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

The Senior Accountant role will be a foundational role responsible for building the accounting function at Speak. You will be a key contributor to worldwide accounting processes including global close, international accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, treasury, and more. The ideal candidate has corporate and/or public accounting experience, excellent communication skills, a self starter mentality, and the ability to produce very high quality work. This role presents an outstanding growth opportunity for candidates looking to develop their experience in a high-growth startup environment. You can expect interesting and challenging assignments and passionate colleagues.

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

What you’ll be doing

• Act as the primary preparer in month-end and quarter-end close calendar, checklist, and reconciliations; lead the accounting team in monthly and quarter close flux presentations with management

• Ensure proper accounting procedures, internal controls, and compliance with accounting policies and procedures; ultimately ensure accuracy of financial statements and related reports

• Take ownership and accountability over accurate and timely financial reporting to stakeholders

• Assist with and prepare technical accounting areas including ASC 842, ASC 718, and others

• Prepare intercompany journal entries including consolidations, investments in subsidiaries, and eliminations; reconcile both the subsidiary accounts and the consolidated accounts

• Support automation initiatives of intercompany processes and other corporate accounting initiatives

• Act as primary owner of accounts payable and T&E processes and policies, ensure proper spend management across the organization; support accounts receivable function

• Act as a leader in the annual external audit process

• Assist in ad-hoc requests

What we’re looking for?

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or related field

• 4+ years of accounting experience, preferably in startup or high-growth environments with 2+ years of experience in a public company

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

• Eagerness to learn new areas of accounting

• Strong proficiency in G-Suite, Excel, Word, and other software products

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

• 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 process and drive continuous improvement

• Active 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 an additional extension 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.