Accountant, Senior

About the role

The Corporate Financial Accounting & Reporting team is responsible for recording and reporting financial information for Blue Shield of California and its subsidiaries. The Senior Accountant will report to the Accounting Manager and support accurate, timely financial reporting through journal entries, account reconciliations, analyses, regulatory filing support, internal control documentation, and audit-ready support.

Responsibilities

• Own assigned journal entries, accruals, account reconciliations, and supporting schedules for month-end close
• Ensure account balances are supported by appropriate documentation, and reconciling items are researched and resolved timely
• Prepare close-related reports and analyses to explain account activity, trends, fluctuations, and discrepancies
• Prepare internal reporting packages, monthly results analyses, regulatory filings, and supporting schedules, ensuring deliverables are accurate, complete, and appropriately documented
• Perform trend and fluctuation analyses using business judgment, materiality considerations, and account-specific knowledge
• Research discrepancies and complex accounting issues, prepare correcting entries when appropriate, and recommend improvements to strengthen accuracy and efficiency
• Provide auditors with schedules, supporting documentation, and responses for year-end, business-specific, and account-specific audit requests
• Maintain reconciliations, desk-level procedures, and process documentation in accordance with internal control expectations, knowledge transfer needs, and audit readiness standards
• Partner with internal departments and IT to resolve system interface and data integrity issues, support root-cause analysis, and implement sustainable process improvements
• Keep management informed of potential issues, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions
• Support strategic projects, new products, system implementations, and process changes by helping define accounting and reporting requirements
• Collaborate with accounting team members and business partners to resolve account-related matters and support accurate financial reporting

Qualifications

• Requires a bachelor’s degree or High School Diploma/GED and 4 years of additional relevant experience in lieu of a degree
• Requires 5 years of prior relevant experience in an accounting specialization either tax, accounting and/or financial analytics
• Proficient in US GAAP and experience applying accounting guidance to journal entries, reconciliations, fluctuation analyses, accruals, and financial reporting deliverables
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to independently identify, analyze, and resolve complex accounting issues
• The ability to work effectively through ambiguity, learn new concepts quickly, and translate process and system changes into desk-level procedures and consistent execution
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate accounting matters to various levels and business departments across the organization
• Being highly proficient in Microsoft Excel
• Experience with regulatory reporting preferred
• Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, or other related certification preferred
• ERP experience preferred

About Us

About Blue Shield of California As of January 2025, Blue Shield of California became a subsidiary of Ascendiun. Ascendiun is a nonprofit corporate entity that is the parent to a family of organizations including Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan; Altais, a clinical services company; and Stellarus, a company designed to scale healthcare solutions. Together, these organizations are referred to as the Ascendiun Family of Companies. At Blue Shield of California, our mission is to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable. We are transforming health care in a way that genuinely serves our nonprofit mission by lowering costs, improving quality, and enhancing the member and physician experience. To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals. Blue Shield is a U.S. News Best Company to work for, a Deloitte U.S. Best Managed Company and a Top 100 Inspiring Workplace. We were recognized by Fair360 as a Top Regional Company, and one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States by Points of Light. Here at Blue Shield, we strive to make a positive change across our industry and communities – join us!

Our Values: Honest. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical and integrity standards. We build trust by doing what we say we're going to do and by acknowledging and correcting where we fall short. Human. We strive to listen and communicate effectively, showing empathy by understanding others' perspectives. Courageous. We stand up for what we believe in and are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve our ambitious goals.

Our Workplace Model We believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility - providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce. Our workplace model is designed around intentional in-person interaction, collaboration, connection, creativity and flexibility: For most teams, this means coming into the office two days per week. Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location, out of state employees, and employees in certain member-facing roles should work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need. For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.

The Company reserves the right to require more presence in the office based on business needs, and requirements are subject to change with periodic reviews.

Physical Requirements: Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day. Please click here for further physical requirement detail.

Equal Employment Opportunity: External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability status and any other classification protected by Federal, State and local laws.