Lead Technical Accountant

About This Role

The Wikimedia Foundation is seeking a Lead Technical Accountant to join our Accounting team, reporting to the Senior Manager of Accounting and Financial Reporting within Finance and Administration. In this role, you will serve as a key subject matter expert on accounting policy, financial reporting, and internal controls. As a Lead Technical Accountant, you are responsible for providing technical accounting guidance, ensuring our accounting policies remain clear, current, and consistently applied. You are also responsible for leading key components of our annual financial statement audit, Form 990 financial reporting, and internal controls over financial reporting.

You will partner closely with colleagues across Finance and Administration, Legal, Advancement, and other functions to ensure high-quality financial reporting for both the Wikimedia Foundation and the Wikimedia Endowment standalone legal entities.

Remote Work: While this is a fully remote role, candidates must be located within the UTC-5 to UTC-8 timezones due to team collaboration requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Simplify complex financial accounting concepts into actionable strategies and clear guidance for stakeholders
• Maintain and improve the Foundation's accounting and financial governance policies and procedures to enhance the quality of financial reporting and support adherence to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)
• Lead key components of the Foundation's and the Wikimedia Endowment's annual financial audits, including preparing audit support schedules and coordinating responses to auditor inquiries
• Support the preparation of the Foundation's and the Wikimedia Endowment's Form 990, including gathering data, reviewing schedules, and ensuring information is accurate and complete
• Research, evaluate, and document conclusions on new or emerging accounting standards, selecting appropriate evaluation methodologies and criteria, and lead cross-functional implementation by designing the adoption approach, establishing timelines, and guiding the accounting team and impacted departments through execution
• Review and enhance internal controls over financial reporting, including documenting controls, processes, identifying gaps, and recommending improvements
• Lead process improvement projects related to accounting and internal controls, independently assessing operational, regulatory, systems, and resource constraints, and designing sustainable enhancements in partnership with stakeholders
• Advise departments on revenue and expense recognition matters by evaluating accounting implications and providing clear guidance
• Support treasury and investment operations, including monitoring cash and investment activity and performing cash forecasting to support liquidity planning and decision-making

Required Qualifications

• Active CPA license required (or equivalent international accounting designation)
• Strong expertise in accounting policy, financial reporting standards, and internal controls
• Experience with nonprofit accounting, Form 990 preparation, and financial statement audits
• Demonstrated ability to research and implement new accounting standards
• Excellent technical writing and communication skills
• Proven track record leading process improvement and cross-functional projects

💰 Compensation not publicly listed. Market estimate for similar roles: from $80K, varying by experience and location.