Senior Staff Accountant

Senior Staff Accountant

Johnstone Supply – The Huestis Meyers Group is seeking an experienced, detail-oriented Senior Staff Accountant to join our team. This position will play a key role in maintaining the accuracy and integrity of our financial records while supporting the day-to-day accounting operations of our growing, multi-location HVAC wholesale distribution business.

The Senior Staff Accountant will be responsible for a broad range of accounting functions, including general ledger accounting, month-end and year-end close, financial reporting, account reconciliations, inventory accounting, accounts payable and receivable oversight, payroll reconciliation, sales tax, fixed assets, budgeting, forecasting, and audit support. The ideal candidate is highly organized, analytical, dependable, and comfortable taking ownership of their responsibilities. We are looking for someone who can not only perform accounting functions accurately but also identify opportunities to improve processes, strengthen internal controls, and help our accounting department operate more efficiently.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform general ledger accounting and maintain accurate financial records.
• Prepare and post journal entries, accruals, prepaid expenses, and other month-end adjustments.
• Perform monthly balance sheet and general ledger account reconciliations.
• Assist with and take ownership of assigned portions of the monthly, quarterly, and year-end closing processes.
• Review financial activity for accuracy, completeness, and proper account classification.
• Research and resolve accounting discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Maintain supporting schedules and documentation for balance sheet accounts.
• Assist with intercompany transactions and reconciliations, when applicable.
• Ensure accounting transactions are recorded in accordance with company policies and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
• Assist in preparing monthly and year-end financial statements.
• Prepare financial reports and supporting schedules for management.
• Analyze account activity and identify unusual transactions, trends, or variances.
• Perform budget-to-actual and prior-year variance analysis.
• Assist management with financial analysis and special reporting requests.
• Provide accurate and timely financial information to support business decisions.
• Identify opportunities to improve reporting accuracy and efficiency.
• Support accounting for inventory across multiple branch locations.
• Reconcile inventory-related general ledger accounts to supporting reports.
• Review inventory adjustments, write-offs, transfers, and other inventory activity for accuracy.
• Assist with physical inventory counts and cycle-count reconciliation.
• Research inventory discrepancies and work with branch and operations teams to resolve issues.
• Assist with inventory valuation, costing, reserves, and obsolete or slow-moving inventory analysis.
• Help maintain appropriate financial controls surrounding inventory.
• Provide accounting oversight and support for accounts payable activities.
• Review vendor invoices, credits, payments, and account reconciliations as needed.
• Assist with resolving vendor discrepancies and outstanding issues.
• Review expense coding and ensure transactions are recorded in the appropriate accounting periods.
• Support vendor statement reconciliations.
• Help ensure appropriate documentation and approval procedures are followed.
• Support accounts receivable accounting and reconciliation.
• Review customer account activity and assist with resolving discrepancies.
• Assist with aging analysis, collections reporting, bad-debt analysis, and account adjustments.
• Review customer credits, write-offs, and other adjustments for proper documentation and accounting treatment.
• Reconcile accounts receivable balances to the general ledger.
• Reconcile payroll reports to the general ledger.
• Prepare or review payroll-related journal entries.
• Reconcile payroll liabilities, taxes, benefits, deductions, and other payroll-related accounts.
• Work with Human Resources and payroll providers to research and resolve accounting discrepancies.
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality when working with payroll and employee financial information.
• Assist with sales and use tax reporting, reconciliation, and filing requirements.
• Review sales tax activity for accuracy across applicable jurisdictions.
• Assist with researching tax discrepancies and exemption documentation.
• Support other state and local tax reporting requirements as assigned.
• Maintain organized records to support tax filings and audits.
• Maintain fixed asset records and supporting schedules.
• Record asset additions, disposals, transfers, and depreciation.
• Reconcile fixed asset accounts to the general ledger.
• Assist with tracking capital expenditures and construction or improvement projects.
• Help ensure assets are properly classified and depreciated.
• Assist with the annual budgeting process.
• Prepare historical financial information and supporting schedules for department and company budgets.
• Assist with financial forecasts and projections.
• Analyze actual results compared with budget and prior-year performance.
• Work with management to research and explain significant variances.
• Prepare schedules and documentation for external accountants, auditors, and tax professionals.
• Respond to audit requests and assist with researching questions.
• Maintain organized supporting documentation for accounting transactions.
• Assist with year-end closing procedures and tax preparation.
• Help ensure financial records and supporting documentation are audit-ready.
• Follow and help strengthen internal accounting controls.
• Identify opportunities to improve accounting processes, accuracy, and efficiency.
• Assist with documenting accounting procedures and standard operating procedures.
• Recommend improvements that reduce errors and improve financial reporting.
• Help ensure consistent accounting practices are followed across all locations.
• Participate in accounting system improvements, upgrades, integrations, and special projects as needed.
• Assist with system testing, data validation, process mapping, and implementation activities when applicable.
• Work cross-functionally with other departments to improve the flow and accuracy of financial information.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field preferred.
• Approximately 5+ years of progressive accounting experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of general ledger accounting and month-end close procedures.
• Experience preparing account reconciliations and journal entries.
• Strong understanding of GAAP and fundamental accounting principles.
• Experience with financial reporting and financial statement preparation.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including formulas, lookups, pivot tables, and data analysis.
• Experience working with accounting or ERP systems.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple responsibilities and meet deadlines.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with other departments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to handle confidential financial and employee information appropriately.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience in any of the following areas is especially valuable but not required:

• Wholesale distribution.
• HVAC, construction, or related industries.
• Multi-location organizations.
• Inventory accounting.
• ERP or distribution accounting systems.
• Accounting, ERP, or business systems implementation, conversion, or integration experience.
• Experience participating in system upgrades, data migration, testing, process mapping, or implementation of new accounting or financial software.
• Sales and use tax.
• Payroll accounting.
• Budgeting and forecasting.
• Financial statement preparation.
• Process improvement and internal controls.

Systems implementation experience is a plus, but is not required. Candidates who have participated in accounting or ERP system conversions, implementations, integrations, upgrades, or process improvements are encouraged to apply. CPA or CPA-track experience is also a plus but is not required.