Senior Accountant / Finance Operations Lead

Senior Accountant / Finance Operations Lead — Inventory & Reconciliation

Full-time • Remote • Philippines
$1000-$1400/month, depending on experience

ABOUT US

Starfish Supply Co. is a growing US merchandise manufacturing and supply company. We work with brands and creators to produce apparel, accessories, collectibles, and other merchandise.

Our operations involve factories, purchase orders, international shipments, local printers, warehouses, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), customer orders, and inventory moving through multiple locations.

We’re looking for an experienced, hands-on Senior Accountant / Finance Operations Lead who can independently take ownership of our accounting and financial operations.

THE MISSION

Keep our financial records accurate, explain what the numbers mean, and ensure they are supported by what actually happened in the business.

You will trace transactions from purchase orders and receiving records through invoices, payments, inventory, and financial statements. When records do not agree, you will investigate, document the cause, and coordinate the correction.

We need someone who can establish how the work should be done, build reliable processes, and deliver accurate results with minimal day-to-day direction.

INDEPENDENT OWNERSHIP — ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT

The business owner will explain our operations, provide access to records and people, and make business decisions. You must bring the accounting expertise, structure, and judgment.

We cannot train you in accounting, design your reconciliation process, or provide daily instructions on how to do your job.

You are expected to:

• Assess our current records, systems, and workflows, identify gaps, and recommend a prioritized action plan.

• Establish the close calendar, reconciliation procedures, supporting schedules, reporting, and controls needed to keep the numbers accurate.

• Determine what information you need, request it from the appropriate people, and follow up without reminders.

• Plan and prioritize your own work, manage deadlines, and take issues through to resolution.

• Investigate discrepancies independently and bring evidence, conclusions, and recommended actions.

• Explain what should be done, why it matters, and which decisions or approvals you need from management.

• Identify financial risks and process weaknesses before the owner has to ask.

• Provide concise updates showing what is complete, what remains unresolved, the financial impact, and the next steps.

Independence does not mean guessing or making unsupported entries. You must recognize when additional evidence, management approval, or specialist advice is needed and take the initiative to obtain it.

Success means the owner can rely on you to lead this function without becoming your daily task manager or accounting adviser.

WHAT YOU WILL OWN

Accounts payable and vendor reconciliation

• Reconcile purchase orders, vendor invoices, and receiving records through three-way matching.

• Match quantities ordered, invoiced, shipped, and received, investigating differences.

• Track vendor deposits, credits, remaining balances, and payment due dates.

• Reconcile vendor statements to our accounting records.

• Identify duplicate invoices, duplicate payments, missing credits, and unsupported charges.

• Prepare and coordinate vendor payments through the company’s approval process.

• Maintain accurate accounts payable aging and clearly flag unresolved items.

Accounts receivable and customer billing

• Prepare accurate customer invoices supported by orders, shipment records, and agreed charges.

• Reconcile shipments against customer invoices to identify missing or incorrect billing.

• Record and reconcile customer payments, deposits, credits, and outstanding balances.

• Maintain accurate accounts receivable aging and coordinate follow-up on overdue invoices.

• Investigate short payments, deductions, and other customer account discrepancies.

Inventory and cost accounting

• Reconcile inventory records across factories, goods in transit, printers, warehouses, and 3PL locations.

• Prepare inventory roll-forwards showing beginning balances, receipts, transfers, sales or usage, adjustments, and ending balances.

• Reconcile internal inventory records to receiving reports, warehouse reports, and physical count results.

• Investigate shortages, missing transfers, timing differences, and unsupported inventory adjustments.

• Maintain accurate inventory costs and cost of goods sold.

• Calculate and reconcile landed costs, including freight and other applicable costs, using documented allocation methods.

• Track how inventory and cost adjustments affect project and product margins.

Month-end close and financial reporting

• Establish and own the month-end close checklist and schedule.

• Complete bank and credit card reconciliations.

• Prepare supported journal entries and balance sheet reconciliations.

• Maintain accurate accruals, prepayments, deposits, and other relevant account balances.

• Prepare monthly profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.

• Keep supporting schedules organized and investigate unexplained balances.

• Follow up on missing information and communicate anything that could affect the accuracy or timing of the close.

Financial visibility and analysis

• Report on accounts receivable, accounts payable, expenses, and cash requirements.

• Analyze gross margin and profitability by product, project, and customer.

• Explain why actual costs or margins differ from expectations.

• Maintain a rolling 30–60-day cash forecast using expected receipts, vendor payments, and other commitments.

• Answer management questions with clear calculations and supporting documentation.

Process improvement and follow-through

• Identify weaknesses in how purchasing, receiving, inventory, billing, and payment information is recorded.

• Build practical reconciliation schedules, checklists, and exception trackers.

• Recommend approval controls and documentation requirements appropriate to our operations.

• Coordinate with operations and relevant business partners to obtain missing documents and resolve discrepancies.

• Document corrections and preserve a clear audit trail.

• Escalate material issues promptly, explaining the financial impact and recommended next steps.

HOW WE EXPECT YOU TO THINK

Consider this example:

The purchase order shows 10,000 units.
The vendor invoice shows 10,000 units.
The packing list shows 9,980 units.
The warehouse receiving report shows 9,974 units.

We expect you to identify the differences, investigate each stage, obtain supporting evidence, and explain what remains unresolved.

You should distinguish a documented timing difference from a shortage, billing error, or missing record. You should never force a reconciliation with an unsupported adjustment.

You should determine the next investigative steps yourself, contact the appropriate people, and bring management a clear explanation and recommendation.

We value someone who:

• Questions numbers that do not reconcile.
• Separates confirmed facts from assumptions.
• Documents unresolved items and follows them through to resolution.
• Communicates clearly when information is missing.
• Prioritizes accuracy while meeting agreed deadlines.
• Takes ownership without waiting for repeated instructions or reminders.

WHAT YOU BRING

• Strong professional accounting experience; five or more years preferred.

• A bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Accountancy, Finance, or a related field.

• Philippine CPA qualification strongly preferred, but not required for an exceptional candidate.

• Demonstrated experience independently owning an accounting function or a substantial part of one.

• Strong understanding of accrual accounting, inventory accounting, and cost of goods sold.

• Advanced, hands-on QuickBooks Online experience.

• Experience independently managing reconciliations, AP, AR, month-end close, and monthly financial reporting.

• Advanced Excel and Google Sheets skills.

• Strong written and spoken English, including the ability to explain discrepancies, recommendations, and financial results clearly.

• Excellent attention to detail, organization, and professional judgment.

Experience supporting US companies and physical-product businesses is strongly preferred, particularly manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, apparel, consumer products, e-commerce, or 3PL operations.

Experience with Shopify, inventory systems, purchasing systems, and 3PL reporting is a plus.

EXCEL AND GOOGLE SHEETS EXPECTATIONS

You should be comfortable working with large datasets and using:

• XLOOKUP or equivalent lookup methods.
• SUMIFS and COUNTIFS.
• Pivot tables.
• Conditional formulas.
• Duplicate detection.
• Data cleanup and validation.
• Reconciliation between multiple spreadsheets and systems.

Power Query experience is a major plus.

We are interested in how you use these tools to investigate and resolve real accounting problems.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Accounting work moves forward without the owner assigning and checking every task.

• Books are closed accurately and within agreed deadlines.

• Bank, credit card, vendor, and customer balances reconcile.

• Purchase orders, invoices, receiving records, shipments, and payments are matched—or differences are clearly documented and tracked.

• Inventory balances can be explained by location and reconciled to operational records.

• Cost of goods sold and gross margins are supported by reliable calculations.

• Financial statements and cash forecasts give management useful visibility.

• Discrepancies are investigated and resolved rather than carried forward without explanation.

• Management receives accurate answers, practical recommendations, and clear requests for decisions.

Most importantly, the business can trust both the numbers and your ownership of the process.

COMPENSATION AND WORK ARRANGEMENT

• Full-time, remote opportunity for a Philippines-based professional.

• $1000-$1400 per month, depending on relevant experience and demonstrated capability.

• Working hours and required overlap with our US and China teams will be discussed during the interview process.

HOW TO APPLY

Please begin your application with “ACCURACY FIRST” and include your résumé along with concise answers to the following:

-How many years of accounting experience do you have, and how many years have you supported US companies? Are you a CPA?

-Describe your experience with inventory accounting and physical-product businesses. What types of inventory movements and costing issues did you handle?

-Have you independently prepared profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements? Briefly describe your month-end close process.

-Based on this role, what would your priorities be during your first 30 days, and what would you need from us to get started?

-What monthly compensation are you seeking in PHP, when could you start, and what working hours are you available for?

Please do not submit confidential financial records from previous employers or clients. Anonymized examples may be discussed during the interview process.

HIRING PROCESS

Shortlisted candidates will participate in an interview and a short paid accounting and reconciliation exercise.

The exercise may include purchase orders, invoices, payments, inventory records, receiving reports, and shipment information.

You will be asked to reconcile the records, identify discrepancies, explain your findings, recommend next steps, and specify any additional information needed before reaching a conclusion.

We will evaluate accuracy, investigation methods, supporting documentation, independent judgment, and clarity of communication.

If you enjoy tracing transactions, solving discrepancies, establishing reliable processes, and independently leading financial operations, we would like to hear from you.

PAID TWO-WEEK TRIAL

The selected candidate will begin with a paid two-week trial at 40 working hours per week—80 working hours total.

During the trial, you will assess a defined portion of our accounting records, investigate discrepancies, complete agreed reconciliations, and present your findings and recommended next steps.

We will evaluate accuracy, independent judgment, initiative, communication, and your ability to move work forward without step-by-step instructions.

The trial fee, scope, and payment schedule will be agreed in writing before work begins. All agreed trial work will be paid.

Successful completion may lead to an ongoing full-time engagement by mutual agreement. Continued work is not guaranteed.