Accounting Expert

What you'll do

This is authoring work for AI evaluation: you write the tasks yourself. Mercor wants senior accountants and auditors to build the "worlds" that AI systems are tested in: a realistic accounting situation, the reference output a strong professional would produce, and a rubric that scores how close a model gets.

The ad runs two parallel tracks, and you can qualify for either or both:

• US track: US GAAP and the ASC codification, with PCAOB auditing standards
• International track: IFRS, with the International Standards on Auditing

Scenarios cover financial statement preparation, technical accounting research, external and internal audit, internal controls and SOX, and complex transactions (M&A, revenue recognition, leases). The reference deliverables are the documents you would recognise from practice: financial statements, technical accounting memos, audit workpapers and internal control assessments. Tools named include SAP and Oracle ERPs, consolidation software, audit management platforms, and research tools such as Bloomberg Tax and RIA Checkpoint.

The hard part is the rubric. The brief asks for criteria that tell authentic accounting judgment apart from textbook or CPA-exam recall, which means writing down the things a reviewing partner catches instinctively: materiality calls, the right standard for an edge case, a memo conclusion that does not follow from its own analysis.

Who fits

• 5+ years as an accountant, controller or audit partner at a major accounting firm or corporation (Big Four, corporate controller or CFO are the examples given)
• Direct ownership of financial reporting, audit engagements or technical accounting matters
• Fluency with accounting tooling, SEC regulatory reporting and audit standards
• A CPA, or an international equivalent such as ACCA or CA, is strongly preferred rather than required
• Prior rubric or training-content authorship is a plus

No country restriction is published, and the International track makes this one of the few Mercor accounting listings where IFRS-trained accountants outside the US are an explicit target.

What it pays

$70–80 per hour, Mercor's published range. It is a narrow band, so the offer you get should be close to the floor or the ceiling rather than a surprise. Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise.

For comparison, the FP&A Expert sibling in the same template pays $80–90, and the US-only Accounting Expert (CL Funnel) listing pays a flat $80 with a lower 3-year bar but a mandatory credential.

Worth knowing

Good:

• Two standards tracks, so IFRS practitioners are not an afterthought
• Very active listing: Mercor showed 93 hires on it this month when we checked
• Authoring work draws on the judgment that took you years to build
• Fully remote, on your own schedule

Less good:

• The 5-year, Big Four or controller bar is high for $70–80
• No weekly hours or project length stated
• H-1B and STEM OPT holders are excluded
• Independent contractor; projects can be extended, shortened or concluded early

About this listing

Posted by Mercor as an hourly remote contract, confirmed open on 24 September 2026. The pay band, the two tracks, the qualifications and the weekly Stripe or Wise payment terms are the ad's own. Mercor states the work involves no confidential information from any employer or client, so build scenarios from experience, not from real client files. See Mercor.