Accounting Manager Job Description Template 2025

Use this Accounting Manager job description to build a posting with clear duties, measurable KPIs, and employer-selected compensation. It pairs a sample posting with role guidance and interview criteria.

Jump to: Template · Company and industry customization · Compensation guidance · Interview guide

Before copying: Select or replace the sample duties, accounting basis, qualifications, reporting line and team scope, tools, benefits, approved salary and incentives, and work location/schedule. List only benefits and work arrangements you offer. Review requirements applicable to your employer and hiring locations, and remove editing notes from candidate-facing copy.

Copy-and-Paste Accounting Manager Job Description Template

Job Summary

The Accounting Manager safeguards financial integrity by owning the month-end close, maintaining a clean general ledger, and leading the team to deliver accurate, timely reporting.

This role enforces GAAP, strengthens internal controls, and partners cross-functionally to support audits and business decisions. It supports SOX requirements where applicable.

Success is measured by close cycle time, reconciliation accuracy, audit outcomes, and on-time filings. If you run a multi-entity, revenue-recognizing, or SOX environment, this role is your operational accounting anchor and control owner.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the month/quarter/year-end close and deliver timely, accurate financial statements.
• Manage general ledger, journal entries, reconciliations, and variance analysis.
• Oversee AP/AR, credit/collections, and cash management; monitor DSO/DPO.
• Maintain and improve internal controls; document processes (e.g., narratives/flowcharts).
• Lead external audits and reviews; prepare PBC and respond to auditor requests.
• Ensure compliance with GAAP (and IFRS where applicable) and company policies.
• Manage payroll accounting, benefits accruals, and balance-sheet schedules.
• Support revenue recognition, deferred revenue, and contract accounting (ASC 606) as needed.
• Guide inventory/cost accounting, standard cost updates, and COGS analysis where relevant.
• Drive continuous improvement and automation (e.g., close checklists, RPA, templates).
• Partner with FP&A on forecasts, budgets, and variance commentary.
• Manage, coach, and develop accounting staff; set goals and review performance.

Required Qualifications & Skills

Must-have:

• Bachelor’s in Accounting or Finance; deep knowledge of US GAAP.
• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, including close ownership.
• Experience leading/supervising accountants in a multi-entity or complex environment.
• Proficiency with an ERP (e.g., NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics).
• Advanced Excel (lookups, pivots, SUMIFS), reconciliation rigor, and documentation discipline.

Nice-to-have:

• CPA or equivalent; public accounting or audit coordination experience.
• SOX/internal controls experience (Section 302/404) and policy writing.
• Industry-specific experience (SaaS/ASC 606, manufacturing/costing, nonprofit/fund).

Reporting Line, Team, and Tools

This role reports to [Reporting title, e.g., Controller or Director of Accounting] and manages [Number and roles of direct reports].

Tools you’ll use include an ERP, close management (e.g., FloQast/BlackLine/Workiva), payroll (e.g., ADP/Paylocity/Workday), and BI (e.g., Power BI/Tableau). These tools support consistent processes, documentation, and reporting.

KPIs & Success Metrics

• Close cycle time: Target [X] business days to close, set to match the team’s reporting deadlines and control requirements.
• Reconciliation completion and accuracy: 100% high-risk accounts by Day X; zero unreconciled aged items.
• Audit outcomes: On-time, minimal findings; timely remediation of any deficiencies.
• Reporting timeliness: Financial package delivered by agreed deadlines with actionable variance commentary.
• Compliance: 100% on-time filings (tax, 1099, sales/use, statutory).
• Working capital: Improved DSO/DPO trend; reduced unapplied cash and aged AR/AP exceptions.
• Process improvement: Documented control enhancements and measurable automation wins.

Compensation & Benefits

Annual base salary range for [Eligible location(s)]: [Currency and approved minimum–maximum]. Annual bonus: [Eligibility and target, if offered]. Equity: [Details, if offered]. The final offer will reflect role scope, location, relevant experience, skills, and internal equity.

The posted range applies to [Eligible location(s)]. Contact [Recruiting contact] with questions about compensation for this role.

Benefits:

• Medical, dental, vision; 401(k) with match
• Paid time off plus company holidays; paid parental leave
• Professional development (CPE/CPA support), technology stipend
• Flexible work policy (see below)

Work Location & Schedule

We support remote, hybrid, or on-site based on team needs.

Period-end close and audits may require extended hours. The team aligns time zones to ensure coverage for Day 0–Day 7 activities. Core hours are in [Time Zone], with occasional on-site meetings if hybrid.

Remote/hybrid microcopy: Please note any location restrictions, time-zone expectations, and in-office days (e.g., 2–3 days/week) to align with month-end and audit timelines.

EEO & Accessibility Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or any legally protected status.

We provide reasonable accommodations during the application and interview process. To request an accommodation, contact [email/phone].

What Does an Accounting Manager Do? (Clear Definition)

An Accounting Manager leads the day-to-day accounting function—closing the books, maintaining controls, and delivering compliant financial statements leadership can trust. They bridge transactional accounting and financial reporting, partnering with FP&A and auditors to meet GAAP and internal policy requirements.

Their improvement goals include shortening the close, reducing errors, and strengthening audit readiness.

Typical work includes:

• Managing GL, reconciliations, and consolidated reporting
• Overseeing AP/AR, cash, and payroll accounting
• Enforcing GAAP and company policies; maintaining internal controls, including SOX controls where applicable
• Coordinating audits and external reporting with auditors/tax advisors
• Implementing process improvements and automation to scale

How the Role Differs From Related Titles

Accounting Manager vs Controller

The Controller owns the entire accounting function and control environment, while the Accounting Manager runs the daily operations and people management beneath that umbrella.

If you need strategic policy ownership, treasury, and audit sign-off, hire a Controller. If you need operational excellence in the close and reconciliations, hire an Accounting Manager.

Decision checklist:

1. Need strategic policy ownership, treasury, and audit sign-off? Hire a Controller.
2. Need to mature month-end, reconciliations, and team leadership? Hire an Accounting Manager.
3. Running SOX/public-company controls? Controller plus Accounting Manager is typical.

Accounting Manager vs Finance Manager

An Accounting Manager focuses on historical accuracy, close, and compliance. A Finance Manager (FP&A) focuses on forecasting, budgeting, and decision support.

If you need board-ready variance analysis and driver-based planning, hire FP&A. If you need a faster, cleaner close and audit-ready books, hire accounting.

Accounting Manager vs Senior Accountant

A Senior Accountant executes complex accounting tasks and may lead parts of the close. An Accounting Manager sets process, manages staff, assigns work, and owns outcomes.

In short, the manager is accountable for people leadership, internal controls, and end-to-end results.

Duties by Company Size and Industry (Customize Your JD)

SMB vs Mid-Market vs Enterprise

Illustrative customization choices—not fixed company-size packages. Select duties, tools, and controls for your actual scope:

• SMB: Hands-on scope may include AP/AR, payroll accounting, and sales tax; tool examples include QuickBooks/Sage. Match controls to risks and responsibilities.
• Mid-Market: Scope may include multi-entity consolidations, ASC 606/IFRS nuances where relevant, and a formal close cadence; tool examples include NetSuite/Intacct/Dynamics.
• Enterprise: Scope may include complex consolidations, intercompany, shared services, and SOX controls where applicable; tool examples include SAP/Oracle with BlackLine/Workiva.

SaaS/Technology

• Revenue recognition (ASC 606), deferred revenue, and contract modifications.
• KPI alignment with ARR/MRR, gross margin, and billings.
• Usage-based pricing, commissions amortization (ASC 340), and multi-element arrangements.

Manufacturing

• Inventory valuation, standard costing, overhead absorption, and variance analysis.
• BOM/routing integrity, cycle counts, and PPV/MPV tracking.
• Cost roll-ups and margin analysis by product/plant.

Nonprofit/Government

• Fund/grant accounting, restricted vs unrestricted net assets.
• Grant billing, compliance reporting (e.g., Uniform Guidance/Single Audit).
• Donor restrictions, program vs admin allocation, and stewardship reporting.

Required Qualifications and Skills (Must-Haves vs Nice-to-Haves)

Hiring managers should separate baseline requirements from differentiators to clarify screening criteria. Must-haves cover close leadership, GAAP expertise, and team management; nice-to-haves reflect industry or controls depth.

Must-haves:

• Proven month-end close leadership and cross-functional communication.
• Strong GAAP knowledge; precise reconciliations and documentation.
• Team leadership: coaching, prioritization, and review skills.

Nice-to-haves:

• CPA or public accounting background; SOX controls design/testing.
• Industry-specific expertise (ASC 606, cost accounting, fund accounting).
• Systems leadership (ERP implementations, close automation, BI adoption).

CPA guidance:

• Required: List CPA or an equivalent credential only when your employer has established the need from assigned duties and verified requirements; state the requirement clearly.
• Preferred: Use this label when credentialed expertise is valuable for assigned reporting, policy, or audit work but the credential is not essential.
• Not required: Assess close leadership, GAAP knowledge, and people management directly when they meet the role’s needs.

Tech Stack Expectations

Listing your stack signals scale and compliance expectations while widening your funnel with “or equivalent.”

• Core ERPs: QuickBooks (SMB), NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP S/4HANA, Oracle Cloud.
• Close/controls: FloQast, BlackLine, Workiva; documentation in Confluence/SharePoint; RPA/automation tools (Alteryx, Power Automate).
• Payroll/HRIS: ADP, Paylocity, Paycom, Workday.
• BI/reporting: Power BI, Tableau, Google Looker Studio.
• Excel: Advanced formulas, pivots, Power Query; comfort with CSVs/APIs and data hygiene.

Tip: List the tools you use plus “or equivalent” to widen the candidate pool.

Salary & Total Compensation Guidance

Set compensation for the actual location, responsibilities, team scope, and accounting complexity. The figures below are drafting examples, not observed market benchmarks.

Hypothetical employer examples by scope (not surveyed salary bands):

• SMB/private: $95,000–$125,000 base
• Mid-market/PE-backed: $110,000–$150,000 base
• Enterprise/SOX/public: $130,000–$170,000 base
• Hypothetical incentive example: 10–20% target bonus; specify equity only if offered.

When consulting BLS, Robert Half, Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, or Payscale, check the job definition, location, date, and scope before using any figures. The BLS accountants-and-auditors profile covers a broader occupation, not an Accounting Manager-specific pay series, and does not establish these example ranges. Use role- and location-matched evidence rather than an automatic geographic percentage adjustment.

Hypothetical posting examples—replace the figures and review requirements applicable to your employer and hiring locations:

• “The base salary range for this role is $120,000–$150,000. The exact offer will depend on location, skills, experience, and internal equity. This role is bonus-eligible and may include equity.”
• “For candidates in New York City, the base salary range is $130,000–$160,000. For candidates in Colorado and Washington, the range is $120,000–$150,000.”

Total compensation components:

• Base salary + annual bonus
• Equity (options/RSUs) for growth-stage and public companies
• 401(k) match, insurance, PTO, paid leave, and professional development (CPE)

Interview Guide: Screening Criteria, Questions, and Case Exercises

Resume Screen & Follow-Up Prompts

What to look for:

• Led full month-end close; clear timeline and deliverables
• Managed staff and reviews; experience with your ERP and relevant industry
• Audit coordination; control documentation and remediation

Follow-up prompts, not automatic exclusions:

• Only transactional processing shown: ask for evidence of close ownership and review responsibilities.
• Vague “support” of audits: ask for specific requests handled, controls documented, and remediation work.
• Short tenures: ask about context and job-relevant contributions. Tenure length alone is not a reason to reject a candidate.

Choose job-related core questions in advance. For comparable candidates, use the same predetermined questions in the same order and evaluate responses with the same rating scale and standards. This follows OPM’s structured-interview guidance.

Behavioral & Technical Questions

Behavioral:

• “Tell me about a time you shortened the close. What changed and by how much?” Strong: specifics, baseline-to-target days, tools, controls. Weak: generic teamwork with no metrics.
• “Describe a tough audit finding and how you remediated it.” Strong: root cause, control design, testing; Weak: blames auditors, no follow-through.

Technical:

• “Walk me through revenue recognition for a 12-month SaaS contract with implementation fees.” Look for ASC 606 allocation, SSP, timing, and deferral.
• “How do you reconcile inventory and analyze variances?” Expect standard cost concepts, PPV/MPV, cycle counts, and root-cause analysis.

Case/Practical Exercise

Use a 60–90 minute take-home or live exercise as a starting format to assess close leadership and controls thinking. For disability-related accommodation requests, use the [email/phone] contact in the EEO & Accessibility Statement and consider timing or format adjustments as appropriate. EEOC applicant guidance includes adjustments to application procedures among possible hiring accommodations.

Use a scenario such as: you inherit a 10-day close with recurring late reconciliations and aged reconciling items—deliver a 30-60-90 plan to get to 6 days and clean high-risk accounts.

Scoring rubric (1–5 each):

• Close planning: checklist, responsibility matrix, and timeline
• Controls and documentation: evidence and sign-offs
• Data quality: approach to aged items and materiality thresholds
• Automation: practical use of templates/close tools
• Communication: cross-functional alignment and risk reporting

Illustrative close-planning anchors (not a validated assessment):

• 1 — Weak: No usable sequence, named owners, or milestones; little explanation of reconciliation risks or review evidence.
• 3 — Adequate: A workable sequence with owners and timing for major close tasks; includes reconciliation reviews but leaves some dependencies or escalation steps unclear.
• 5 — Strong: Prioritizes high-risk reconciliations and links task dependencies, owners, and milestones to review evidence and escalation for late or unresolved items.

Use 2 and 4 for responses between adjacent anchors. Define comparable 1/3/5 anchors for controls/documentation, data quality, automation, and communication before assessing candidates; apply the same standards to each response.

When to Hire an Accounting Manager (Decision Framework)

1. You need a clear owner to improve the close, resolve recurring errors, and coordinate audit preparation.
2. Your team lacks a people leader to standardize reconciliations, reviews, and policies.
3. Complexity rose (multi-entity, new revenue models, inventory, additional internal-control needs).
4. Your Controller is spread thin on strategy/treasury and needs operational leadership.

Alternative: If scope is narrow and budget tight, pair a strong Senior Accountant with a fractional Controller. Then upgrade to an Accounting Manager as volume/complexity grows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a CPA required for an Accounting Manager?

Set the credential requirement for your actual role. Keep CPA or equivalent as preferred when useful; list it as required only when your employer has established the need from assigned duties and verified requirements.

Do not infer a universal CPA requirement from public-company status, SOX work, company size, or external reporting alone. Assess close leadership, GAAP knowledge, and people management alongside credentials.

How should we define an Accounting Manager’s direct reports?

Hypothetical staffing examples—not typical spans or size-based requirements. Set team scope from workload, functions covered, and available leads:

• SMB: 1–3 staff (often cross-functional coverage)
• Mid-market: 3–6 staff split by function (GL, AP, AR, payroll)
• Enterprise: 5–8+ staff, sometimes with supervisors/leads by sub-function

What are typical KPIs for an Accounting Manager?

Close days, reconciliation accuracy/completeness, audit findings/remediation, on-time filings, DSO/DPO trends, and progress on process automation. See the KPIs section for examples; set close deadlines and other targets to match your team’s reporting needs and control requirements.

Which ERP/tools should we require?

List your stack plus equivalents: NetSuite/Sage Intacct/Dynamics (ERP), FloQast/BlackLine/Workiva (close/controls), ADP/Paylocity/Workday (payroll), Power BI/Tableau (BI), and advanced Excel. Accept relevant experience with equivalent systems rather than making every listed brand a requirement.

What salary range is competitive in my state/city?

Use current evidence matched to the actual location, duties, team scope, and accounting complexity; do not apply an automatic percentage uplift to the hypothetical examples. Check each source’s role definition and date. The BLS profile covers accountants and auditors, not an Accounting Manager-specific pay series. Enter your approved range and review posting requirements applicable to your employer and hiring locations.

Related Roles and Variations

Senior Accounting Manager

Leads multiple accounting teams or complex domains (revenue, consolidations), partners closely with the Controller, and often owns major projects (ERP rollout, SOX readiness). This title suits scaling companies with deeper technical accounting and control needs.

Assistant Accounting Manager

Front-line lead who supervises daily tasks, reviews reconciliations, and steps in for the Accounting Manager; ideal for growing teams and succession planning. Use when scope is expanding but headcount or budget is still maturing.

AP/AR Manager

Specializes in payments or receivables operations, credit/collections, and cash application. This role partners with the Accounting Manager to improve working capital and process controls, especially DSO/DPO performance.

How to use this guide: Copy the template, select your actual size/industry duties and employer policies, set KPIs, enter approved salary ranges for eligible locations, and review the posting before publishing. Use the interview criteria to assess the responsibilities you selected.

Use this structure to make role expectations clear and keep the posting and screening criteria consistent.