Accountant, Consultant

Job Description

The Corporate Financial Accounting and Reporting team is responsible for the accurate recording, analysis, and reporting of financial information for Blue Shield of California. The Accountant Consultant will report to the Accounting Manager and serve as a trusted extension of the manager, helping translate priorities into execution, lead day-to-day accounting and reporting activities, resolve complex technical accounting matters, and provide review, guidance, and oversight to the team. This role carries expanded responsibilities and requires strong technical accounting expertise, sound judgment, and the ability to operate with greater independence than a Senior Accountant role.

In this role, you will operate with a high degree of ownership and accountability, partnering with the Accounting Manager to manage priorities, identify and elevate risks, coordinate deliverables, and ensure high-quality execution across close, reporting, audit, and accounting policy activities. You will use strong analytical and problem-solving skills to evaluate complex accounting issues, apply accounting standards to facts and circumstances, document conclusions, and communicate recommendations to leadership, auditors, and business partners. You will also help strengthen processes and controls, coach team members, and support continuous improvement across the accounting function.

Our leadership model is about developing great leaders at all levels and creating opportunities for our people to grow personally, professionally, and financially. We are looking for leaders that are energized by creative and critical thinking, building and sustaining high-performing teams, getting results the right way, and fostering continuous learning.

Responsibilities

In this role, you will:

• Serve as the Accounting Manager's trusted extension in coordinating monthly financial close activities, including maintaining the general ledger, analyzing account variances, monitoring close progress, resolving issues, and communicating results, risks, and escalation items to management
• Review journal entries, balance sheet reconciliations, and supporting documentation; provide coaching and feedback to Senior Accountants; and help ensure work products are accurate, complete, well-supported, audit-ready, and prepared in accordance with accounting policies and deadlines
• Partner with the Accounting Manager and business stakeholders to support monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting, including supporting financial statement preparation, drafting audited financial statement disclosures that align with applicable accounting standard requirements, coordinating inputs, reviewing schedules, resolving issues, and ensuring timely completion of deliverables
• Serve as a subject matter expert and first point of escalation for complex accounting matters, financial reporting, financial reporting control systems, and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), including researching authoritative guidance, evaluating accounting alternatives, applying standards to specific facts and circumstances, and clearly articulating conclusions in well-supported accounting memoranda
• Research and analyze the impact of new accounting pronouncements, including assessing implications for policies, processes, controls, financial reporting, and disclosure requirements
• Lead or participate in the development and implementation of accounting policies, procedures, and controls related to new accounting standards, process changes, and reporting requirements, including serving as project lead for implementation activities when needed
• Support internal and external audits and examinations by coordinating audit requests, preparing and reviewing audit support, responding to inquiries, interfacing with auditors and state examiners, and escalating complex or judgmental matters requiring management attention
• Represent the team in interactions with internal and external partners on accounting, finance, reporting, audit, and control-related matters, including addressing ad-hoc inquiries, aligning stakeholders, and resolving issues before they require manager intervention
• Identify opportunities to improve accounting processes, enhance controls, increase consistency, and support scalable, audit-ready execution across the accounting function

Qualifications

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics or a related field
• Requires at least 8 years of experience in accounting or public accounting
• Requires comprehensive and current understanding of U.S. GAAP, including the ability to interpret authoritative guidance and apply judgment to complex or non-routine accounting matters
• Demonstrated ability to research and apply accounting standards to specific facts and circumstances and document the analysis, alternatives considered, rationale, and conclusion in a clear, concise, and well-supported accounting memorandum
• Ability to support the preparation of financial statements, including gathering support, coordinating inputs, reviewing schedules, and drafting audited financial statement disclosures that are accurate, complete, and aligned with applicable accounting standard requirements
• Possesses excellent collaboration and oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical accounting matters clearly to leadership, auditors, and cross-functional business partners
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to prepare and review documentation that is accurate, complete, well-supported, and audit-ready
• Ability to prioritize work to meet internal and external deadlines
• Experience supporting audits, financial statement preparation, disclosure drafting, controls, or accounting policy implementation preferred
• CPA license or public accounting experience preferred
• Oracle or Workday ERP experience preferred

Hybrid

This role requires employees to be in-office based on our hybrid workplace model, balancing purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility. For most teams, this means coming into the office two days each week. Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location will work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.

About Us

About Blue Shield of California

As of January 2025, Blue Shield of California became a subsidiary of Ascendiun. Ascendiun is a nonprofit corporate entity that is the parent to a family of organizations including Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan; Altais, a clinical services company; and Stellarus, a company designed to scale healthcare solutions. Together, these organizations are referred to as the Ascendiun Family of Companies.

At Blue Shield of California, our mission is to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. We are transforming health care in a way that genuinely serves our nonprofit mission by lowering costs, improving quality, and enhancing the member and physician experience.

To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals.

Blue Shield is a U.S. News Best Company to work for, a Deloitte U.S. Best Managed Company and a Top 100 Inspiring Workplace. We were recognized by Fair360 as a Top Regional Company, and one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States by Points of Light. Here at Blue Shield, we strive to make a positive change across our industry and communities join us!

Our Values:

• Honest. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical and integrity standards. We build trust by doing what we say we're going to do and by acknowledging and correcting where we fall short.
• Human. We strive to listen and communicate effectively, showing empathy by understanding others' perspectives.
• Courageous. We stand up for what we believe in and are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve our ambitious goals.

Our Workplace Model

We believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility - providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce. Our workplace model is designed around intentional in-person interaction, collaboration, connection, creativity and flexibility:

• For most teams, this means coming into the office two days per week.
• Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location, out of state employees, and employees in certain member-facing roles should work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.
• For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.

The Company reserves the right to require more presence in the office based on business needs, and requirements are subject to change with periodic reviews.

Physical Requirements:

Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day.

Please click here for further physical requirement detail.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability