Senior Accountant & Accounting Team Lead

Job description

Locations: Philippines, Latin America and South Africa (100% Remote) Employment Type: Full-time Independent Contractor (exclusive commitment) Compensation: Competitive and commensurate with the candidate's market rate, experience, skills, and overall qualifications Imagine being the person who makes sure every set of books is right before it reaches the client. Every reconciliation is reviewed. Every balance sheet account is supported. Every junior accountant knows exactly what they own. Every month-end close runs without the owner having to step in. That's this role. ABOUT THE ROLE You'd be joining a remote-first bookkeeping and advisory firm serving approximately 60 businesses across a range of industries. The firm specializes in monthly bookkeeping, year-end close, and cleanup/catch-up engagements, with a focus on delivering clean, accurate, and client-ready financials every month. The firm operates primarily on Xero (~80% of clients) and QuickBooks Online (~20%), with Double (formerly Keeper) used for bookkeeping project management and workflow tracking. As Senior Accountant & Accounting Team Lead, you'll become the firm's first true middle-management layer. You'll sit between the owner and a team of 2–3 junior accountants, taking ownership of accounting quality, workflow, review, and delivery. The owner currently handles client relationships, bookkeeping review, and team management. Your job is to take the accounting operations off his plate — ensuring the team is organized, the books are accurate, and every client is ready for their monthly meeting. THE IDEAL CANDIDATE - You are a strong accountant who knows what clean, accurate books should look like. - You can review financials critically and identify issues before they reach the client. - You can lead junior accountants while maintaining high technical standards. - You are comfortable making decisions independently and knowing when to escalate. - You naturally create structure, document processes, and close operational gaps. - You can work across multiple clients and industries without losing attention to detail. - You communicate clearly and professionally in a fully remote environment. WHAT YOU'LL OWN Financial Review & Quality Assurance. Be the final checkpoint before financials reach the owner. Review and approve monthly financials for approximately 60 clients, validate balance sheet schedules and supporting documentation, and identify and resolve discrepancies in reconciliations, coding, and general ledger activity. Month-End Close. Make sure every client's books are complete, accurate, and ready for review each month. Monitor close progress, follow up on outstanding items, and ensure financials are consistently delivered on schedule. Team Leadership. Lead and coordinate a team of 2–3 junior accountants working across different schedules and client portfolios. Coach team members on technical accounting, processes, quality standards, and professional judgment. Workload & Workflow Management. Assign client workloads based on complexity, capacity, and accountant familiarity. Establish clear preparer/reviewer ownership for every engagement and make sure work moves forward without constant supervision. Client Engagement Coordination. Own the operational side of engagements from post-onboarding through monthly close. Follow up on uncategorized transactions and missing documentation, coordinate out-of-scope requests and escalations with the owner, and keep engagements moving. Owner Support. Give the owner confidence that financials are accurate before every client meeting. Ensure reports are complete, reviewed, and ready to present without requiring the owner's day-to-day involvement in bookkeeping operations. Process Documentation. Help transfer institutional knowledge currently held by the owner into written SOPs, Loom walkthroughs, and repeatable workflows that the team can follow independently. Process Improvement. Identify recurring issues, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies across client engagements and recommend better workflows, controls, and systems. New Client Onboarding. Participate in onboarding new clients, understanding engagement requirements, and structuring team assignments based on client complexity and workload. WHAT THIS ROLE IS NOT This role is focused on accounting delivery, quality assurance, and team leadership. It does not own: - Tax preparation or tax advisory - Payroll processing - Accounts receivable or accounts payable management - Direct client relationship management — the owner retains the primary client-facing role WHAT YOU'LL BRING - 5+ years of U.S.-based bookkeeping or accounting experience (required) - Demonstrated experience leading, mentoring, or supervising accountants (required) - Strong working knowledge of Xero (required) - QuickBooks Online proficiency (preferred/plus) - Strong understanding of full-cycle bookkeeping, month-end close, reconciliations, and balance sheet review (required) - Ability to work U.S. business hours, with Central Time strongly preferred (required) - Excellent written and verbal English communication skills (required) - Strong professional judgment and ability to identify errors, prioritize issues, and work independently (required) - Ability to manage multiple client engagements and competing deadlines in a remote environment (required) PREFERRED - CPA license or equivalent accounting credential - Experience working for a U.S.-based virtual accounting, bookkeeping, or BPO firm - Experience with Double, Keeper, or similar bookkeeping/project management platforms - Experience with client onboarding, engagement scoping, or pricing - Experience working across multiple industries, such as restaurants, retail, professional services, and e-commerce - Experience documenting accounting processes through SOPs, Loom, or similar tools TECH STACK Accounting Platforms - Xero — primary platform (~80% of clients) - QuickBooks Online — ~20% of clients Project Management - Double (formerly Keeper) Integrations & Applications - Gusto - ADP - Expensify - Brex - Shopify - Carta / Shareworks - Build.com http://Build.com - RAM - Dex HOW WE WORK Quality First Financials, documentation, and client deliverables are accurate, complete, and consistently reviewed before reaching the client. Ownership You don't wait to be chased. You see an issue, determine the next step, and close the loop. Reliable Collaboration We work remotely through clear documentation, predictable communication, and well-defined ownership. Continuous Improvement We look for better ways to structure workflows, reduce errors, document knowledge, and make the accounting team more efficient. WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE Success is simple: the owner can open any client's financials before a meeting and trust that the numbers are right. In the near term, you'll take the owner out of the day-to-day accounting review loop. The team will have clear ownership, client workloads will be properly structured, and monthly close will run consistently. Over time, you'll help build an accounting delivery engine that doesn't depend on one person's institutional knowledge — with documented processes, strong review standards, and a team capable of operating independently. WHY CAS IS DIFFERENT We are not a gig platform. We are not a freelance marketplace. We are not short-term staffing. We're looking for experienced professionals who want a long-term career opportunity where their expertise, judgment, and leadership actually matter. At CAS, you'll enjoy: - Competitive USD compensation based on experience - Permanent remote work - Full company equipment provided - 15 days PTO annually + local holidays - Guaranteed annual increases - Referral rewards up to $1,000 - Monthly flexible stipend (CAS Flex Perks) - Structured onboarding and career development - Long-term opportunities to grow with our clients and teams - A culture built around ownership, continuous learning, and professional growth CONTRACT & EXCLUSIVITY This is a full-time independent contractor engagement. Full-time exclusivity is required — candidates must not hold other part-time or freelance engagements once hired. Conflict-of-interest checks may apply. READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP? Your next big career move starts here. https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/cas