Director of Client Accounting & Advisory — U.S. CPA Firm Experience Required

Sycamore Business Strategies is a growing U.S.-based accounting, tax, and advisory firm serving privately held businesses. We help our clients maintain accurate books, understand their financial performance, improve operations, and make better decisions about profitability and growth.

We are looking for an experienced accounting and advisory leader to own our client accounting process from completed workpapers through final client delivery.

This is a senior accounting leadership position. Do not apply unless you have personally owned or performed final review of month-end closes for multiple U.S. clients, communicated financial results directly to U.S. business owners, and supervised other accountants. Applicants seeking to transition from bookkeeping, administrative support, customer service, or virtual-assistant work will not be considered.

What You Will Own

- Manage the monthly and quarterly close calendar across a portfolio of U.S. clients.
- Perform final review of reconciliations, balance-sheet workpapers, journal entries, financial statements, and supporting schedules.
- Identify accounting errors, unusual balances, missing information, cash-flow concerns, margin changes, and other issues requiring action.
- Resolve routine accounting issues independently and document conclusions clearly.
- Prepare and deliver financial statements, management commentary, and follow-up questions directly to clients.
- Explain financial results in clear business language, including what changed, why it matters, and where action may be needed.
- Develop practical recommendations to improve cash flow, profitability, operations, and sustainable growth.
- Respond directly to clients regarding routine accounting, payroll, reporting, and general business questions.
- Research unfamiliar payroll, accounting, financial, or business issues and provide a concise, practical recommendation.
- Prepare cash-flow projections, budgets, KPI reporting, profitability analyses, and other decision-support schedules.
- Prepare financial observations, recommended action items, and supporting analysis for client advisory meetings.
- Supervise, coach, and review the work of the accounting operations manager and associate accountants.
- Maintain strong close checklists, workpaper standards, SOPs, deadlines, and quality-control practices.
- Lead or oversee QuickBooks Online cleanup, implementation, chart-of-accounts redesign, and process-improvement projects.
- Escalate significant accounting judgments, legal or tax questions, high-risk issues, and sensitive client matters appropriately.

This Role Is Not

- A transaction-entry position focused primarily on categorization and reconciliations.
- A role where every report, email, or decision must be approved by the firm owner.
- A purely internal review position where you identify problems but do not take responsibility for resolving them.
- A virtual-assistant or administrative position.

Required Experience

- At least seven years of progressive accounting experience.
- Meaningful experience serving multiple U.S. clients through a U.S. CPA firm, public-accounting firm, client accounting services practice, outsourced-accounting firm, or fractional-controller environment.
- At least three years of experience reviewing and managing the work of other accountants.
- Direct responsibility for U.S. client relationships and financial-statement delivery.
- Experience with management reporting, budgeting, cash-flow forecasting, KPI analysis, or fractional-CFO support.
- Advanced QuickBooks Online knowledge.
- Strong understanding of U.S. GAAP and practical accounting for privately held businesses.
- Ability to interpret financial results and develop practical recommendations for business owners.
- Strong research skills and experience responding to payroll, accounting, and general business questions.
- Experience leading a remote team, managing deadlines, and maintaining accountability across multiple recurring clients.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Confidence communicating directly with U.S. business owners.
- Reliable technology and internet access.
- Availability to work U.S. Central Time hours.

Strongly Preferred

- Experience with some or all of the following: Financial Cents, ProConnect Tax, Ignition, Gusto, RUN Powered by ADP, SurePayroll, and Google Workspace.
- Experience preparing or reviewing U.S. individual, S corporation, or partnership income-tax returns. Tax experience is helpful, but it is not required.

How Success Will Be Measured

- Monthly and quarterly closes are completed accurately and on schedule.
- Financial statements and routine client questions are delivered without owner intervention.
- Clients receive clear explanations of their results and practical recommendations.
- Issues are identified early, researched thoughtfully, and escalated with a proposed solution.
- The accounting team receives effective coaching, and review notes decline over time.
- Routine payroll and business questions are resolved without automatically routing every matter through the firm owner.
- Clients receive responsive and confident service even when the firm owner is not involved in routine delivery.

Working Style

The successful candidate will be confident, highly accountable, comfortable with ambiguity, and willing to remain hands-on. Sycamore is a growing entrepreneurial firm, and our processes are continually improving. You will help build the operating structure rather than simply inherit a finished one.

This position is best suited to someone who enjoys combining technical accounting, team leadership, client communication, research, and analytical thinking. We value sound judgment, ownership, responsiveness, and clear communication more than an impressive title without corresponding capability.

How to Apply

Please submit:
- Your resume.
- A brief two- to three-minute video introduction.
- Written responses to the following questions:

1. Describe the U.S. client portfolio for which you personally owned or reviewed the month-end close. Approximately how many clients or entities were involved?
2. What did “final review” mean in your most recent role? What could you send to a client without another person reviewing it?
3. Give an example of how you explained financial results and made specific recommendations to a U.S. business owner.
4. Describe a payroll, accounting, or business question you researched. How did you reach and communicate your recommendation?
5. Tell us about your experience supervising and developing other accountants.

If your answer to any of the above questions is “I have not,” “I am still developing this experience,” or “I am willing to learn,” this position is not the appropriate next step for you.

This is intended to be a long-term, full-time leadership position. Compensation will be competitive and based on experience.