Accounting Manager

UP.Labs; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

UP.Labs in Santa Monica is hiring an Accounting Manager to own core accounting across UP.Labs and a growing portfolio of studio-built companies. This hands-on role requires strong accounting fundamentals and the ability to work with outside auditors and tax advisors, while handling day-to-day close.

The role involves portfolio company accounting, tax compliance, audit readiness, and cross-entity systems management.

Qualifications

• CPA required; 5+ years of accounting experience.
• Strong foundation in public accounting and audit.
• 2+ years of audit experience at Big Four or similar.
• Experience in early-stage, high-growth environments.
• Strong monthly close, financial reporting, and core accounting knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Own monthly bookkeeping and close across portfolio of studio-built companies.
• Deliver accurate monthly financials on a timeline that provides leadership useful visibility.
• Manage accounting onboarding and setup for new portfolio companies.
• Coordinate with fractional offshore accounting support to distribute work.
• Maintain consistent accounting practices across companies and entity structures.

Skills

CPA

Public accounting

Audit experience

Month-end close

Financial reporting

Tools

QuickBooks

Bill.com

Expensify

Ramp

Job description

About the Role

UP.Labs is a venture studio that builds AI-native B2B software companies in partnership with leading industrial and mobility organizations. As our portfolio grows, we are hiring an Accounting Manager to own core accounting across both UP.Labs and a growing portfolio of studio-built companies.

This is a hands-on role. We need someone with strong accounting fundamentals and enough experience to independently identify issues, challenge assumptions, and work effectively with outside auditors and tax advisors, but who is equally comfortable doing the day-to-day work required to close the books.

The environment is complex and still being built. You should be comfortable operating across multiple entities, working through imperfect processes, and creating structure without waiting for someone else to build it first.

What You'll Do

Portfolio Company Accounting

• Own monthly bookkeeping and close across a growing portfolio of studio-built companies.
• Deliver accurate monthly financials on a timeline that gives portfolio leadership useful visibility into the business.
• Manage accounting onboarding and setup as new companies launch from the studio.
• Partner with fractional offshore accounting support to distribute work and manage increasing portfolio volume.
• Maintain consistent accounting practices across companies while adapting to the needs and maturity of each business.
• Serve as a day-to-day accounting partner to portfolio company leadership.

UP.Labs Accounting

• Support the UP.Labs monthly close, including expense categorization, reconciliations, and other recurring accounting work.
• Support tax compliance and own the tax filing calendar, working directly with external tax advisors on federal and state tax matters.
• Support our financial audit readiness and interface with external auditors as UP.Labs moves through its first audit.
• Identify accounting issues, recommend the appropriate treatment, and flag areas where additional technical expertise is needed.

Systems & Process

• Work across QuickBooks, which serves as the accounting system of record for UP.Labs and our portfolio companies.
• Manage workflows across Bill.com and Expensify for UP.Labs and Ramp across the portfolio companies.
• Leverage cutting-edge AI tools to drive efficiency across accounting and financial workflows.
• Improve close processes, reporting cadence, and accounting workflows as the organization scales.
• Bring structure and judgment to an environment where processes will not always be fully documented or systematized.

What We're Looking For

• CPA required
• Approximately 5+ years of relevant accounting experience, with a strong foundation in public accounting/audit followed by operating experience.
• Ideally 2+ years of audit experience at a Big Four or comparable accounting firm.
• Meaningful accounting experience inside an early-stage, high-growth, or similarly fast-moving operating environment.
• Strong understanding of monthly close, financial reporting, and core accounting principles.
• Experience working with external auditors and tax advisors.
• Comfortable owning work independently and speaking up when something does not look right.
• Able to move between higher-level accounting judgment and detailed execution without seeing either as beneath the role.
• Comfortable operating across multiple entities and managing competing month-end priorities.
• High tolerance for ambiguity, changing processes, and one-off problems that require judgment rather than a playbook.

This position comes with competive base salary DOE and has equity in our Lab's portfolio companies.