Accounting Lead

About This Role Affiniti is looking for an Accounting Lead to become the first dedicated accounting hire on our Finance team and serve as the accounting owner for the company. This is a high-ownership role for someone who wants to build the accounting function from the ground up at a fast-growing fintech. You will report directly to the Head of Finance and own our day-to-day accounting function, including the monthly close, financial reporting, transaction accounting and reconciliations, technical accounting, and accounting operations. You'll join Affiniti at an important inflection point. As the company enters its next stage of growth, you'll help transition us from an outsourced and relatively lightweight accounting model to an increasingly in-house, scalable, and audit-ready accounting organization. You'll work closely with our external accounting partners initially and take increasing ownership as we bring activities in-house. Beyond running the accounting function today, you'll build the infrastructure we need for tomorrow: establishing accounting policies and controls, preparing for our first audit, improving and automating our reconciliation processes, selecting and implementing our ERP and accounting technology stack, and eventually helping build the Accounting team. This is not a role where you will inherit a fully built accounting organization. We are looking for someone who enjoys ambiguity, operates with high ownership, and is excited to build the processes and infrastructure that will scale with the company. Key Responsibilities Own the Books & Close

• Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual close process, including the close calendar, journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, and financial statement preparation
• Ensure our books and records are complete, accurate, timely, and maintained in accordance with US GAAP
• Own core accounting operations, including AP, AR, expenses, prepaids, fixed assets, and other balance sheet accounts

Own Transaction Accounting & Reconciliations

• Own the accounting and reconciliation of high-volume financial transactions across banking partners, payment systems, internal data, and the general ledger
• Develop a deep understanding of Affiniti's money movement and transaction flows and ensure they are accurately reflected in our financial statements
• Build processes to identify, investigate, and resolve reconciliation breaks quickly and accurately
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Capital Markets, Credit, and Customer Operations to build reliable financial data flows and controls

Build the Accounting Infrastructure

• Establish accounting policies, documentation, controls, and scalable close and reconciliation processes
• Identify opportunities to automate manual accounting workflows and improve the accuracy and speed of the close
• Evaluate and implement our ERP and broader accounting technology stack
• Build processes that can scale significantly beyond today's transaction volumes and organizational complexity

Get Affiniti Audit-Ready

• Lead our preparation for our first financial statement audit and serve as the primary accounting partner to external auditors
• Research and document technical accounting matters and ensure appropriate application of US GAAP
• Manage external accounting, tax, and other advisors and coordinate federal, state, local, and entity-level accounting and tax compliance
• Build the controls, schedules, and documentation required to support an increasingly mature finance organization

Be the Company's Accounting Partner

• Serve as Affiniti's subject matter expert on accounting matters
• Partner cross-functionally to ensure new products, partnerships, and financial processes are accounted for correctly and operationalized effectively
• Translate complex accounting issues into clear implications for Finance and business leaders
• Over time, help define the organizational structure and build the Accounting team

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, ideally combining public accounting experience at a Big 4 or other top accounting firm with operating experience at a high-growth fintech, payments, lending, card, marketplace, or other transaction-intensive business
• Experience owning or playing a significant role in the monthly close and financial reporting process
• Experience accounting for and reconciling high transaction volumes across multiple systems and data sources
• Demonstrated experience building or materially improving accounting processes, controls, and reconciliations
• Strong understanding of US GAAP and the ability to independently research technical accounting questions and exercise sound judgment
• Highly proficient in Excel / Google Sheets and comfortable working directly with large datasets and disparate financial data sources
• Strong systems orientation; experience with ERPs, accounting automation tools, SQL, or data warehouses is a plus
• Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills without losing sight of the bigger picture
• Comfortable operating independently in an environment where the answer or process may not exist yet
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field
• CPA preferred, but not required
• This role is based in our New York office, and requires in-person 5 days a week

The Ideal Candidate You are an accounting owner and a builder. You don't need a large team, sophisticated systems, or a detailed playbook to be effective. You are comfortable digging into a reconciliation, figuring out why something doesn't tie, researching an accounting question, and building a process that prevents the problem from happening again. You have strong accounting judgment, but you're not precious about how the work gets done. You're willing to operate manually when necessary while constantly looking for ways to make processes more automated, controlled, and scalable. You enjoy working at the intersection of accounting, technology, and financial operations. You are equally comfortable discussing GAAP with auditors, investigating transaction data with engineers, and explaining financial results to business leaders. Most importantly, you are excited by the opportunity to build the accounting function rather than simply inherit one. Work Authorization Candidates must be currently authorized to work in the United States. For this role, we are considering candidates who are U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents (Green Card holders), or individuals who otherwise currently hold valid authorization to work in the United States. Equal Opportunity Employment Affiniti is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Affiniti provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and applicants with disabilities throughout the recruiting process, consistent with applicable law.