Senior Accountant, Revenue and Compensation

Location: Alpharetta, GA (HQ); EST or CDT time zone (required)

The Company:

Merit is a fast growing, pioneering financial services firm that invests heavily in the growth and development of team members. Merit seeks to establish, educate, and help individuals reach their financial goals as they transition into and experience retirement. With an unswerving commitment to excellence and reliability, Merit provides objective financial advice and believes in establishing long-lasting relationships. By offering an array of services, clients can receive tailored solutions that promote growth and help them achieve financial goals.

Merit believes in addressing the retirement challenges in America by helping clients reach financial freedom and confidence to the working population and retirees alike. This focus on comprehensive financial wellness enables us to deliver the ultimate client experience.

Headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, with over 90 locations across the country, Merit balances tactical advice with innovative strategy. Our 470 hardworking employees are leaders rooted in humility and we are poised to grow. Merit is a multi-generational firm with a foundation built around servant leadership and total team leadership. We have been recognized as a “Best Places to Work” by InvestmentNews and have made the fastest growing companies list in both INC 5000 and Georgia’s Fastest 40. As we expand and work to bring our relationship-driven approach to the financial industry, we are looking for the right individuals to join our team.

Position Summary

• The Senior Accountant, Revenue and Compensation supports revenue accounting, advisor compensation, cash collections reconciliation, payroll and bonus accruals, and related reporting in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
• This role partners across Accounting, Billing, Finance, Treasury, Payroll, Corporate Development, Technology, and auditors to support close, reconciliations, controls, audits, and process improvements.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Revenue Recognition and Revenue Accounting

• Own recurring revenue accounting, journal entries, reconciliations, close deliverables, and revenue activity analysis in accordance with ASC 606.
• Partner with Accounting leadership to evaluate revenue matters and support appropriate accounting treatment.

2. M&A Revenue Integration and Post-Acquisition Settlement Analysis

• Support post-acquisition revenue settlement analyses for acquired practices, including revenue activity, settlement mechanics, contractual obligations, and financial results.
• Coordinate with Corporate Development, Finance, Accounting, Billing, and Operations to ensure acquisition-related revenue activity is properly recorded, supported, and documented.

3. Cash Collections, Accounts Receivable, and Billing Reconciliation

• Serve as an accounting liaison with Billing to reconcile between Orion and Sage Intacct, receivables, cash collections, and billing-related data.
• Monitor aging, collection trends, unapplied cash, and receivable balances; investigate exceptions and support accurate related general ledger balances.

4. Advisor Compensation, Payroll, and Bonus Accruals

• Partner with Payroll, Accounting, Finance, and stakeholders to ensure compensation, payroll, bonus, incentive, and variable compensation costs are accurately recorded and accrued.
• Reconcile compensation-related balances, maintain supporting schedules, document accrual methodologies, and investigate variances timely.

5. Internal Control, Month-End Close Responsibilities and Support

• Prepare accurate workpapers and schedules for revenue, compensation, receivables, cash collections, payroll accruals, and related accounts.
• Support month-end close, internal controls, process improvements, and documentation for core accounting areas.
• Provide reconciliations, analyses, and support for audits, interim reviews, and compliance-related activities and ad-hoc projects as determined by the CFO or Controller.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• This role has one direct report, the advisor compensation analyst.
• Review the advisor compensation analyst’s work, including data validation, review and approval of compensation calculations and assist with escalated items.
• Ensure timely response and resolution to compensation-related issues and inquiries logged by the advisors.
• May provide guidance, training, and support to junior accounting staff as requested.
• Participate in onboarding, knowledge transfer, process documentation, and continuous improvement initiatives within the Accounting organization.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong knowledge of GAAP, ASC 606, revenue recognition, compensation accounting, payroll and bonus accruals, cash collections, and financial reporting impacts.
• Strong reconciliation, analytical, problem-solving, documentation, and attention-to-detail skills.
• Ability to analyze large data sets, identify trends and exceptions, and escalate accounting, control, reconciliation, or reporting issues appropriately.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively across Accounting, Finance, Billing, Treasury, Payroll, Operations, Corporate Development, Technology, and external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage priorities in a high-growth, acquisition-oriented environment and quickly learn new systems.

Performance Expectations

• Success in this role will be measured by the individual’s ability to:
• Deliver accurate, timely revenue, compensation, payroll accrual, reconciliation, close, and reporting activities.
• Maintain accurate reconciliations across Orion, billing activity, receivables, cash collections, and Sage Intacct.
• Support audits, internal controls, process documentation, and scalable accounting improvements.
• Support acquisition-related revenue accounting, integration, and post-acquisition settlement analysis with strong judgment, collaboration, and attention to detail.

Salary + Benefits:

• Competitive, based on experience
• Medical Insurance
• Dental/Vision Insurance
• Life & Personal Accident Insurance 
• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-term Disability Insurance
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Health Savings Account (HSA) or Dependent Care FSA
• 401(k) Plan with company matching
• Paid Time Off (PTO) and paid holidays 

Best Places To Work for Financial Advisors 2018-2024: Best Places to Work for Financial Advisors 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 – Recognized firms were required to be a registered investment advisor (RIA) that has been in business at least one year and having a minimum of 15 full-time/part-time employees. The assessment consisted of a questionnaire on benefits and policies completed by human resources staff along with an engagement & satisfaction survey completed by a minimum of 40% of staff. 50 firms were selected for this award from an undisclosed list of submissions. There was no charge to be included in this award listing.

Georgia Fast 40 2019 and 2022: The Georgia Fast 40 for 2019 and 2022 was awarded by the Atlanta Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. To be eligible companies must be for profit and headquartered in Georgia and the most recent year-end revenues ranging from $15 million to $500 million and have three years of verifiable revenue and employment growth.

Inc 5000 2019, 2020 & 2021: The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, which consists of more than 5000 companies, represents virtually all of the capitalization of the entire U.S. stock market

Compensation: Merit Financial Advisors offers competitive compensation based on experience, qualifications, location, and market data. Where required by applicable law, salary ranges will be provided during the hiring process.

REQUIREMENTS

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or related field required; CPA or CPA-track preferred.
• 5-10+ years of progressive accounting experience with strong U.S. GAAP and ASC 606 knowledge required.
• Experience with revenue accounting, accounts receivable, cash collections, compensation accounting, payroll accruals, journal entries, reconciliations, audit support, and month-end close required.
• Experience in wealth management, RIA, financial services, asset management, broker-dealer, or related industries preferred.
• Experience with acquisition-related accounting, revenue integration, or post-acquisition settlement analysis preferred.
• Experience with Sage Intacct, Orion, billing systems, AUM platforms, revenue subledgers, or similar systems preferred.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills required.