedmont Global entities. The role is also responsible for improving how the department works, including mapping its processes so that the department can make effective use of AI and automation.

Job Responsibilities

·      Provide operational oversight of the Accounting department, ensuring that assigned work is completed, reviewed and delivered on schedule and that nothing is missed.

·      Direct, assign and manage the staff accountants.

·      Manage the accounting for acquired entities from signing until they are fully integrated, currently Pangeanic and, after closing, Simultrans. Ensure each entity delivers its results and supporting data on schedule, roll the results into the Piedmont Global financials, and track open items and intercompany balances.

·      Document each acquired entity's processes, chart of accounts, vendors, customers and controls, and work with the Controller and the technology team on its migration to Piedmont Global systems.

·      Coordinate the handoff of each entity to the Controller once it is fully integrated, including closed periods, open items and process documentation.

·      Initiate wires and manage daily cash positioning. Maintain the separation between initiating a payment and reconciling the bank account.

·      Prepare and review payroll journal entries and the related allocations.

·      Own accounting system issues, including AR / AP and the General Ledger integrations, working with vendors, consultants and the technology team to resolve them and escalate them as appropriate.

·      Serve as the intake point for requests from other departments, maintain the department's call and inquiry log, assign the work and follow through completion.

·      Maintain the department's performance measures and logs, and report the daily and monthly counts of invoices processed, bills recorded, payments recorded and inquiries answered.

·      Ensure efficiency in department operations. Confirm that staff complete timesheets, examine how staff spend their time, and identify work that can be eliminated, consolidated or reassigned.

·      Document and map the department's processes, and identify where AI and automation can reduce manual effort. Lead the implementation of the improvements the CFO approves.

·      Support the Controller and the CFO in the month end close by tracking the close calendar, open items and sign offs.

·      Serve as the go-to person for problems that arise in the department, and escalate matters that require the CFO or the Controller.

Requirements

·      Operational leadership: proven ability to run a multi-function accounting operation, assign work across a team and hold it to deadlines and quality standards.

·      Process improvement: experience documenting processes, measuring productivity and introducing automation or AI tools that change how work is done.

·      Controls: strong understanding of segregation of duties, approval limits and payment controls.

·      Multi-entity experience: working knowledge of consolidation and intercompany accounting across several entities, including entities in the process of integration.

·      Systems: experience with an ERP system, preferably Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, and with AP automation and payroll platforms.

·      Influencing collaboratively: excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work with other departments, vendors and outside advisors.

·      Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or a related field preferred.

·      Eight or more years of progressive experience, including supervision of staff.

·      Exposure to government contracting is preferred.

·      Analytical skills, attention to detail, critical thinking and excellent oral and written communication skills.

As part of the interview process for this position you will be asked to complete an AI screening which takes about 10 minutes and gives us a starting point to target interview depth more completely. The salary range for this position is budgeted at $115,000 - $135,000 annually.