Finance Transformation Lead - Close

Summary

Imagine what you could do here. At Apple, new ideas have a way of becoming phenomenal products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job and there's no telling what you could accomplish.

Do you love thinking analytically? Are you passionate about using your financial knowledge to navigate complex challenges? Just as our customers find value in Apple products, the Finance group finds value for both Apple and its shareholders. As part of this group, you’ll play an integral role in ensuring our day‑to‑day financial health. You and your team will support Apple’s growth, both top and bottom line, by applying the same level of innovation toward financial matters as we do toward our products and services.

You’ll also collaborate with Apple teams across the world to develop more effective investment strategies and risk management. Finance is essential to upholding our global commitment to perfection, and it is directly responsible for shaping the company’s future. Join us, and you’ll have an important role in continuing Apple’s legacy of efficiency and success.

The Finance Transformation Lead will be responsible for developing and articulating a clear vision and roadmap for transforming our financial close process, including the accounting and close‑related activities within the R2R cycle. This will ensure alignment with overall business objectives, technological advancements, and regulatory requirements, including SOX compliance.

A key focus will be on identifying, analyzing, and redesigning processes related to the various accounting activities and processes across our finance functions with an eye toward strengthening internal controls, improving data accuracy for financial reporting, and enhancing scalability through automation and process optimization. The Lead will also evaluate, recommend, and oversee the implementation of new financial technologies and tools to automate operational finance tasks, improve data quality for financial reporting and business insights, and enable advanced analytics.

This includes a strong emphasis on leveraging Gen AI capabilities for reconciliation, anomaly detection, and automated control monitoring and SOX testing support.

Strong stakeholder management is crucial, requiring close collaboration with finance leadership, IS&T, SOX PMO, and various business functions to ensure successful project delivery and adoption of new processes and systems. The role also includes developing and executing robust change management strategies, including communication plans, training programs, and user adoption initiatives, to ensure a smooth transition for accounting and operational finance teams.

The Lead will drive initiatives to improve financial data governance, reporting capabilities, and the use of analytics to provide deeper business insights into operational expenditures and resource allocation, while ensuring all transformation efforts maintain strong internal controls and compliance with relevant financial regulations and SOX requirements.

• 7+ years of progressive experience in accounting and operational finance roles, with significant proven experience in leading and executing finance transformation initiatives specifically within R2R processes, SOX testing, and internal controls.
• BS or BA in Business, Economics, or equivalent.

• Proven experience in managing, mentoring, and developing direct reports or project teams, fostering a collaborative and high‑performing environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross‑functional teams, influence stakeholders, and drive significant change in a complex organizational environment.
• Strong business acumen coupled with a deep understanding of core accounting and operational finance processes and how to optimize them through transformation to support business functions effectively.
• Past experience with Python / SQL from a business‑facing finance role a plus.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; must be comfortable presenting to executives.
• Proactive problem solver, encouraged to present problems and recommendations…