AVP, Accounting Operations and Strategy

About the role

This position serves as a strategic advisor to the Chief Accounting Officer, CFO, and senior management on matters pertaining to both the day-to-day accounting operations and the long-term transformation strategy of the enterprise accounting function.

Responsibilities

• Oversight of operational accounting processes, including onboard revenue, receivables, payment processing, accounts payable, shipboard payroll, and other shipboard financial activities including Silversea.
• Collaboration with members of the Finance organization and various operating department leaders to execute on projects, problem solve, and provide insights and recommendations.
• Establishment and execution of effective internal controls.
• Work with internal and external auditors on quarterly/annual reviews/audits as well as Sarbanes-Oxley internal control of financial reporting test work.
• Monitor and ensure timely identification of accounting issues and work with Technical Accounting Group and the relevant business groups to document and ensure proper accounting in accordance with GAAP.
• Lead the Accounting workforce transformation ensuring effective use of out-of-the-box functionality within Oracle Fusion, AI automation/agentic processing, and third-party business processors (ie TCS).
• Own and drive the AI automation roadmap for the accounting function.
• Identify, prioritize, and deploy AI use cases across journal entries, account reconciliations, AP vouchering, expense anomaly detection, revenue recognition, and intercompany accounting.
• Oversee the development and governance of AI agents, GenAI tools, and intelligent automation solutions deployed within Oracle Fusion Cloud, ensuring outputs are audit-ready and compliant with GAAP and SOX requirements.
• Serve as the executive sponsor for the TCS outsourcing relationship, managing the expansion of the relationship and increase the number of existing TCS resources (31 TCS FTEs 2025), including adjusting the business model to meet future technological and transactional needs.
• Ensure TCS operates all transactional and low-risk accounting processes end-to-end, while retaining judgment-based work, AI oversight, controls, strategic analysis, and business partnering onshore.
• Collaborate with TCS on the deployment of AI-driven capabilities and pre-built digital solutions (financial close accelerators, scenario models) to complement RCG's internal automation roadmap.
• Lead, support, or otherwise oversee the implementation of accounting-adjacent systems or initiatives that intersect with the accounting group, ensuring they are implemented in accordance with GAAP and company policy.
• Attend regular project status meetings as the Accounting representative, providing updates to senior leadership, Steering Committee, and other stakeholders on both operational performance and transformation progress.

Qualifications

• An undergraduate business degree in Accounting or Finance.
• Advanced educational degrees (i.e. MBA) will be considered a plus.
• A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in active/good standing.
• 12+ years of progressive work experience with a track record of managerial responsibility in areas of accounting operations and/or finance transformation, preferably with a public company; attainment of the level of Senior Manager or Director with a Big 4 public accounting firm considered a plus.
• Experience managing large teams across multiple geographic locations, including offshore/outsourced teams.
• Proven experience leading large-scale transformation initiatives, ERP implementations (Oracle Fusion Cloud preferred), or finance operating model redesigns.
• Excellent knowledge of US GAAP.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Experience with Sarbanes-Oxley and Internal Controls over Financial Reporting.
• Demonstrated understanding of AI, automation, and digital transformation concepts as applied to finance and accounting functions.
• Experience with strategic outsourcing and/or BPO management considered a plus.
• Knowledge of Oracle Cloud Financial modules and functionalities considered a plus.
• Strong project management skills, including experience with methodologies such as Agile or Waterfall.
• Knowledge and skills in digital and AI fluency — comfort with emerging technologies including GenAI, agentic AI, intelligent automation, and data analytics.
• Familiarity with cloud computing, SaaS models, and modern finance technology stacks.
• Strategic mindset with the ability to translate long-term vision into executable near-term actions.