Head of Revenue Accounting - Deal Desk & Technical Accounting

Details

About the role

Anthropic is an AI safety and research company building reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. As the company scales, revenue is growing quickly, commercial agreements are becoming more complex, and the related systems and controls need to keep pace.

Anthropic is looking for a Head of Revenue Accounting, Deal Desk & Technical Accounting to own the accounting judgments behind that growth — including the technical positions taken, deals approved, disclosures produced, revenue systems that process it all, and the controls that make it dependable.

You will act as the company’s authority on complex revenue accounting questions, including developing revenue recognition policies, leading enhancements to the revenue system, and designing, implementing, and operating internal controls. This role also emphasizes influence: shaping deals before they’re signed by working early with Sales and Legal on deal structures, and shaping the systems roadmap by advocating for automation with engineering and systems partners.

Responsibilities

• Own technical accounting. Serve as the company’s authority on complex revenue recognition matters by researching, concluding, and documenting positions in clear, well-reasoned memos, and explaining conclusions to internal stakeholders and external auditors.
• Own the deal desk from accounting. Own contract approval policy and its execution: define accounting guardrails for non-standard terms, serve as the accounting approver in deal review, and partner with Sales and Legal to structure agreements that work commercially while maintaining appropriate controllership.
• Influence deal structures before they’re signed. Build credibility and relationships to shape deals and programs rather than reacting to them—get to Sales, Legal, and Finance early with a point of view and make the accounting case in commercial terms.
• Lead financial reporting and disclosure. Lead preparation of revenue-related footnotes and technical disclosure positions, with an eye toward public-company reporting readiness.
• Lead the revenue system enhancements. Own the ongoing roadmap of the revenue system—requirements, design, testing, cutover, and post-launch optimization—partnering with Finance Systems.
• Influence the systems and automation roadmap. Advocate with engineering and system partners for the automation needed, translating accounting requirements into system priorities and building relationships that get changes sequenced and shipped.
• Design and implement internal controls. Build controls over financial reporting for revenue and technical accounting processes, including documentation, testing, remediation, and audit support.
• Build scalable processes. Design well-documented processes that hold up as transaction volume and deal complexity increase, replacing manual effort with automation.
• Apply Claude to the team’s work. Utilize Claude to streamline processes, including accelerating research, drafting memos, reviewing contracts, and preparing reconciliations and disclosures.
• Enable growth while maintaining controllership. Partner across Sales, Finance, Legal, and systems teams to support new products, pricing models, and go-to-market motions, and advise leadership on accounting implications before decisions are made.
• Lead and grow the team. Set priorities, mentor the team, and raise the technical bar as the team scales.

Requirements

• Track record of leading and developing a high-performing accounting team.
• Deep expertise in revenue recognition under ASC 606 for software, subscription, or consumption-based business models.
• Personal ownership of complex technical accounting research—writing position memos, defending conclusions with external auditors, and preparing resulting disclosures under US GAAP.
• Experience designing, implementing, and operating internal controls over financial reporting, including documentation and testing.
• Demonstrated ability to influence non-accounting stakeholders—shaping commercial deal and program structures with Sales and Legal, and shaping automation priorities with systems teams.
• Experience owning a revenue or billing platform (Zuora or comparable), either as an implementation lead or as the accounting owner of its roadmap.
• CPA or an equivalent professional accounting qualification.

Preferred qualifications

• Public company experience, or experience preparing a high-growth company for public reporting and SOX 404 compliance.
• Background at a national or Big Four firm.
• Experience with consumption-based, usage-based, or hybrid revenue models, particularly in AI, cloud, or infrastructure.
• Experience using large language models or AI tooling to automate accounting, contract review, or controls work.
• Experience standing up or overhauling a deal desk approval process.
• Hands-on Zuora implementation or operation experience.

Logistics

• Location-based hybrid policy: Currently, Anthropic expects all staff to be in one of its offices at least 25% of the time (some roles may require more time in offices).
• Visa sponsorship: Anthropic does sponsor visas and will make every reasonable effort to get you a visa if an offer is made, with an immigration lawyer to help.