Head of Accounting Policy at Anthropic

<div class="content-intro"><h2><strong>About Anthropic</strong></h2> <p>Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.</p></div><h2>About the role</h2> <p>Anthropic is growing quickly, and the transactions we enter into are often unlike anything the accounting literature directly contemplates. We're hiring a senior leader to own accounting policy and technical accounting.</p> <p>In this role, you will be the company's authority on how we account for what we do: usage-based and enterprise revenue arrangements, large compute and infrastructure transactions, complex financing and equity instruments, and M&A and investment activity. You'll build the technical accounting function from a strong foundation into one that operates at public-company grade — establishing the whitepaper and position-memo discipline that lets us take well-supported positions on novel, first-of-kind transactions, defend them with our external auditors (including their national office), and be ready for public-company-grade reporting when the company needs it.</p> <p>This is a high-judgment, high-trust role. You'll work closely with the Controller and CFO organization, Legal, Tax, and deal teams across the company, and you'll often be the first accountant in the room when a new kind of transaction is being designed.</p> <h2>Key responsibilities</h2> <ul> <li>Own the company's accounting policy framework: establish, document, and maintain US GAAP accounting policies across all significant areas, and keep them current as the business and the standards evolve</li> <li>Serve as the lead technical advisor on novel and first-of-kind transactions, including usage-based and enterprise revenue arrangements (ASC 606), large compute and infrastructure commitments, complex financing and equity instruments, and M&A and investments</li> <li>Build and institutionalize a whitepaper and position-memo discipline: rigorous, well-cited technical memos that document the company's accounting conclusions and stand up to auditor and regulator scrutiny</li> <li>Lead technical discussions with our external auditors and SEC, including engagement on complex or unsettled issues, and drive timely resolution of technical matters</li> <li>Prepare the company for public-company-grade external reporting: SEC-style financial statements, disclosures, and the supporting close and reporting processes and controls</li> <li>Monitor, assess, and lead adoption of new FASB standards and SEC rules, including impact assessments, implementation plans, and cross-functional execution</li> <li>Partner with Legal, Tax, FP&A, and business and deal teams early in transaction design, so accounting consequences are understood — and where appropriate, shaped — before deals are signed</li> <li>Advise on equity, financing, and capital-markets transactions, including the accounting for complex instruments and arrangements</li> <li>Lead, and develop a high-caliber technical accounting and accounting policy team as the function scales</li> <li>Support reporting to company leadership and the Audit Committee on significant accounting positions, judgments, and estimates</li> <li>Help design and strengthen controls over complex-area accounting in support of a SOX-ready control environment</li> <li>Represent the company externally where useful, including in comment letters and engagement with standard setters and industry groups</li> </ul> <h2>Minimum qualifications</h2> <ul> <li>Active CPA license</li> <li>Public accounting tenure at a top firm that reached at least Director, Managing Director, or Partner — or national office Senior Manager selected into the SEC's Professional Accounting Fellow program</li> <li>Deep US GAAP expertise and strong command of SEC reporting requirements</li> <li>Experience leading a technical accounting and/or accounting policy function at a high-growth technology company</li> <li>Demonstrated ability to research, conclude, and document positions on complex and novel accounting issues, and to defend them with external auditors</li> <li>Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain complex accounting matters to non-accountants and senior leadership</li> </ul> <h2>Preferred qualifications</h2> <ul> <li>15+ years of combined experienc

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