The Role
Every acquisition a PE sponsor closes creates an immediate accounting event with lasting financial consequences. The Opening Balance Sheet and purchase price allocation don't just satisfy a compliance requirement. They establish the foundation for how a portfolio company reports earnings, measures goodwill, and communicates financial performance to investors and auditors for years to come.
This role exists at that critical intersection. As a Manager in our Finance & Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) practice, you will own the technical execution of ASC 805 purchase accounting and Opening Balance Sheet preparation for PE-backed portfolio companies navigating post-close accounting. You'll be the person sponsors and controllers depend on to translate complex deal structures into clean, defensible, audit-ready financial records, on a timeline that doesn't wait.
This is not a staff augmentation seat. You will manage workstreams independently, collaborate directly with portfolio company finance teams and third-party valuation specialists, and ensure every deliverable meets the standard of precision that PE investors and their auditors demand. You'll also contribute to shaping how our growing FAAS practice approaches transaction accounting, building methodology, templates, and intellectual capital as we scale.
Why Intrinsic
- Technical depth over breadth: you'll specialize in work that carries real consequence, not shuffle between generic advisory tasks.
- Direct access to sponsors and portfolio leadership: no layers between you and the stakeholders who depend on your work.
- Hybrid flexibility: based in Denver or Chicago with remote options and meaningful work-from-anywhere policies.
- Growth trajectory: a clear development path from Manager to Director within a high-impact practice at an inflection point.
What You'll Do
ASC 805 Purchase Accounting and Opening Balance Sheet Execution
You are the technical lead on post-close accounting for acquisitions. You ensure that every OBS bridge, journal entry, and technical memo is accurate, well-documented, and defensible under audit scrutiny:
- Lead purchase price allocation (PPA) execution under ASC 805, including fair value measurement, goodwill calculation, and identification of acquired intangible assets.
- Prepare and reconcile Opening Balance Sheet bridges for acquisitions and divestitures, translating deal mechanics into GAAP-compliant financial records.
- Draft and review technical accounting memoranda for business combinations and divestitures, ensuring conclusions are clearly reasoned and audit-ready.
- Book acquisition-related journal entries and post-close adjustments with precision; coordinate with controllers to ensure proper integration into the general ledger.
- Develop and maintain GAAP-compliant calculations for purchase accounting, bargain purchase assessments, measurement period adjustments, and related disclosures.
- Coordinate with third-party valuation specialists to align fair value inputs with accounting conclusions and ensure consistency across deliverables.
Hands-On Post-Close Accounting Execution
This role requires comfort operating inside a portfolio company's accounting function, not just advising from the outside:
- Work directly in client ERPs and close processes to support timely booking of acquisition accounting entries.
- Help management teams translate deal terms into practical journal entries, reconciliations, and close checklists.
- Make judgment calls when information is imperfect, documenting conclusions while keeping the close moving.
- Bridge the gap between technically correct and operationally executable accounting in lean finance environments.
Technical Guidance and Stakeholder Coordination
You don't just execute; you advise. When portfolio company controllers encounter unfamiliar deal structures or ambiguous GAAP treatment, you provide the technical clarity they need to move forward with confidence:
- Serve as a technical resource on complex accounting issues arising from business combinations, including contingent consideration, earn-outs, step acquisitions, and carve-out transactions.
- Collaborate with controllers, FP&A teams, and external auditors to ensure accurate post-close financial reporting and smooth audit cycles.
- Partner with controllers and CFOs to evaluate accounting alternatives, explain implications, and support informed decision-making under tight timelines.
- Serve as a thought partner to management teams who may be encountering ASC 805 complexity for the first time.
- Provide guidance on ASC 805 compliance requirements, emerging standards, and practical application in middle-market PE environments.
- Anticipate audit questions and prepare supporting documentation proactively, not reactively.
Project Management and Practice Contribution
- Manage multiple concurrent workstreams independently, setting timelines, tracking deliverables, and communicating progress to engagement leadership and client stakeholders.
- Deliver high-quality work under tight deal-driven deadlines without sacrificing accuracy or documentation standards.
- Contribute to FAAS practice development: help refine OBS/PPA templates, build internal playbooks, and share knowledge that raises the team's technical capability.
- Provide coaching and feedback to Associates and Senior Associates on transaction accounting methodology and workpaper quality.
What Makes You a Fit
You bring deep transaction accounting expertise
- 5 or more years of progressive experience in Big 4 FAAS/Deals, national advisory, or in-house technical accounting with significant exposure to ASC 805 purchase accounting in PE-backed or acquisitive environments.
- Proven track record leading PPA execution, OBS preparation, and technical accounting memoranda for business combinations and divestitures. You have done this work, not just reviewed it.
- Authoritative command of US GAAP as applied to business combinations: fair value measurement, goodwill, intangible asset identification, contingent consideration, measurement period adjustments, and related disclosures.
- CPA designation (active or eligible) strongly preferred.
- Familiarity with valuation concepts and experience collaborating with third-party valuation specialists on PPA inputs.
- Strong Excel and financial modeling skills; comfort navigating ERP systems and working with complex data across multiple entities.
You operate with a manager's mindset
- You manage your workstreams with ownership and precision: tracking what's open, anticipating what's next, and communicating clearly when circumstances shift.
- You are decisive under pressure. Deal timelines are non-negotiable, and ambiguity sharpens your judgment rather than slowing it.
- You translate complex accounting into plain-English explanations that controllers, sponsors, and auditors can act on.
- You are a clear, professional communicator, equally effective drafting a technical memo as walking a CFO through post-close accounting implications.
- You hold yourself to a high standard of documentation and self-review. Your work is audit-ready before anyone else sees it.
Nice to have
- Experience in a PE-backed portfolio company or acquisitive corporate environment where you led or supported OBS/PPA workstreams in-house.
- Exposure to divestiture and carve-out accounting beyond standard business combinations.
- Familiarity with adjacent FAAS workstreams (close transformation, financial reporting, M&A integration) that broaden your contribution over time.
Total Compensation & Benefits
This position has an expected base salary range of $135,000 to $175,000 annually. Skills, experience, education, and qualifications determine final compensation. Employees are also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus targeted at 15% of base salary, bringing target total cash compensation to approximately $155,250 to $201,250.
Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; a 401(k) plan with employer contribution; paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and company holidays; paid parental leave; hybrid and remote work flexibility; professional development support and continuing education reimbursement; and participation in the firm's employee ownership model. All full-time employees are eligible for these benefits.
This position is eligible for remote work. Compensation reflects the full posted range and is not adjusted by geography.
About Intrinsic
Since 2010, Intrinsic has partnered with private equity firms, portfolio companies, and the office of the CFO to deliver transaction advisory services, valuation, and financial and accounting advisory support. We're a private, independent firm with significant employee ownership, headquartered in Denver, with team members across the country.
Our FAAS practice works at the critical juncture where PE value creation plans meet portfolio company finance operations. We partner with PE sponsors and their portfolio companies to accelerate close timelines, resolve complex technical accounting challenges, build reporting infrastructure that supports scale, optimize cash and working capital, integrate acquisitions, and prepare businesses for successful exits. Our work is not advisory in the abstract. We embed, execute, and deliver alongside our clients at the moments that matter most.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Intrinsic is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels respected and empowered to do their best work.
Intrinsic complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, compensation, benefits, training, and termination.
Applicants who require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the hiring process may contact us at info@intrinsicfirm.com.
