Accounting Advisor POST NUMBER: 309604
Position Overview
The Accounting Advisor will take ownership of key components of the monthly close while also serving as a resource for more complex accounting matters. This person should be comfortable moving beyond transaction processing to investigate unusual activity, research accounting treatment, understand the business drivers behind financial results, and communicate findings to both accounting and business partners.
Experience supporting employee benefits, retirement plans, insurance, self-insurance, claims, or related accounting areas would be particularly valuable, but is not required.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and support assigned areas of the monthly and quarterly close process
- Prepare and review journal entries, accruals, account reconciliations, and supporting schedules
- Analyze general ledger activity and investigate significant fluctuations, discrepancies, or unexpected results
- Research complex accounting questions and document conclusions in clear technical accounting memos
- Ensure assigned accounting areas are appropriately supported and aligned with U.S. GAAP
- Maintain effective internal controls and support SOX compliance requirements
- Perform variance analysis and communicate key financial drivers to accounting, finance, and business partners
- Assist with forecasts, financial outlooks, and other forward-looking analyses for assigned areas
- Partner with cross-functional teams to understand operational changes and their accounting or financial impact
- Support internal and external audit requests
- Identify opportunities to strengthen accounting processes, controls, reporting, and overall efficiency
- Provide accounting guidance and support to less experienced team members as appropriate
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related quantitative field
- Approximately 5 years of progressive accounting and/or financial reporting experience
- Strong understanding of U.S. GAAP
- Hands-on general ledger and month-end close experience
- Experience preparing journal entries, accruals, and account reconciliations
- Ability to research accounting issues and document conclusions
- Experience operating within a SOX/internal controls environment
- Strong analytical skills, including the ability to identify and explain financial variances
- Ability to work effectively with accounting, finance, and non-finance business partners
- Experience within public accounting and/or a large, complex corporate accounting environment
Preferred
- CPA or progress toward CPA certification
- Big 4 or other public accounting experience
- Experience with a large public company or similarly complex organization
- Accounting experience related to employee benefits, retirement plans, pensions, insurance, self-insurance, or claims
- Experience working with significant accounting estimates or judgmental accounting areas
- Data analytics experience
- Advanced Excel skills and experience with large ERP or financial reporting systems
Ideal Candidate
The strongest candidate will likely be a Senior Accountant or Accounting Advisor-level professional who has developed a solid technical and operational accounting foundation and is ready to take on more complex ownership.
This role is particularly well suited for someone who:
- Can independently own meaningful portions of the close
- Understands both the mechanics of an accounting entry and the reasoning behind it
- Is comfortable researching GAAP and documenting an accounting position
- Can analyze results, identify unusual trends, and explain what is driving them
- Has worked in an environment with significant audit and control requirements
- Can balance technical accounting work with forecasting and financial analysis
- Enjoys working across departments rather than operating solely within accounting
- Has experience with benefits, retirement, insurance, or self-insurance accounting, although candidates with strong transferable corporate accounting experience will also be considered
Why Consider the Opportunity?
- Exposure to sophisticated accounting matters within a large corporate environment
- Broad responsibilities spanning close, technical accounting, reporting, forecasting, variance analysis, and controls
- Opportunity to work with accounting areas involving meaningful estimates and judgment
- Significant cross-functional interaction with Finance and operational teams
- Opportunity to lead process improvements and accounting initiatives
By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions.
EEO Notice
Vaco by Highspring is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by federal, state or local law.
Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact HR@vaco.com.
Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that workplace discrimination is illegal.
Representation Notice
By submitting to this position, you agree that you will be giving Vaco by Highspring the exclusive right to present your as a candidate for the foregoing employment opportunity. You further agree that you have represented information about yourself accurately and have not affirmatively misrepresented your qualifications. You also agree to maintain as confidential, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any information you learn from Vaco by Highspring about the position and you will limit disclosure of information about the position only to the extent necessary to perform any obligations in furtherance of your application. In exchange, Vaco by Highspring agrees to exercise reasonable efforts to represent you through all solicitation, job screening and resume dispersal.
For residents of Ontario, Canada: Based on Highspring’s discussions with its Client, Highspring’s understanding is that this position for employment is a current vacancy (either through Highspring as a contractor or with the client directly).
Privacy Notice
Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries (“we,” “our,” or “Vaco by Highspring”) respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.
- California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here.
- Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here.
- Residents of all other states may access our policies here.
- Canadian residents may access our policies in English here and in French here.
- Residents of countries governed by GDPR may access our policies here.
Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring’s use of AI can be found here (https://www.highspring.com/ai-use-notices/). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client’s use of AI products in hiring.
Pay Transparency Notice
Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:
- the individual’s skill sets, experience and training;
- licensure and certification requirements;
- office location and other geographic considerations;
- other business and organizational needs.
With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses.