About the Accounting Manager role
An Accounting Manager leads the accounting team and owns the integrity of the books: managing the monthly close, supervising accountants, maintaining internal controls, and ensuring reporting is accurate, timely, and compliant. The role turns individual accounting work into a reliable finance operation.
Beyond reviewing journal entries and reconciliations, accounting managers develop their team, improve processes and systems, coordinate audits, and act as the bridge between day-to-day accounting and the controller or CFO. In smaller companies, the role often includes hands-on work during close alongside the review responsibilities.
In your posting, describe the team size, your ERP and close timeline, audit exposure, and reporting standards. Experienced managers evaluate roles by these operational realities more than by the title.
Accounting Manager job description template
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Job brief
Our accounting team has outgrown the stage where everyone reports straight to the controller, and we need a manager who can run the function day to day. You would own the monthly close from calendar to sign-off, review your team's entries and reconciliations, and be the first line of defense on controls and compliance. When the auditors arrive, you are the person with the answers and the schedules ready.
This is a player-coach position: part reviewer, part process builder, part mentor to a team of accountants who want to grow. If a close that finishes a day earlier than last quarter genuinely satisfies you, we should talk.
Responsibilities
- Run the accounting department's day-to-day work, setting priorities and clearing blockers for the team
- Own the month-end and year-end close from calendar through final sign-off
- Review journal entries, reconciliations, and financial reports before they leave the department
- Design accounting policies and control procedures, then hold the team to them in practice
- Coach and develop accounting staff, from onboarding new hires to building promotion paths
- Lead the annual audit relationship, preparing schedules and resolving auditor questions
- Keep reporting aligned with GAAP or IFRS and with tax and statutory requirements
- Find the weak points in close and reporting workflows and fix them, whether through process change or automation
- Track cash position, payables and receivables performance, and aging, escalating risks early
- Deliver reliable actuals and analysis to the Controller or CFO on schedule
- Feed budgeting and forecasting cycles with clean historical data and variance context
Requirements and skills
- Experience running an accounting team, or a senior accountant background with clear readiness to lead one
- Deep, current command of the standards, laws, and reporting rules that apply to your books
- A history of closes delivered on time, with examples of how you shortened or stabilized the timeline
- Confidence reviewing other people's accounting work and giving direct, useful feedback
- Fluency in accounting software and ERPs, plus strong spreadsheet and reporting skills
- Experience preparing for and managing external audits
- The kind of precision that catches errors at review before auditors or executives do
- Degree in accounting or finance; CPA or an equivalent credential is strongly preferred
Nice to have
- ERP implementation or migration experience
- Experience in multi-entity or multi-currency accounting
- Automation projects delivered within the close process
- Industry experience relevant to our revenue model
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