ABOUT PUSHKIN INDUSTRIES

Co-founded by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg in 2018, Pushkin Industries is an audio production company dedicated to creating premium content in a collaborative environment. We’re committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace for all of our employees. We are dedicated to producing audio in any format that challenges listeners, encourages their curiosity, and inspires joy.

Pushkin has produced numerous shows that have broken into the top 10 on Apple Podcasts, including Revisionist History, Against the Rules, The Happiness Lab, Cautionary Tales, The Last Archive, Deep Cover, Solvable, and Lost Hills, and A Slight Change of Plans, which was also named Apple’s Best Show of 2021. In addition to Malcolm Gladwell, our hosts include Michael Lewis, Jill Lepore, Maya Shankar, Tim Harford, Laurie Santos, Dana Goodyear, Jake Halpern, Sam Fragoso, Jacob Goldstein, and many more. We’re also the publisher of groundbreaking audiobooks including The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell, Heartbreak by Florence Williams, Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon by Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam, Inside Voice by Lake Bell, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen. Our custom content clients include Apple, IBM, and the TED Audio Collective.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As Controller, you’ll own all accounting policies and operational workflows, ensuring compliance with our internal standards. You will direct the entirety of the accounting function, which includes managing our external accounting firm & tools provider, FinOptimal, and interfacing with our entire staff. You will ensure we close the books timely and consistently, and you will set the timeline based on what is realistic. This role will provide a great deal of latitude and autonomy, as well as strong mentorship in finance for small companies. Ideal candidates love to work autonomously, are highly motivated and ambitious in their career trajectory, and are passionate about content creation and/or the podcast industry. This role is aimed to provide them with the skills to eventually operate in a head of finance role. This role reports to the VP of Finance.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and document accounting policies and workflows, and keep these up to date to reflect current practices.
• Design effective automated / manual controls to ensure accuracy and completeness of accounting records.
• Direct and oversee accounting processes, like payables, expenses, receivables, revenue, general ledger, and month-end closes.
• Process bi-monthly payroll through ADP.
• Drive the monthly, quarterly, and annual closes consistently and timely.
• Manage and direct FinOptimal, our external accounting & tools provider. FinOptimal performs, and provides tools to manage, all accounting processes for us.
• Understand financial forecasts and budgets maintained by the VP of Finance, and suggest adjustments to them as relevant.
• Analyze internal P&L reporting, in collaboration with the VP of Finance.
• Prepare and provide external reporting to the board and investors.
• Own and advance the accounting software tech stack.
• Maintain, monitor, and improve policies & training for company spend.
• Provide the leadership team and showrunners with insight into spend v budget.
• Provide direction and support to teammates in production, marketing, and operations on financial activities.
• Support the VP of Finance in annual company budgeting.
• Lead tax planning (federal, state & local, commercial real estate, sales) and compliance.
• Lead business insurance renewals and assessments.

SKILLS + QUALIFICATIONS 

• The ideal candidate will have the following:
• 6-10 years of a mix of public & private accounting experience
• CPA license or equivalent
• High attention to detail
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Intrinsically motivated and ambitious in career trajectory
• Interest in working in a rapidly changing and growing industry (i.e., podcasts)
• Excels at doing autonomous work
• Can resourcefully and thoughtfully manage own workload, realistically set deadlines, and reliably meet them
• Deep understanding of US GAAP/IFRS, and familiarity with Sarbanes Oxley
• Familiarity with corporate tax returns
• Ability and interest to convey financial information to non-finance colleagues and business stakeholders
• Experience supervising others preferred but not required
• Experience with QuickBooks, Bill.com, Teampay, or similar tools is a plus

This is a full-time staff position that will be based in New York, NY. We require that all NY-based employees come to the office a minimum of 3x a week. To ensure safety among ourselves and our communities, we require that all Pushkin employees are fully vaccinated with the FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots.

Compensation will comprise a base salary, full benefits (medical, dental, vision), and eligibility for stock options in the company. The base salary range for this role is $115K-$130K. Pushkin employees have two one-week holidays (in August and December), during which the entire company closes so that everyone can truly relax and recharge, an additional two weeks of paid vacation, paid holidays, and eligibility for parental leave.