Accounting Manager

Job Title: Accounting ManagerJob Description

This role focuses on balance sheet reconciliation cleanup and audit readiness across multiple US and Canadian entities. The Accounting Manager will take ownership of complex, aged, and previously unreconciled accounts, ensuring accurate financial reporting and a strong control environment. The position requires a hands-on professional who can investigate issues in depth, prepare clear correcting entries, support external audits, and document repeatable processes that can be seamlessly transitioned to the permanent team.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and complete assigned balance sheet reconciliations across US and Canada entities, with a focus on accuracy and completeness.

• Prioritize high-risk and high-impact accounts, including cash, payroll-related accounts, intercompany, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, clearing accounts, and other aged balances.

• Research aged, unusual, unsupported, or out-of-period reconciling items to understand root causes and appropriate resolutions.

• Identify missing entries, delayed postings, duplicate activity, incorrect mappings, timing differences, and unresolved conversion items within reconciliations.

• Prepare and record correction entries with clear, thorough supporting documentation that can be easily reviewed and audited.

• Roll reconciliations forward while maintaining visibility to unresolved historical items and ensuring they remain tracked and addressed.

• Separate reconciling items by category (such as timing, data access, configuration, process, accounting correction, missing support, or system defect) and quantify their financial impact and aging.

• Organize and maintain supporting documentation for external audit requests and prepared-by-client (PBC) items in a clear and accessible manner.

• Tie schedules and reconciliations to the general ledger and financial statements to ensure consistency and proper support.

• Validate that all supporting documentation is complete, internally consistent, and ready for reviewer and auditor scrutiny.

• Maintain a clear audit trail that documents source information, preparer, reviewer, conclusions reached, and any outstanding items.

• Identify documentation or support gaps early and coordinate with Payroll, Treasury, Accounts Payable, Project Accounting, and other process owners to obtain needed information.

• Help standardize folders, naming conventions, cross-references, and evidence retention practices to support a more efficient and consistent close and audit process.

• Escalate blocked items with a concise problem statement, supporting evidence, identified owner, and a clear requested action.

• Recognize when an issue requires involvement from system, payroll, treasury, accounts payable, or technology owners rather than continuing independent research.

• Avoid forcing reconciliations to zero or to a desired outcome when the underlying activity is not understood or adequately supported.

• Document the purpose, source reports, parameters, timing, tie-out points, known limitations, and review steps for each assigned reconciliation.

• Create clear, repeatable procedures that another accountant can follow without relying on undocumented institutional knowledge.

• Maintain an open-item tracker that clearly records outstanding issues and transitions cleanly to the permanent team at the end of the engagement.

• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, including Accounting, Payroll, Treasury, Accounts Payable, Project Accounting, IT, and external consultants, to resolve issues and improve processes.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance.

• 5+ years of corporate accounting experience with a strong focus on balance sheet reconciliations.

• Demonstrated experience cleaning up aged or previously unreconciled accounts.

• Strong understanding of accruals, cash, clearing accounts, payroll accounting, intercompany transactions, and accounts payable.

• Experience preparing audit support and responding to prepared-by-client (PBC) requests.

• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, data comparison, exception analysis, and managing large transaction populations.

• Ability to work independently in an imperfect or changing environment with evolving processes and data constraints.

• Strong judgment in determining when to continue researching issues and when to escalate to the appropriate owner.

• Comfort working across Accounting, Payroll, Treasury, Accounts Payable, Project Accounting, IT, and external consultants.

• Proficiency in general ledger accounting, reconciliations, audit preparation, accounts payable, and month-end close activities.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with Oracle Fusion Cloud Financials, particularly general ledger, subledger accounting, accounts payable, cash management, or financial gateway reporting.

• Experience in a recent ERP implementation or postgo-live stabilization period.

• Experience with multi-entity or multi-country reconciliations.

• Intercompany cleanup and settlement experience.

• Background in public accounting, internal audit, or prior audit-support experience.

• Strong documentation skills and the ability to design repeatable, scalable reconciliation processes.

• Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines in a dynamic environment.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical-thinking abilities.

• Clear written and verbal communication skills to explain findings, issues, and recommendations to both finance and non-finance stakeholders.

Work Environment

This is a contract role through April 2027, with an expected workload of approximately 4045 hours per week. The position is remote, with in-office work available for candidates who are local and prefer an on-site environment. The work setting reflects a real-world, complex financial landscape where historical balances have accumulated, some entries post months after the originating activity, and dates do not always align across systems. Access to certain reports and subledgers may be limited, and multiple reports may be required to reconstruct a single transaction. Some reconciliations may appear numerically complete even when the underlying activity is not fully understood, requiring deeper analysis and professional skepticism. Documentation and repeatable processes are still maturing, so the role involves contributing to the development and standardization of these practices. The environment involves collaboration with cross-functional teams and use of modern ERP and spreadsheet tools to manage large data sets and complex reconciliations.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Hanover, MD.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $55.00 - $72.00/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 hybrid position in Hanover,MD.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 13, 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 View email address on click.appcast.io (%View email address on click.appcast.io) 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.