Director, Technical Accounting – M&a and Investments

Anthropic Anthropic · AI Frontier · San Francisco, CA · Finance

This role is for a Director of Technical Accounting focused on M&A and Investments at Anthropic. The individual will be the principal accounting authority for complex capital transactions, owning the technical accounting lifecycle from diligence through post-close adjustments. Responsibilities include leading accounting due diligence, purchase accounting, consolidation assessment, investment portfolio accounting, managing valuation specialists, authoring accounting memos, building and leading a team, designing the operating model, and preparing financial statement disclosures. The role requires deep US GAAP knowledge for business combinations, consolidation, and investments, with experience in high-growth or public technology companies and Big 4 experience, ideally in transaction advisory.

What you'd actually do

  1. Serve as the company’s principal technical accounting authority for business combinations, asset acquisitions, strategic equity investments, joint ventures, divestitures, and related financing and equity structures
  2. Lead accounting due diligence on prospective transactions; evaluate structuring alternatives and advise Corporate Development and executive leadership on GAAP, control, and earnings implications before terms are finalized
  3. Own end-to-end purchase accounting: identification of the acquirer, determination of the acquisition date, measurement of consideration transferred (including contingent consideration, rollover equity, and replacement awards), recognition and measurement of identifiable assets and liabilities, and goodwill
  4. Direct the consolidation assessment for every investee and structured arrangement, including VIE identification, primary-beneficiary analysis, and ongoing reconsideration events
  5. Oversee the investment portfolio accounting model — determining and monitoring classification across consolidation, equity method, the measurement alternative, and fair value through earnings — and govern observable-price-change and impairment reviews

Skills

Required

  • 15+ years of progressive accounting experience
  • 6+ years leading teams
  • owning the accounting for M&A and strategic investment transactions end-to-end
  • active CPA license
  • significant Big 4 experience
  • in-house experience at a high-growth or public technology company
  • personally led the technical accounting for multiple closed acquisitions and a portfolio of minority/strategic investments
  • deep command of US GAAP for business combinations, consolidation, equity method and other investments, fair value measurement
  • track record of authoring positions that withstand auditor and regulator scrutiny
  • fluent in valuation concepts
  • credibly direct and challenge third-party specialists on PPA, contingent consideration, and impairment models

Nice to have

  • time in a National Office, Transaction/Deal Advisory, or Capital Markets/Accounting Advisory group
  • at least one transaction of meaningful scale or complexity

What the JD emphasized

  • build the function, playbooks, and team required to execute these transactions with public-company rigor
  • build the M&A and Investments Accounting team — define roles, hire, mentor, and set the operating cadence — while remaining a hands-on reviewer on the most judgmental areas
  • Design and implement the deal-accounting operating model: diligence checklists, Day-1 close playbooks, opening balance sheet procedures, measurement-period tracking, integration accounting workplans, and SOX-ready controls over non-routine transactions
  • public-company rigor
  • build or materially scale