Director, Accounting

Director, Accounting

The Director, Accounting reports to the VP, Controller – Technology, and supports the TECH Controllership team based in St. Louis, MO and Purchase, NY. This role is critical to maintaining the integrity of financial statements by overseeing key accounting, financial reporting, and internal control activities. The Director will also help build and manage a team that supports TECH Controllership and will serve as a trusted advisor and liaison across Corporate Controllership, SOX, Internal Audit, Tax, Legal, and Shared Services functions.

Role:

• Oversee key accounting and financial reporting procedures for monthly, quarterly, and year-end close activities in support of the TECH Controllership team.
• Support accounting, internal controls, and compliance activities, including Mastercard policies, Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and Operational Risk Management (ORM), and communicate potential exposures to leadership.
• Liaise with Regional Controllers on global initiatives to support consistency and accuracy across regions.
• Periodically review processes to ensure risks are appropriately mitigated based on control design and evolving business processes.
• Identify opportunities to implement AI and automated solutions to streamline processes.
• Partner with Finance, Controllership, Sourcing, Tax, and GBSC to ensure front-end and back-end controls are implemented to mitigate key risks and that strong financial controls are operating effectively across the organization.
• Ensure accounting policies are properly maintained, updated, or established as needed.
• Support the preparation of accounting memos, documentation, and analysis, as needed.
• Support the management of intercompany arrangements and shared-service/platform cost recharges in partnership with GBSC and Tax, including pricing and supporting documentation where applicable.
• Support finance transformation initiatives, including finance modernization and the responsible deployment of AI-enabled tools for close acceleration, reconciliations, flux analysis, and control testing.
• Complete special requests for analysis, research, and detailed information, including other projects as assigned by management.
• Build, manage, and develop a high-performing team, including goal setting, coaching, and performance management.

All About You:

We are looking for a strong accounting and controls leader with the following qualifications and competencies:

• Fluent in English.
• Degree in Accounting; CPA certification or equivalent is required.
• Experience in accounting, controls, and financial processes within a global organization and/or Big 4 environment.
• Strong knowledge of US GAAP and IFRS.
• Recognized as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on complex accounting and internal control matters, with strong communication skills, financial acumen, and capability with data and analytics tools.
• Experience assessing financial control implementation and ensuring compliance within a diverse, distributed, and matrixed organization.
• Process-minded change agent with strong knowledge of internal controls and the ability to assess and design effective operational and financial controls.
• Proven ability to drive and integrate change while cultivating a continuous improvement culture.
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing teams.
• Proven track record managing and resolving high-risk issues efficiently.
• Confident influencer with strong analytical and leadership skills, adept at building collaborative relationships at various levels.
• Experience building collaborative working relationships with stakeholders at the global, regional, local, or corporate level.
• Excellent project management and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work under pressure, meet tight deadlines, and maintain high attention to detail.
• Prior experience in a Big 4 accounting firm and public company environment is a plus.
• Proficient PC skills, including Microsoft Office applications; Hyperion and Oracle experience is a plus.
• Ability to apply AI responsibly in finance within governance frameworks, including prompt literacy, model output validation, and partnering with stakeholders to translate business problems into automated workflows and actionable insights.
• Market and industry knowledge is a plus.

Corporate Security Responsibility:

All activities involving access to Mastercard assets, information, and networks comes with an inherent risk to the organization and, therefore, it is expected that every person working for, or on behalf of, Mastercard is responsible for information security and must:

• Abide by Mastercard's security policies and practices;
• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed;
• Report any suspected information security violation or breach, and
• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard's guidelines.