Principal Accountant

About the role

The role is an individual contributor with broad ownership across the corporate accounting close, including preparation and review of journals, account reconciliations, and variance analyses. It also involves preparing and reviewing monthly management reporting and analytics, collaborating with Sales Ops, CX Ops, and Payroll, supporting internal and external audits, maintaining and enhancing internal controls, identifying and driving process improvements, and contributing to ad hoc projects.

Responsibilities

• Own core GL areas in the monthly and quarterly close for global consolidation (e.g., operating expenses, payroll-related accounts, variable compensation, and other corporate accounting areas), including preparation and review of journals, account reconciliations, and variance analyses.
• Manage the accounting and reporting for variable compensation (primarily Sales and Professional Services), ensuring accurate and timely recognition of commissions, bonuses, and incentives in accordance with US GAAP.
• Prepare and review monthly management reporting and analytics for owned areas, clearly explaining drivers, trends, and risks to Finance and business partners.
• Collaborate with Sales Ops, CX Ops, and Payroll to ensure compensation plans, quota changes, and system configurations are accurately reflected in upstream data and downstream accounting.
• Support internal and external audits for owned areas, including preparation of schedules and responding to inquiries.
• Maintain and enhance internal controls over financial reporting, including design and execution of controls for new or evolving processes.
• Identify and drive process improvements and automation opportunities across corporate accounting, working with Finance Systems and IT as needed.
• Contribute to ad hoc projects such as system implementations, process redesign, and department initiatives, and communicate complex topics in a clear, concise way to finance and non-finance partners.

Requirements

• 8+ years of related accounting experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field.
• Master’s degree and/or active CPA license is a plus.
• Experience with a publicly traded company in the technology or SaaS industry preferred.
• Strong knowledge of US GAAP and solid understanding of general ledger accounting and financial statements, including operating expenses, payroll-related costs, and variable compensation.
• Demonstrated experience owning multiple areas of the close and improving processes, controls, and reporting quality.
• Experience with sales CRM tools such as Salesforce and incentive compensation management tools such as Xactly is a plus.
• Advanced Excel skills and comfort working with large data sets.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with high attention to detail and strong ownership mindset.
• Strong communication skills; able to explain complex compensation plans and accounting conclusions clearly to diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment and adapt to changing priorities.
• Highly productive self-starter with a strong work ethic, curiosity, and dedication to excellence.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree and/or active CPA license is a plus.
• Experience with sales CRM tools such as Salesforce and incentive compensation management tools such as Xactly is a plus.
• Advanced Excel skills and comfort working with large data sets.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with high attention to detail and strong ownership mindset.
• Strong communication skills; able to explain complex compensation plans and accounting conclusions clearly to diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment and adapt to changing priorities.
• Highly productive self-starter with a strong work ethic, curiosity, and dedication to excellence.

Pay

The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below. Workday pay ranges vary based on work location. As a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus, as well as annual refresh stock grants.

Schedule

We combine in-person time and remote work. Spend at least half (50%) of your time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role).

Benefits

Our approach to flexible work enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We value our candidates' privacy and data security. Workday will never ask candidates to apply to jobs through websites that are not Workday Careers. Please be aware of sites that may ask for you to input your data in connection with a job posting that appears to be from Workday but is not. In addition, Workday will never ask candidates to pay a recruiting fee, or pay for consulting or coaching services, in order to apply for a job at Workday.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. At Workday, we are committed to providing an accessible and inclusive hiring experience where all candidates can fully demonstrate their skills.