Accounting Manager

About us

Our mission is to reinvent the way people learn, starting with language. We begin by teaching the next billion people English, Spanish, and French.

English is the global language of business, culture, and communication, and over 1.5 billion people around the world are actively trying to learn right now. Others dream of communicating with the half-billion native Spanish speakers across the globe. The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to learn to speak a language without constant access to a speaking partner. Grammar and vocab apps don’t really help – you need to actually converse with someone.

Speak is on a journey to fix this. We’re creating an AI-powered experience that replicates the flow of a conversation, without needing a human on the other end. The goal is to make it radically more accessible to be able to have conversations in a foreign language and eventually help hundreds of millions of people gain fluency who otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

We started on this journey over five years ago and we’ve still got a long ways to go. We’re thoughtfully adding new team members only when we think they can truly play a big role in our mission.

Speak launched first in South Korea where we have quickly grown to become the top grossing education app in the country. We have now delivered this winning product to more than 30 countries globally and are continuing to expand to more markets in the coming months. The company is well funded, raising a recent Series B backed by investors like OpenAI, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Lachy Groom, Josh Buckley, and others. We’re a team of 75 based primarily in SF, Seoul, Tokyo, and Ljubljana.

About this role

Speak is hiring an Accounting Manager to join an exceptional team responsible for all accounting activities. The Accounting Manager will report to the Controller and will partner with the Finance and HR team to enhance and evolve Speak’s accounting infrastructure. The role will be responsible for overseeing a consolidated month-end close, financial reporting, variance analysis, accounting reconciliations, source to pay, and quote to cash. This person will ensure that our internal customers/partners are well-served with efficient processes and accurate data. This person will also lean into complementary areas including tax, treasury, equity, and payroll.

The position is located in San Francisco and will report to the Controller.

What you’ll be doing

• Oversee the consolidated record to report process each month and implement best in class systems, processes and tools to up-level group financial reporting

• Act as a trusted business partner regarding financial transactions

• Lean into the multinational nature of the business by supporting teams across APAC, LATAM, and EMEA. Work in conjunction with contract Accounting Managers therein

• Manage day-to-day accounting activities. Address ambiguous problems that arise with limited direction

• Oversee global source to pay and ensure expenses are properly coded, approved and paid in a timely manner

• Support the quote to cash process and ensure an effective customer flow of funds

• Lead with a customer-first approach, ensuring the Accounting team is prioritizing employees, vendors, and customers

• Work closely with the Controller to up-level accounting systems, processes, and tools

• Work closely with the broader Finance, HR, and IT teams to up-level systems processes, and tools

• Participate in year-end audit engagements

• Explore ways to leverage AI tools to streamline accounting processes and improve accuracy

What we’re looking for?

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or related field

• 6+ years of accounting experience, preferably in startup or high-growth environments

• Strong technical proficiency in technical accounting areas including lease accounting, share-based compensation, internal use software, consolidations, inter-company journal entries and elimination accounting

• Eagerness to learn new areas of accounting

• Strong proficiency in Netsuite, Quickbooks, Zip, Ramp and other similar software products

• Strong self-starter mentality with an eagerness to grow in career; open to receiving feedback

• Interested in working in a multinational, multi-entity environment

• Detailed-oriented and possess effective project management skills and a strong ownership mindset

• Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment, handling multiple responsibilities in a deadline-driven and results-oriented environment

• Strong verbal and written communication skills

• Propensity to challenge the “old” ways of doing things and enjoy changing the status quo to optimize processes and drive continuous improvement

• CPA (preferred)

Why work at Speak

1. Join a fantastic, tight-knit team at the right time: we’re growing very quickly, we’ve raised our Series B and additional extensions from some of the top investors in the valley, and we’ve achieved product-market fit in our initial markets. You’d join at a magical time when a single person could significantly change the course of the company.

2. Do your life’s work with people you’ll love working with: we care strongly about our craft and want every person at Speak to feel like they’re growing every day. We believe in the idea that working with people you both enjoy and have respect for makes everything better. We hire thoughtfully and only work with people we admire deeply.

3. Global in nature: We’re live in over 40 countries and launching in a number of new markets soon. We have dedicated offices in San Francisco, Ljubljana, Seoul, and Tokyo, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to users in each of these regions on a regular basis as well as travel.

4. Impact people’s lives in a major way: Learning a language is one of the single most life-changing skills one can learn, and right now 99% of people never achieve their goal because the process is broken. We’re helping millions of people achieve their goals and improve their lives.

Speak does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.