Job Title: Senior Manager, Payroll Accounting Location: Costa Rica Company Overview: Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD) is at a critically important juncture in the company’s lifecycle. CSOD is the world’s largest and most successful stand-alone unified Talent Management company and one of the world’s largest SaaS companies. The company is entering a phase of achieving scale and global expansion through continued relentless execution. The position will be part of Global Shared Services team in Costa Rica Job Summary: The Senior Manager, Payroll Accounting will lead a team of 5 payroll accountants (based in Costa Rica India) responsible for end-to-end payroll accounting across 27 countries, supporting 3,000+ employees (“Cornerstars”). This role owns payroll accounting close activities (postings and accruals), monthly balance sheet reconciliations, and entity-level payroll variance/flux analysis. You will partner closely with Payroll Processing to resolve issues quickly and drive automation to improve accuracy, controls and close efficiency. Key Responsibilities: Team Management : Lead, coach, and develop a team of 5 payroll accounting team members; set priorities, manage capacity, and ensure high-quality outputs across all deliverables Payroll accounting accruals (global scope): Oversee payroll postings and ensure accurate accounting for payroll-related accruals including pensions, bonuses (various plans), and restructuring-related items across 27 countries. Month-end close execution: Ensure all payroll accounting entries and related deliverables are completed accurately and on time to meet month-end deadlines. Entity-level analysis flux explanations: Own the entity-level payroll analysis process; support the team in producing balance sheet and income statement flux/variance analysis used by senior finance leadership to understand and explain movements Balance sheet reconciliations: Lead the monthly reconciliation process for payroll-related balance sheet accounts, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and appropriate documentation and controls Cross-functional issue resolution: Partner with Payroll Processing teams to investigate and resolve payroll accounting questions and discrepancies as they arise, driving timely resolution and clear communication Automation process improvement: Design and implement automation and standardization initiatives for payroll accounting (e.g., improving data flows from ADP/ActivePay into Oracle, templates, controls, and reconciliations) to reduce manual effort and strengthen accuracy and compliance. Build relationships: Partner with Talent teams, FP A IT to resolve queries, provide intelligent analysis and develop future improvements Support internal and external payroll and financial audits : Partner with Accounting and statutory accountants to prepare accurate payroll records, reconciliations and supporting documentation, responding promptly to auditor queries, and ensuring the timely resolution of audit findings. Qualifications: Education: Bachelor’s degree in business, Finance, or a related field. Registered Private Accountant (CPI) Experience: 8+ years of progressive experience in payroll accounting, accounting operations, controllership, or close/reconciliation roles within a multi-entity global organization Proven experience leading teams (people management and/or strong functional leadership) Experience within a multinational, Shared Service Centre (SSC), Global Business Services (GBS) or BPO environment strongly preferred. Skills: Strong analytical skills with demonstrated ability to deliver clear, audit-ready reconciliations and variance explanations Ability to operate effectively under month-end deadlines and coordinate across time zones and stakeholders. Ability to lead and motivate a team. Interpersonal skills strong problem-solving and decision-making abilities. Strong knowledge of payroll accounting concepts (wages, taxes, pensions, bonus accruals, and related balance sheet accounts) across multiple countries (US, India, France and Costa Rica are a must) Hands-on experience with Oracle, FloQast and payroll systems such as ADP and/or ActivePay (or similar), including leveraging system outputs for journal entries, reconciliations, and analysis Strong knowledge of MS office especially Excel, PowerPoint Outlook. Advanced English and good written and verbal communication skills to interact upward and cross functionally are a must Must be comfortable operating in a fast-paced global organisation undergoing significant transformation. Experience of technology-enabled process improvement Extra dose of awesome if you have… Additional language skills