Accounting Manager

Sesh is a modern nicotine platform company and the #1 independent pouch brand in the US. Our mission is to accelerate the end of smoking. We operate a Canadian and a US operating company, we make our product through a partner manufacturer, and we sell through distributors and retail. We are growing fast and the finance function is being built as we go. The Accounting Manager is the first full-time accounting hire on the ground in Austin. Today our books are supported by an outsourced accounting team, contracted bookkeepers, a fractional controller, and CFO. This role is the in-house owner. You will report to the VP Finance and own operational accounting, the tax and compliance calendar, and the inventory and cost work that sits at the center of our business. This is not a review layer on top of our outsourced support. You will direct their work and hold the standard, and you will also do the work yourself when it needs doing. Reconciliations, data pulls, cleanup, whatever is in front of you. We are a small team and we expect leverage from tools and process rather than headcount, so comfort with evolving AI tools is part of the job. It is a build role, not a maintenance role. Some of the process you need does not exist yet and you will be the one who creates it. Why Sesh The mission. We are here to accelerate the end of smoking. Combustion is on its way out and the nicotine molecule is not. We are building the platform for that shift, with dignity, transparency, and consumer choice as the values we hold ourselves to. Respect runs both ways. Good people have options and we do not pretend otherwise. We ask you to be all in, and you get the same back from everyone around you. Straight answers, real ownership, and a team that cares and carries its share. We are winning. Nicotine pouches are one of the fastest growing consumer categories in the US and we are the #1 independent brand in it, competing against companies a hundred times our size and taking share. Equity. This role comes with ownership in the business. Everyone here has it. Real ownership of the work too. You are the first full time accounting hire on the ground. You will build the close, the tax calendar, and the inventory process, and they will look the way you built them. Small team, direct access. About 40 people. You will work daily with the VP Finance and regularly with the CEO and the ELT. Nothing you build gets lost in three layers of approval. Flexible time off and flexible hours. No fixed accrual and no strict 9 to 5. In office four days a week with Friday work from home. We care about output and coverage, not chair time. We actually use modern tools. Claude is used across the company, not as a pilot. If you are good at putting AI to work, you will get more done here than anywhere with twice the headcount. Interesting problems. Multi entity, cross border, partner manufacturing, excise tax, distributor and retail channels, a UK launch, and international royalty income. If you want to broaden past a narrow lane, there is more here than most companies our size can offer. Be prepared for what this is. We move fast, the process is unfinished, and priorities shift. Some weeks will be messy. If you want a clean, mature finance function, this is not it. If you want to build one and have real impact, it is a good seat. Responsibilities Serve as the primary accounting resource and point of contact for office-based financial and compliance matters, ensuring accounting-related items are appropriately received, reviewed, routed, and actioned. Coordinate the timely handling of financial notices, forms, signatures, and other accounting documentation, while maintaining appropriate controls over petty cash, manual checks, and other office-level financial processes. Partner with leadership and internal teams to ensure accounting matters are addressed efficiently and with appropriate follow-through. Tax and compliance calendar. Own multi state sales and use tax, excise tax, and franchise tax along with state tobacco and nicotine product licensing, PACT Act reporting, permits and registrations, nexus tracking, and filing deadlines. We use outside specialists for technical tax positions. You own the calendar, the data, reconciliations and making sure nothing is missed. Support month end close, accruals, and cutoff. Collaborate with departments and controller to maintain month end schedules and reconciliations, including inventory costing, variance analysis, prepaid tracking, and accruals. Support reporting and audit readiness. Prepare schedules and pull backup for our board, lenders, auditors, and advisors. Clean support that survives outside review. Order to cash cross functional support and finance ownership. Distributor and retail revenue recognition, deductions, billbacks, slotting, chargebacks, damage and spoilage claims, AR aging, and follow through on collections. Match every deduction to an approved program and dispute what does not tie. Accounts payable, expense, and balance sheet integrity. Vendor setup and payment, credit card and expense reconciliation, 1099 and W-9 administration, and bank, credit card, inventory, and intercompany reconciliations owned end to end. Systems, data integrity, and documentation. Work fluently in Cin7, Shopify, and QuickBooks. Reconcile them so there is one set of numbers and nobody has to build their own spreadsheet to check the books. Document what you build so no process lives only in one person's head. AI leverage. We use Claude across the company as a working tool. You will be expected to use it for reconciliations, variance explanations, memo drafting, and process documentation. Judgment stays with you, but we do not want anyone doing by hand what a tool can do in a minute. Cross functional collaboration. Work directly with Operations, Sales, and our manufacturing partner so what happens in the business shows up correctly in the numbers. Partner with our outsourced accounting team, fractional controller, and external tax advisors. Qualifications 6 to 10 years of progressive accounting experience, with time in CPG, manufacturing, or distribution. You have closed a month end start to finish on your own, not as support to someone else. You are hands on. You have managed outsourced or contracted bookkeepers and also built the reconciliation yourself the same week. Real startup or early-stage experience. You have worked somewhere the process did not exist and you built it, and you are comfortable with a scope that changes. Strong inventory and cost accounting fundamentals. You know what a cost variance is and why it matters. Experience owning a multi-state tax filing calendar. Excise tax experience is a significant plus (nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, or fuel). If you have not done excise, you should be able to learn a new tax regime fast and own the calendar from day one. Experience with distributor and retail deductions, billbacks, and trade spend accruals. Cross border US and Canada experience. Multi entity, multi-currency, intercompany, and transfer pricing between a parent and an operating company. Broader international exposure is a plus, not a requirement. Fluent with AI tools. We use Claude company wide. You should be able to put it to work on schedules, memos, and analysis, and know when to check its output. ERP experience with Cin7 or similar. Shopify, QuickBooks, Ramp are a plus. Bonus if you have implemented or cleaned up an ERP rather than only used one. Advanced Excel. Comfortable with large data pulls and building your own reconciliations. Clear written communication and the judgment to elevate early. Bachelor's degree in accounting or finance. CPA or CPA candidate preferred, not required. Based in Austin or willing to relocate. This role is in office four days per week. Schedule and Work Environment In office in Austin four days per week. Friday is work from home. Hours are flexible. We do not run a strict 9 to 5. We care about output, coverage during close, and being reachable when the team needs you. Flexible time off policy. No fixed accrual. Take what you need, plan around close and filing deadlines, and clear it with your manager. Close weeks and filing deadlines will occasionally require more. Most weeks will not. Compensation includes base salary and equity. #J-18808-Ljbffr