Lease Accounting Manager

The Lease Accounting Manager is responsible for leading the Company's global lease accounting function and ensuring compliance with ASC 842, US GAAP, and Company accounting policies. This role serves as the primary subject matter expert for lease accounting and partners closely with Real Estate, Legal, Procurement, FP&A, Technical Accounting, and regional finance teams globally.

The position oversees the accounting, reporting, governance, and control environment for the Company's global lease portfolio, including real estate and equipment leases across more than 100+ legal entities. Responsibilities include managing lease accounting operations, supporting financial reporting and audits, driving process improvements, and maintaining strong internal controls. This role reports to the Senior Manager, Fixed Assets & Lease Accounting and is a key leader within the Fixed Assets and Lease Accounting Center of Excellence in the Chief Accounting Officer's organization.

This is a full-time, hybrid (3 days a week on-site) at Northbrook, IL.

Responsibilities

Global Lease Accounting & Governance

• Lead the global lease accounting function and ensure compliance with ASC 842 and Company policies.
• Review and approve accounting treatment for new leases, lease modifications, renewals, extensions, terminations, and reassessments.
• Maintain oversight of lease accounting systems, data integrity, and governance processes.
• Develop and maintain lease accounting policies, procedures, and training materials.

Financial Reporting & Close

• Lead monthly, quarterly, and annual lease accounting close activities.
• Oversee accounting for right-of-use (ROU) assets, lease liabilities, asset retirement obligations (AROs), and lease-related expenses.
• Review journal entries, reconciliations, rollforwards, and supporting schedules to ensure accuracy and completeness.
• Support external financial reporting requirements, including SEC disclosures and lease-related footnotes.

Business Partnership & Technical Accounting

• Serve as the primary accounting advisor to Real Estate, Facilities, Procurement, Legal, and regional finance teams.
• Review contracts and advise on lease accounting implications.
• Lead the evaluation and resolution of complex lease accounting matters and technical accounting issues.

Compliance, Audit & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure compliance with SOX controls, internal policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Coordinate and support internal and external audits related to lease accounting.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, automate workflows, and enhance reporting capabilities.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen efficiency, scalability, and control effectiveness.

Leadership

• Lead, develop, and mentor lease accounting professionals.
• Serve as the primary escalation point for lease accounting matters.
• Act as the functional lead and backup to the Senior Manager, Fixed Assets & Lease Accounting for lease-related activities and strategic initiatives.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance.
• CPA designation required.
• 7+ years of progressive accounting experience.
• 3+ years of direct lease accounting experience under ASC 842.
• Strong knowledge of US GAAP, financial reporting, and internal controls.
• Experience with ERP systems, preferably Oracle.
• Experience with lease accounting software platforms.
• Demonstrated leadership, communication, project management, and stakeholder management skills.
• Public company experience.
• Global accounting experience.
• Experience supporting SOX compliance and external audits.
• Experience leading process improvement initiatives.

Preferred

• Public company experience.
• Global accounting experience.
• Experience supporting SOX compliance and external audits.
• Experience leading process improvement initiatives.

Total Rewards: We understand compensation is an important factor as you consider the next step in your career. The estimated salary range for this position is $110,000- $135,000 and is based on multiple factors, including job-related knowledge/skills, experience, geographical location, as well as other factors. This position is eligible for annual bonus compensation with a target payout of 20% of the base salary. This position also provides health benefits such as medical, dental and vision; wellness benefits such as mental and financial health; and retirement savings (401K) commensurate with the standard rewards offered in each individual location or country. We also provide full-time employees with paid time off including vacation (15 days), holiday and personal days (totaling 12 days), and sick time off (72 hours). 

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About the company

A global leader in applied safety science, UL Solutions (NYSE: ULS) transforms safety, security and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers in more than 110 countries. UL Solutions delivers testing, inspection and certification services, together with software products and advisory offerings, that support our customers’ product innovation and business growth. The UL Mark serves as a recognized symbol of trust in our customers’ products and reflects an unwavering commitment to advancing our safety mission. We help our customers innovate, launch new products and services, navigate global markets and complex supply chains, and grow sustainably and responsibly into the future. Our science is your advantage.