Restructure the P&L so it describes the businesses we actually run, with unit economics per transaction, and own the model that comes out of it
Set Tern's revenue recognition policy across all business verticals
Oversee the month-end close process
Own the burn: the policy, the categorization, and the gap between the P&L expense line and what actually leaves the bank
Write the accounting requirements our payment and operations products have to meet, and work with our Finance Product Lead and engineering to get them built
Map and close the tax exposure that comes with new business lines
Be the accounting SME for Tern internal and our Users
Deep accounting expertise: You've owned the technical accounting at a company where the answer wasn't in a playbook. You can reason from the standard rather than from precedent, and you're the person others come to when nobody knows how something should be booked.
Built the function: You've been the first or earliest accounting hire at one or two startups. You built the chart of accounts, the close, and the controls rather than inheriting them.
Revenue recognition judgment: You've made a gross-vs-net call under ASC 606 and lived with it, ideally at a company that was or became the merchant of record. You can reason through the principal-vs-agent test, not just recite it.
Payments and marketplace accounting: You've accounted for money that flows through the company rather than to it- held funds, payouts, chargebacks, interchange, processing fees.
Qualification
Close ownershipPaceTravel tech experienceWHAT WE VALUE @ TERN🌱 We're always leveling upWhether you're deepening your craft🧭 We act with optimistic agency
Required
Close ownership: You can spot a wrong close by looking at it. You've owned month-end, not just reviewed the output.
Pace: You operate without a defined process and without waiting for one. You pick up unowned work.
Preferred
Travel tech experience, or any industry where commissions, supplier statements, and trust accounting are normal
You've been part of an institutional fundraise and know what diligence does to a set of books
You've replaced an outsourced bookkeeping firm and brought the function in house
Multi-entity or multi-currency experience
WHAT WE VALUE @ TERN
🌱 We're always leveling up.
Whether you're deepening your craft, learning from a teammate, or embracing a new challenge, growth is core to our identity.
