What the work actually is

You write accounting problems the way they arrive in practice, not the way they appear in a textbook. That means a month-end close with an unreconciled intercompany balance, a revenue arrangement with a variable consideration wrinkle, a fixed-asset ledger that disagrees with the depreciation schedule, or a partial-year 1120-S with a basis question buried in it. Each task needs a defensible answer, a citation trail to the relevant standard or code section, and enough context that a model — and a reviewer — can follow the reasoning. The second half of the work is evaluation: reading two or more AI-generated attempts at a problem, deciding which reflects sound professional judgment, and writing the rationale. Most rejected submissions fail here, not on the accounting: the grader agrees with the right answer but can't articulate why the other output is wrong in a way that generalises.

What the screen is looking for

Mercor's intake is AI-led and starts from your resume and a short practice-area form, then probes for depth. Expect follow-ups that press on specifics: which standard governs the treatment you named, what you did when the client's position and the standard diverged, how you documented a judgment that could have gone the other way. Broad familiarity across audit, tax, and reporting is less useful than genuine depth in one lane — the brief is explicitly open to all specialties, so claiming all of them reads as thin. A short sample task usually follows for shortlisted applicants.

Logistics

  • Fully remote, asynchronous, contractor engagement — no fixed hours or standing calls
  • Paid per task; the $700 figure is an observed band for substantive task units, not a guarantee, and simpler items pay less
  • Volume is variable and project-driven; most contributors treat this as evening or weekend work alongside a practice
  • Written English of a professional standard is non-negotiable — nearly everything you produce is prose
  • Strong contributors are moved into reviewer, lead, and domain-expert tiers, which change the rate