Hybrid Senior US CPA - Cross-Border Accounting & Tax at Commenda

About Commenda

Commenda is a legal and tax compliance platform helping startups manage their cross-border operations. We serve over 200 high-growth companies expanding across the US, UK, India, and 10+ other markets. Our platform enables founders to set up and manage global entities, stay on top of tax deadlines, and ensure audit-ready books across jurisdictions.

We’re now building an in-house US tax & accounting team in Bangalore — and looking for a Senior US CPA to lead the function.

The Role

You will be the first US CPA on our in-house team in Bangalore, responsible for building the accounting and tax function from the ground up. This is not a back-office role — you’ll work closely with founders, handle complex cross-border tax filings, and build systems to scale high-quality financial reporting for 200+ companies.

You’ll work across monthly bookkeeping, tax prep, compliance catch-ups, and historical cleanups, with a clear mandate to improve turnaround time, quality, and trust.

What You’ll Do

• Take ownership of monthly and annual close processes for US entities (ranging from early-stage to post-Series A)
• Lead preparation and review of US tax filings, including 1120, 5471, 5472, FBAR, and R&D credit claims
• Drive historical cleanup and superseding of incorrect returns filed by legacy vendors (e.g., method change from cash to accrual, correcting 5471 disclosures, etc.)
• Review and close books for upmarket customers with complex workflows (AR, AP, intercompany, accrual-based books)
• Join client calls to explain findings and timelines — especially for board-facing clients with internal deadlines
• Work with bookkeeping staff and product/ops teams to define internal SLAs and escalation workflows
• Identify and support cross-sell opportunities like sales tax, transfer pricing, or multi-entity consolidation
• Contribute to documentation, tax checklists, and SOPs as the team grows

Requirements

You’ll Thrive If You Have:

• Active US CPA license
• 5+ years of US accounting and tax experience (ideally with startups or cross-border clients)
• Strong understanding of US GAAP, entity compliance, and international tax forms (5471, 5472, FBAR, etc.)
• Comfortable working with tools like Xero, MyTaxPrepOffice, or GoSystems
• Experience handling multiple clients or entity structures simultaneously
• A builder mindset — you’re excited to create structure where it doesn’t yet exist
• Strong communication skills — you’ll be client-facing and internally collaborative

Benefits

• Competitive compensation plus meaningful equity.
• Private Healthcare
• High-impact environment: Decisions are swift, hierarchies are flat, and your work directly shapes our product and clients’ outcomes.
• Monthly self-improvement stipend of USD $100 to spend on continuing education, personal trainer, or anything else that helps you improve as a human
• Fantastic in-office work environment with an incredible team, great events, Herman Miller chairs, and rooftop views.
• Opportunities for international travel on business trips or to our offices in the U.S., Singapore, and UAE.