Lead Revenue Accountant

This is a Full Time Job

A Little Bit About Our Team:
The Record to Report (RTR) Accounting Team serves as the central operational backbone for financial integrity, revenue recognition, cash management, and financial reporting across Warner Music Group.

Operating within our Shared Services / Global Business Services framework, the Recorded Music RTR team provides specialized accounting expertise, revenue assurance, and critical month-end closing support across WMG's renowned domestic and international record labels. We work with the GBS Revenue Team translating complex data into accurate financial reporting under US GAAP.

Your Role:

As the lead Revenue Accountant for Recorded Music, you will serve as the technical subject matter expert (SME) for our recorded music revenue accounting life cycle. This role bridges technical accounting, data analytics, and financial systems design. You will take ownership of the end-to-end accounting for high-volume, multi-source revenue streams, drive compliance with ASC 606, spearhead systems automation, and unlock actionable financial insights through advanced data mining. In addition to technical execution, you will provide training and education to other members of the Recorded Music RTR team.

Here you'll get to:
• Lead the technical accounting, accrual modeling, and reconciliation for all Recorded Music revenue streams, including Digital Streaming Partners (Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon), Digital Downloads, DMCA statutory royalties, Physical manufacturing and distribution (vinyl, CD, merch), Synchronization (film, TV, gaming, advertising), Master Licensing, and foreign affiliate distributions.
• Architect and maintain robust ASC 606 recognition schedules, monthly flash revenue accruals, deferred revenue tracking, and automated reversals based on consumption ingestion files vs. actual cash settlements.
• Query, clean, and analyze Revenue Operational Reporting datasets across disparate DSPs using Analysis for Office and Gemini AI Tools. Reconcile Multi-System Reporting from Source to Financial Ledger.
• Bridge consumption metadata (streams, downloads, play counts, tier rates) with transactional general ledger activity to detect anomalies, underreported royalties, missing catalog codes, and system mismatches.
• Conduct granular month-over-month (MoM) and quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) variance analyses; present variance drivers to label finance leaders.
• Serve as the RTR business lead for financial systems optimization across SAP (ECC / S/4HANA), BlackLine, and proprietary music revenue sub-ledgers.
• Design, test, and implement automated reporting simplify manual journal entries and compress the monthly close cycle.
• Direct the monthly and quarterly close deliverables for recorded music revenue, reviewing high-volume journal entries, complex accruals, and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Review work products prepared by staff accountants and offshore shared service partners (e.g., Shopify D2C sales tie-outs, DSP settlement matching, clearing account reconciliations), providing structured guidance and establishing standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Actively investigate and resolve persistent balances in revenue clearing, suspense, and partner withholding accounts.
• Maintain and enhance internal control matrices under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX 404), ensuring proper segregation of duties, automated validation checks, and data lineage documentation.
• Serve as primary revenue audit liaison for internal and external auditors (e.g., Big 4), providing PBC audit schedules, roll-forwards, sample testing support, and technical accounting memos.
• Partner proactively with Label Finance VPs/Directors, Commercial Revenue Operations, Business & Legal Affairs, IT/Data Engineering, and Corporate Royalty teams to align accounting treatments with evolving contract structures and deal terms.

About you:
• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance, or related analytical field required.
• Active CPA license (or international equivalent) strongly preferred.
• Master's Degree (MAcc, MBA) or coursework in Financial Data Analytics / Information Systems is a significant plus.
• 10 to 15+ years of progressive, hands-on accounting experience in Corporate Accounting, Shared Services, or Big 4 Public Accounting.
• Extensive specialization (7+ years) in high-volume revenue accounting, billing assurance, or royalty accounting.