Workday

Principal Accountant

Workday$145K — $217K *
Legal & Accounting
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of related accounting experience.
  • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
  • Experience with publicly traded technology or SaaS companies preferred.
  • Strong knowledge of US GAAP and general ledger accounting.
  • Advanced Excel skills; adept at managing large data sets.
  • Excellent communication skills for engaging with diverse stakeholders.
  • Proven ability to manage and improve accounting processes and controls.

Responsibilities

  • Own monthly and quarterly close processes for global consolidation of corporate accounting areas.
  • Manage accounting and reporting for variable compensation, ensuring compliance with US GAAP.
  • Prepare and review management reporting and analytics, explaining trends to finance partners.
  • Collaborate effectively with Sales Ops and Payroll for accurate compensation data.
  • Support audits by preparing schedules and responding to inquiries.
  • Enhance internal controls over financial reporting and adapt to evolving processes.
  • Drive process improvements and automation opportunities within corporate accounting.

Benefits

  • Flexible work arrangements that include in-person and remote options.
  • Opportunity for professional growth with involvement in system implementations and redesign initiatives.
  • Participation in the Workday Bonus Plan and potential role-specific commissions.
  • Access to annual refresh stock grants as part of the compensation package.
Full Job Description
About the Role

Workday is seeking a Principal Accountant who wants to make their mark on a growing organization. This is an individual contributor role with broad ownership across the corporate accounting close (e.g., operating expenses, payroll-related costs, and variable compensation) and a key partner to FP&A and business leaders. Reporting to the Senior Accounting Manager, the ideal candidate is a self-starter, an excellent communicator, and enjoys collaborating with people with a diverse set of talents in an ambitious, fast-paced environment.

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.


About You

Required Qualifications:
  • 8+ years of related accounting experience.
  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field.


Other Qualifications:
  • 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.


Workday Pay Transparency Statement

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. Recruiters can share more detail during the hiring process. Each candidate's compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, skills, job duties, and business need, among other things. For more information regarding Workday's comprehensive benefits, please click here.

Primary Location: USA.CA.Pleasanton

Primary Location Base Pay Range: $145,000 USD - $217,400 USD

Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $122,400 USD - $217,400 USD

Our Approach to Flexible Work

With Flex Work, we're combining the best of both worlds: in-person time and remote. Our approach enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We know that flexibility can take shape in many ways, so rather than a number of required days in-office each week, we simply spend at least half (50%) of our time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role). This means you'll have the freedom to create a flexible schedule that caters to your business, team, and personal needs, while being intentional to make the most of time spent together. Those in our remote "home office" roles also have the opportunity to come together in our offices for important moments that matter.

About Workday

Workday, Inc. is a provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources. The Company delivers financial management, human capital management and analytics applications designed for various companies, educational institutions and government agencies. As part of its applications, the Company provides embedded analytics that capture the content and context of everyday business events, facilitating informed decision-making from wherever users are working. Its applications include Workday Financial Management, Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) and Other Applications. It also provides open, standards-based Web-services application programming interfaces, and pre-built packaged integrations and connectors. Workday, Inc. is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
Learn more about Workday
Size
15,932 employees
Market Cap
$42.2 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$282.4 million
Founded
2005
5 Year Trend
+26.7%
Revenue
$4.3 billion
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Workday

More Legal & Accounting Jobs

Find similar Principal Accountant jobs: