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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Corporate Accountant

💰 $ - $

AccountingFinanceCorporate FinanceFull-TimeMid-Level

🎯 Role Definition

The Corporate Accountant is a hands-on accounting professional who owns core accounting operations across general ledger accounting, month-end close, financial statement preparation, reconciliations, and compliance. This role ensures accurate, timely and GAAP-compliant financial information for internal stakeholders and external reporting, drives process improvements, supports audits and tax filings, and partners with cross-functional teams (FP&A, Treasury, Tax, Operations) to translate business activity into reliable financial results. Strong ERP experience (NetSuite, Oracle, SAP, etc.), advanced Excel, and a mindset for controls and automation are critical for success.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Staff Accountant
  • Junior Accountant / Accounts Payable or Accounts Receivable Analyst
  • Finance Analyst with accounting rotations

Advancement To:

  • Senior Corporate Accountant
  • Accounting Manager / Assistant Controller
  • Corporate Reporting Manager / Financial Reporting Lead

Lateral Moves:

  • FP&A Analyst
  • Tax Accountant
  • Internal Audit or SOX Compliance Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and execute accurate month-end and quarter-end close activities, including preparation and review of journal entries, accruals, prepaids, and cut-off procedures to ensure timely GAAP-compliant financial statements.
  • Prepare consolidated and standalone balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement schedules, including variance explanations and management reporting packs for leadership and external stakeholders.
  • Own month-end reconciliations for key general ledger accounts (cash, AR, AP, fixed assets, prepaid expenses, accruals and intercompany balances) and resolve aged or unexplained reconciling items to maintain a clean close.
  • Perform intercompany accounting and reconciliation, manage intercompany billing and eliminations, and support the preparation of intercompany schedules and settlements to ensure accurate consolidated results.
  • Record and review complex journal entries, account adjustments and reclassifications; maintain supporting documentation and ensure entries are compliant with GAAP and company accounting policies.
  • Maintain and improve internal control processes, document accounting policies and procedures, and support SOX control design and operating effectiveness testing.
  • Lead fixed asset accounting including capitalization, depreciation schedules, disposals, impairment analysis and periodic reconciliations to ensure accurate P&L and balance sheet reporting.
  • Support month-to-month budgeting and rolling forecasting activities by supplying accounting inputs, variance analysis, and historical trends to FP&A and business partners.
  • Prepare schedules and supporting documentation for external audits, coordinate audit requests, respond to auditor inquiries, and implement audit recommendations.
  • Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable oversight as needed, including invoice review, payment processing controls, collections support and month-end cut-off testing to protect cash flow and vendor relationships.
  • Perform detailed variance analysis between actual results and budget/forecast, identify drivers of variances, and present findings with actionable recommendations to finance leadership.
  • Support tax compliance and provision activities by preparing supporting schedules for income tax provision calculations, sales/use tax reconciliations and ad hoc tax information requests.
  • Drive ERP accounting configurations, month-end automation, and continuous process improvements to reduce manual work, accelerate close times and increase data reliability.
  • Reconcile bank and cash activity, prepare cash flow analyses, support treasury with daily cash position and bank covenant monitoring and coordinate wire and bank reconciliations.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams (operations, payroll, procurement, sales) to ensure correct accounting treatment of complex transactions, contract accounting, revenue recognition and cost capitalization.
  • Build, maintain and enhance accounting models and Excel-based tools (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, macros) for month-end reporting, forecasting and ad-hoc financial analysis.
  • Monitor and implement new accounting standards and guidance (ASC topics), evaluate impact on company reporting and recommend policy updates or disclosures as needed.
  • Lead investigations into accounting discrepancies and unusual transactions, drive remediation plans and recommend controls to prevent recurrence.
  • Prepare and deliver clear, concise financial narratives and presentations for management, supporting strategic decision-making and board-level reporting when required.
  • Support M&A-related accounting activities such as purchase accounting entries, carve-outs, integration of accounting processes and post-close adjustments when applicable.
  • Ensure compliance with statutory reporting requirements for subsidiaries and assist with preparation of schedules and reconciliations required for tax returns and regulatory filings.
  • Mentor and train junior accounting staff, review their work, provide feedback and contribute to building a high-functioning accounting team and culture of continuous improvement.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc financial analyses and special projects such as cost allocation studies, product margin analyses and pricing impact modeling.
  • Assist in the implementation, testing and rollout of ERP upgrades and accounting system integrations, including data mapping and user acceptance testing.
  • Partner with IT and data teams to improve data flows, financial dashboards and reporting automation using tools like Power BI or Tableau.
  • Participate in cross-functional process improvement initiatives (procure-to-pay, order-to-cash) to enhance efficiency, controls and customer/vendor experience.
  • Provide backup support for payroll accounting entries, benefit accruals and HR-related reconciliations as required during peak cycles.
  • Contribute to training materials, internal knowledge base and standard operating procedures for accounting processes to ensure continuity and reduce single points of failure.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Strong knowledge of US GAAP and accounting principles, with practical application to month-end close and financial reporting.
  • Hands-on experience with ERP systems such as NetSuite, Oracle EBS, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics or similar — including journal entries, AR/AP, and financial reporting modules.
  • Advanced Excel skills: pivot tables, complex formulas (INDEX/MATCH, XLOOKUP), Power Query, macros/VBA and model-building best practices.
  • Account reconciliation expertise across balance sheet accounts, including bank reconciliations and intercompany eliminations.
  • Experience preparing consolidated financial statements, variance analysis and management reporting packs.
  • Familiarity with SOX controls, control testing and documentation of internal control processes.
  • Knowledge of fixed asset accounting, depreciation methods, impairment testing and asset register maintenance.
  • Experience supporting external audits and preparing audit-ready supporting schedules.
  • Practical experience with revenue recognition rules (ASC 606) and cost capitalization accounting.
  • Proficiency in financial close automation tools and reporting platforms (e.g., BlackLine, Workiva, OneStream) is a plus.
  • Ability to prepare tax schedules and support income tax provision and indirect tax reconciliations.
  • Data analysis skills and basic competency with business intelligence tools (Power BI, Tableau) and SQL for ad-hoc data pulls are advantageous.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional attention to detail with a rigorous focus on accuracy and completeness.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities; able to explain complex accounting topics to non-accountants.
  • Clear, professional written and verbal communication skills for cross-functional collaboration and presenting to management.
  • Excellent time management and organization skills to manage competing priorities and meet tight close deadlines.
  • High ethical standards, integrity and ability to handle confidential financial information.
  • Proactive mindset and continuous improvement orientation — comfortable driving process changes and automation.
  • Team player who can mentor peers and contribute to a collaborative finance organization.
  • Adaptability and resilience in dynamic environments with changing reporting requirements.
  • Stakeholder management skills to build relationships with operations, tax, treasury and external partners.
  • Project management skills to coordinate multi-stakeholder initiatives and ERP implementations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • CPA, CMA or Master’s degree in Accounting/Finance preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Business Administration
  • Economics
  • Information Systems (with accounting focus)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 3–7 years of progressive accounting experience within corporate accounting, public accounting or industry finance teams.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of full-cycle corporate accounting experience, including month-end close, consolidations, intercompany accounting and audit support.
  • Experience in publicly traded or multi-entity corporate environments and prior exposure to SOX compliance, ERP implementations and financial reporting automation.
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