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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Associate Accountant

💰 $45,000 - $65,000

AccountingFinanceFinance & AccountingEntry Level

🎯 Role Definition

The Associate Accountant is an early-career accounting professional responsible for maintaining accurate financial records, supporting month-end close activities, preparing reconciliations and journal entries, and ensuring compliance with accounting policies and regulatory requirements. This role works closely with senior accountants, finance business partners, and external auditors to deliver reliable financial information and help streamline processes across accounting functions.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Accounting Clerk or Accounting Assistant with 0–2 years of experience.
  • Junior Accountant or Finance Intern who has supported transactional accounting.
  • Bookkeeper or Accounts Payable/Receivable Specialist transitioning to full-cycle accounting.

Advancement To:

  • Senior Accountant (general ledger ownership, complex reconciliations).
  • Accounting Supervisor / Lead Accountant (team oversight and month-end coordination).
  • Financial Analyst or Staff Accountant (broader financial reporting and analysis).
  • Accounting Manager or Controller (after gaining technical and managerial experience).

Lateral Moves:

  • Payroll Specialist
  • Accounts Payable Supervisor
  • Credit & Collections Analyst
  • Fixed Assets Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Maintain and post accurate journal entries to the general ledger, ensuring correct account coding, supporting documentation, and explanation for each transaction in accordance with company policy and GAAP/IFRS as applicable.
  • Execute full-cycle accounts payable processing including invoice receipt, matching, coding, approval routing, timely payment execution, and vendor statement reconciliations while supporting efforts to optimize payment terms and avoid late fees.
  • Process accounts receivable activities such as invoicing, cash application, unapplied cash resolution, aging analysis, and customer statement reconciliation to maintain up-to-date receivable balances and improve days sales outstanding (DSO).
  • Prepare and complete monthly, quarterly, and annual reconciliations of balance sheet accounts (bank accounts, intercompany, fixed assets, accruals, prepaid expenses) and document reconciliation workflows and variances for review.
  • Support month-end and quarter-end close activities by compiling schedules, performing account analysis, identifying reconciling items, and assisting Senior Accountants to meet close deadlines with high accuracy.
  • Record and monitor accruals and prepayments, calculating appropriate period allocations and ensuring proper reversal entries in subsequent periods.
  • Execute bank reconciliations daily or monthly, investigate reconciling items, post adjusting entries as needed, and maintain bank reconciliation support files to facilitate internal and external audits.
  • Assist in fixed asset accounting including capitalization of purchases, depreciation calculations, disposals, and maintenance of a fixed asset register consistent with company policy and tax treatments.
  • Prepare supporting schedules and analysis for financial statement line items, summarizing drivers of variance, month-over-month and year-over-year trends for internal stakeholders.
  • Post and reconcile payroll-related general ledger entries in coordination with payroll/HR teams, ensuring liabilities, withholdings and benefits are reflected correctly in accounting records.
  • Collaborate with tax and compliance teams to gather information for sales/use, payroll, and corporate tax filings and support timely preparation of tax schedules and documentation.
  • Support internal and external audits by preparing requested schedules, gathering supporting documentation, responding to auditor inquiries, and implementing agreed-upon audit adjustments.
  • Process intercompany transactions, reconcile intercompany accounts, and assist in month-end intercompany netting and elimination entries to ensure accurate consolidated results.
  • Prepare and file routine reports and operational KPIs (cash position, AP aging, AR aging, working capital metrics) for finance leadership and business partners to support operational decision-making.
  • Maintain and improve accounting policies, process documentation, and internal control checklists; execute periodic control testing and remediate deficiencies under direction of managers.
  • Enter and maintain data in ERP systems (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, QuickBooks) and support system reconciliations between sub-ledgers and the general ledger.
  • Process journal entry adjustments and corrections for miscoded or erroneous transactions, researching root causes and communicating corrective actions to originating departments.
  • Assist with month-end variance explanations, cost center chargebacks, and allocation worksheets to ensure expense and revenue recognition aligns with business activities.
  • Participate in cross-functional initiatives such as ERP upgrades, process automation pilots, and month-end close improvement projects by providing subject matter feedback and executing test scenarios.
  • Support cash management activities including daily cash position updates, bank transfers, and short-term forecasting to help maintain optimal liquidity and banking relationships.
  • Train and mentor junior accounting staff or interns on routine accounting tasks, reconciliation techniques, and use of accounting systems to build team capability and consistent execution.

Secondary Functions

  • Produce ad-hoc financial analyses, trend reporting, and what-if scenarios to support departmental budgeting, forecasting, and business-case development.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by recommending process enhancements, controls automation, and standard operating procedures to reduce close cycle time and error rates.
  • Collaborate with procurement, sales, HR and operations to clarify accounting impacts of business transactions, construct accurate invoice coding, and resolve cross-departmental discrepancies.
  • Assist in maintenance of accounting manuals and cross-training materials to ensure consistency in the application of accounting policies across regions or business units.
  • Support month-end close project plans, including task tracking, deadline escalation, and communication with stakeholders to ensure transparency and timely issue resolution.
  • Participate in data validation and interface reconciliation efforts between sub-ledgers (AP/AR/fixed assets) and the general ledger following system feeds or integration changes.
  • Work with finance transformation teams to validate business requirements, perform user acceptance testing (UAT), and document post-deployment issues related to accounting outputs.
  • Provide backup coverage for related accounting functions (e.g., payroll posting, vendor onboarding, receivable collections) during peak times or staff absences.
  • Assist in preparing documentation and schedules required for internal management reviews, board reporting packs, and lender covenant compliance.
  • Support corporate social responsibility (CSR) or sustainability reporting efforts by gathering financial inputs and expense allocations related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • General ledger accounting and journal entry preparation with strong comfort in debit/credit analysis and month-end close procedures.
  • Accounts payable and accounts receivable full-cycle experience, including invoice processing, cash application, and aging analyses.
  • Bank and balance sheet reconciliations, variance analysis, and accruals preparation with attention to audit trail and documentation.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, conditional formatting, basic macros) for reconciliation and reporting tasks.
  • Experience with ERP/accounting systems (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics) and ability to learn new systems quickly.
  • Knowledge of GAAP or IFRS accounting principles relevant to revenue recognition, expense matching, fixed assets and accruals.
  • Familiarity with payroll accounting entries, tax-related schedules, and basic indirect tax (sales/use) or withholding considerations.
  • Ability to prepare and reconcile fixed asset schedules, depreciation calculations, and support capitalization policy adherence.
  • Basic financial statement preparation skills and the ability to prepare supporting schedules for P&L and balance sheet items.
  • Experience supporting internal and external audits, providing requested documentation and implementing auditor recommendations.
  • Comfort with month-end close timelines, task lists, and checklists to ensure timely and accurate close execution.
  • Experience with automated reconciliation tools, AP/AR workflow automation, or cloud-based accounting platforms is a plus.

Soft Skills

  • Strong attention to detail and accuracy with a mindset for identifying discrepancies and resolving root causes.
  • Clear written and verbal communication skills for interacting with internal stakeholders, vendors, and auditors.
  • Analytical thinking and problem-solving ability to interpret financial data, perform variance analysis, and present findings.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to balance recurring close tasks with ad-hoc requests and deadlines.
  • Team player with collaborative attitude, willingness to accept feedback, and ability to work with cross-functional partners.
  • Adaptability and eagerness to learn new accounting topics, ERP features, and process improvements.
  • Integrity and confidentiality handling sensitive financial information and maintaining ethical accounting practices.
  • Customer-service orientation when resolving vendor or customer inquiries related to billing, payments, and reconciliations.
  • Continuous improvement mindset — proactive in suggesting process enhancements and automation opportunities.
  • Resilience under workload peaks (month-end/quarter-end) and ability to maintain quality under pressure.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience).

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or equivalent.
  • Progress toward CPA, ACCA, or other relevant accounting qualification is a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Business Administration
  • Economics
  • Financial Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 1–3 years of hands-on accounting experience (bookkeeping, AP/AR, reconciliations, month-end close).

Preferred:

  • 2–4 years of accounting experience in a corporate finance function, public accounting, or in a high-volume transactional environment.
  • Demonstrated experience using an ERP system (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, QuickBooks) and strong Excel modeling/reconciliation abilities.
  • Experience supporting audits, preparing tax-related schedules, or contributing to process improvements and automation projects.
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