Director of Technical Accounting

The Director, Technical Accounting leads Shield’s technical accounting function and owns U.S. GAAP positions and policy across the company. This is a hands-on role as a Shield finance leader in an acquisition-driven environment: you will lead acquisition accounting from diligence through the opening balance sheet, serve as the technical resource and educator for our controllers, portfolio accounting teams, and business partners, and build the policies, playbooks, and team that let Shield’s accounting scale with the deal pipeline. This role is hybrid, with a minimum of 3 days per week in our NYC office, plus quarterly travel for all-hands and other meetings (not expected to exceed 10%). Technical Accounting and Policy • Own technical accounting for business combinations (ASC 805), revenue recognition (ASC 606), including new revenue streams, leases (ASC 842), including embedded leases, and debt, equity, and deferred financing costs. • Research complex arrangements and document conclusions in clear, well-reasoned technical memos; bring recommendations to Finance leadership, not just issues. • Own Shield’s accounting policy framework (policy owners, review cycles, priority policies) and drive consistent adoption across portfolio companies, including capitalized software, inventory, and deferred revenue. • Own the consolidated cash flow statement and supporting commentary. • Partner with M&A and FP&A on earnouts so deal terms, tracking, and contingent consideration accounting stay aligned. Acquisition Accounting and Diligence • Support financial and operational due diligence on prospective acquisitions. • Lead acquisition accounting, including purchase price allocations and opening balance sheets; manage third-party valuation and PPA providers. • Build and maintain the PPA playbook, acquisition-terms repository, and opening balance sheet process. • Partner with the Integrations team so opening balance sheets and accounting conclusions hand off cleanly to portfolio accounting teams. Close, Audit, and Controls • Review technical entries and schedules (debt, leases, revenue, equity) and deliver technical close items on the close calendar, supporting a 10-business-day close. • Own technical memos and audit deliverables for technical areas; lead technical discussions with external auditors. • Maintain and strengthen internal controls and SOPs over technical areas, and support control gap and material weakness remediation. Team Leadership and Stakeholder Education • Build, lead, and develop a high-performing technical accounting team, including hiring, performance management, and career development. • Serve as the technical resource for Portfolio Controllers, Accounting Managers, and Senior Accountants. • Lead ongoing stakeholder education across Accounting, FP&A, Integrations, Corporate Development, and portfolio company leadership, through training, playbooks, and day-to-day guidance, so complex matters are identified and escalated early. • Find and implement process improvements, including automation and AI tools for schedules, memo templates, and research. • Own quarterly initiatives set with Finance leadership and drive them to completion. • CPA required. • 10+ years of progressive accounting experience, including Big 4 or national-firm audit and technical accounting leadership in industry. • Operational accounting experience in industry (close, reconciliations, controllership), so your technical conclusions work in practice, not just on paper. • Deep, hands-on expertise in ASC 805, ASC 606, ASC 842, and debt and equity accounting, including purchase price allocations and contingent consideration. • Experience with M&A accounting at a serial acquirer, PE-backed platform, or roll-up strongly preferred. • 3+ years managing and developing accountants, with a track record of building process and documentation from the ground up. • A track record of educating stakeholders: you have trained accounting teams and non-accountants on complex standards and policy, and you write audit-ready memos that people outside accounting can follow. • Experience leading external audit work for technical areas; SOX or internal controls experience a plus. • Proficiency with NetSuite, FloQast, Excel, and technical research tools (FASB Codification); comfort using AI tools to work faster. • You take ownership, bring a recommended answer rather than just the issue, escalate judgment calls early, and hit committed dates in a fast-moving environment. Base salary range of $180,000 - $210,000 / year, plus a 20% target annual bonus. Beginning 1/1/27, Shield pays 100% of the employee share of health insurance premiums, worth up to $17,000+ a year in take-home pay, along with additional benefits. Final base salary depends on experience, skills, and qualifications.