JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title: Staff Accountant
Job Description
The Staff Accountant will support general accounting and month-end close activities in a fast-paced corporate environment. This fully remote role focuses on preparing and posting journal entries, managing accruals, performing account reconciliations, analyzing the general ledger and trial balance, and supporting financial reporting. The position also provides accounting support for accounts payable activities, with an emphasis on broader accounting responsibilities rather than transactional invoice processing. The ideal candidate has a strong accounting foundation, works independently, and understands how transactions flow through the trial balance and impact the financial statements.
Responsibilities
- Independently prepare and post a wide range of journal entries, including accruals, prepaid amortization, reclassifications, adjusting, and correcting entries.
- Record and analyze month-end accruals to ensure accurate expense recognition and revenue and expense matching.
- Prepare and manage prepaid amortization schedules, expense reallocations, and reclassification entries as part of the close process.
- Complete detailed account reconciliations for balance sheet and income statement accounts, investigating and resolving discrepancies with minimal supervision.
- Review and analyze invoices, contracts, leases, and other transactions to determine appropriate accounting treatment in accordance with GAAP.
- Actively support month-end and quarter-end close activities, including general ledger maintenance, flux analysis, and financial reporting support.
- Review comparative trial balances and identify period-over-period fluctuations, providing clear and concise variance explanations.
- Research unusual balances and trends, perform root cause analysis, and document findings for management and audit purposes.
- Ensure transactions are recorded accurately within the general ledger and accounts payable accounting, including invoice analysis and proper GL coding.
- Support accounts payable from an accounting perspective, ensuring AP activity is properly reflected in the trial balance and financial statements.
- Assist with financial statement preparation and analysis, including balance sheet reconciliations and income statement analysis.
- Support audit preparation and respond to external and internal audit requests, including providing documentation and explanations.
- Contribute to internal controls and SOX awareness by following established policies and procedures and identifying control improvements.
- Participate in process improvement initiatives to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of accounting, close, and reporting processes.
- Perform transaction analysis, trend analysis, and budget vs. actual analysis to support financial decision-making.
- Review financial data for accuracy and integrity, including data validation and financial controls compliance.
- Navigate and use ERP systems and tools such as COUPA to support accounting, AP, and cross-functional activities.
- Collaborate with AP, Finance, FP&A, Procurement, and Business Operations teams to resolve issues and support cross-functional initiatives.
- Document processes, maintain supporting schedules, and ensure organized and audit-ready accounting records.
- Support cash application exposure, credit card and expense reporting, and 1099 reporting as needed.
- Identify accounting issues, recommend solutions, and communicate findings clearly to stakeholders.
- Work independently in a remote environment, managing multiple priorities and deadlines during close periods.
Essential Skills
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field.
- 23+ years of experience as a Staff Accountant, General Accountant, Accounting Analyst, or in a similar accounting role.
- Hands-on experience independently preparing and posting journal entries, including accruals, prepaid amortization, reclasses, and other month-end entries.
- Strong understanding of accrual-based accounting and month-end close processes.
- Experience completing account reconciliations, balance sheet reconciliations, and variance analysis.
- General ledger and trial balance experience, including comparative trial balance review and financial statement analysis.
- Ability to analyze transactions and determine appropriate accounting treatment under GAAP.
- Understanding of how accounting activity, including AP transactions, impacts the trial balance and financial statements.
- Experience supporting portions of the month-end and quarter-end close process.
- Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and data analysis.
- Experience working in large ERP systems and navigating multi-entity environments.
- Ability to analyze and explain account variances and unusual balances.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present clear variance explanations.
- High attention to detail and accuracy in all accounting and reporting activities.
- Ability to work independently in a remote setting and manage multiple deadlines during close periods.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a root cause analysis mindset.
- Experience supporting external and internal audits and responding to audit requests.
- Comfort working in a fast-paced corporate accounting environment.
- Ability to partner effectively with AP, Finance, FP&A, Procurement, and Business Operations teams.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- 3+ years of progressive accounting experience is highly preferred.
- Experience owning key portions of the month-end close process, including reconciliations and journal entries.
- Experience in both Accounts Payable and general accounting, with a focus on accounting functions rather than transactional invoice processing.
- Experience with financial statement preparation and analysis for balance sheet and income statement accounts.
- General ledger maintenance experience, including account analysis and flux analysis.
- Experience with fixed asset accounting and intercompany transactions.
- Knowledge of expense recognition principles and cost allocation methodologies.
- Experience with financial data validation, data integrity review, and financial controls compliance.
- Exposure to cash application processes, credit card and expense reporting, and 1099 reporting support.
- Experience reviewing trial balances and financial statements and identifying month-over-month changes.
- SOX and internal controls awareness, including audit preparation and support.
- Experience with contract and lease review and transaction analysis.
- Process documentation skills and a process improvement mindset.
- Experience with trend analysis and budget vs. actual analysis.
- ERP system navigation skills and comfort working in COUPA or similar tools.
- Ability to identify accounting issues proactively and recommend practical solutions.
- Strong collaboration skills and ability to work cross-functionally with various business teams.
- A mindset of thinking like an accountant first and an AP professional second, with ownership of journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, close activities, and financial analysis.
Work Environment
This position is fully remote and designed for professionals who are comfortable working independently from their home office. The role operates primarily on Central Standard Time for collaboration and meetings; once fully trained and up to speed, you may work a standard 85 schedule in your local time zone. Candidates must not be located in California, Washington, or Oregon. You will work in a modern, cloud-based environment using large ERP systems, COUPA, and advanced Excel tools such as Pivot Tables and XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP. The culture emphasizes belonging, appreciation, and authenticity, with a strong focus on building a supportive workplace where employees can grow their careers. You will be part of a fast-growing, innovative organization that values process improvement, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous learning, offering meaningful challenges and the resources needed to succeed.
Job Type & Location This is a Contract position based out of Schaumburg, IL.
Pay and Benefits The pay range for this position is $28.00 - $34.00/hr.
Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Workplace Type This is a fully remote position.
Application Deadline This position is anticipated to close on Oct 16, 2026.
About Aston Carter
Aston Carter provides world-class corporate talent solutions to thousands of clients across the globe. Specialized in accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions, we extend the capabilities of industry-leading companies. We draw on our deep recruiting expertise and expansive network to meet the evolving needs of our clients and talent community with agility and excellence. With offices across the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe, Aston Carter serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing Platinum Award winner for both client and talent service.
The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.
If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email astoncarteraccommodation@astoncarter.com for other accommodation options.
San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.
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