Accountant, Consultant

Your Role

The Corporate Financial Accounting and Reporting team is responsible for the recording and reporting of financial information for Blue Shield of California. This role reports to the Principal Accountant and supports the broader Controllership organization.

We are seeking a dynamic and innovative Consultant Accountant to support automation and continuous improvement initiatives across the Accounting organization. This role offers the opportunity to help modernize accounting operations by combining strong accounting knowledge with process optimization, systems thinking, and technology enablement.

As a Consultant Accountant, you will support the design, implementation, and maintenance of automated solutions that improve accuracy, efficiency, and scalability across financial operations. You will help enhance close, reconciliation, and reporting processes through automation and continuous improvement, partnering closely with Technology and cross-functional teams to modernize workflows, reduce manual effort, strengthen internal controls, and improve the timeliness and quality of financial reporting. In this role, you will serve as a subject-matter resource on end-to-end accounting operations and support audits related to automated processes.

Your Work

In this role, you will:

• Automation support: Leverage technology to help automate accounting processes and implement tools that enhance quality, efficiency, and control effectiveness. Serve as an accounting subject-matter resource on automation initiatives, helping ensure solutions comply with US GAAP, internal controls, and audit requirements.
• Process design & governance: Support the design and documentation of operational processes and automated workflows that meet regulatory, policy, and audit standards. Help embed appropriate control points and evidence within workflows. Collaborate with IT, FP&A, and Operations to streamline processes, reduce manual journal entries, and improve data integration across financial systems.
• Technology partnership: Work closely with Technology teams to develop system solutions that eliminate manual steps, integrate data sources, and enable analytics. Provide business requirements and support user acceptance testing (UAT) for automation releases.
• KPIs & performance management: Support the development of key performance metrics for automated processes, prepare monitoring dashboards, analyze results, and help implement action plans to improve performance.
• Risk management: Identify and communicate risks related to systems, processes, and resource constraints, and support mitigation activities and escalation as needed. Continuously analyze close and reporting processes to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce cycle time.
• Audit support: Support Internal and External Auditors on matters related to automated processes. Compile documentation and assist in responding to audit inquiries.
• Change enablement: Support standards, training, and adoption efforts that help teams use new tools and processes effectively while maintaining compliance with internal controls.
• Continuous improvement: Identify automation opportunities aligned with leadership’s objectives. Research emerging technologies and industry best practices and recommend process enhancements where appropriate.
• Documentation: Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) and related documentation for automated processes.

Your Knowledge and Experience 

• Requires a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field; CPA or progress toward CPA preferred.
• Requires a minimum 7 years of prior relevant experience in consulting, accounting or controllership experience supporting complex close, reconciliation, and reporting processes.
• Strong knowledge of close, reconciliation, and financial reporting operations, US GAAP, internal controls, and audit support requirements.
• Demonstrated experience with process automation, continuous improvement, and accounting systems optimization in an accounting or finance environment; consulting experience with system implementations is highly desirable.
• Experience developing matching rules in high-volume reconciliation platforms such as Cadency or BlackLine, including rule design, testing, exception management, and process optimization.
• Experience supporting ERP implementations, system enhancements, or post-go-live optimization to expand automation, scalability, and control effectiveness.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and identify practical improvement opportunities.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to partner effectively across Accounting, Finance, Operations, and Technology.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with reporting, reconciliation, or automation tools used to manage and analyze large data sets preferred.