Accounting Manager

Accounting Manager

Benesch is proud to announce the opening for an Accounting Manager in our Cleveland office! This position is hybrid and has work from home flexibility.

Position Summary:

Do you have 10 or more years of accounting experience with 3 or more years of team management and development? Are you looking for that opportunity to lead, guide, mold and strengthen an accounting team? Does establishing SOPs, business controls, and reporting processes sound like the challenge you've been searching for with a new career? Then the Accounting Manager position may be what you're looking for! This position is for the experienced financial professional who is looking to make a difference and provide consistency and operational excellence. Come work hand-in-hand with our team and help develop talent in Benesch's fast growing accounting department.

The Accounting Manager is a hands-on leader responsible for the accuracy, integrity and timeliness of the Firm's financial records and accounting operations. The position leads and develops the accounting team, manages core close and reporting processes, establishes scalable standard operating procedures and business controls, and partners across the Firm to strengthen financial discipline, service delivery and decision support. In a fast-growing national law firm environment, the Accounting Manager drives continuous improvement, operational excellence, risk mitigation and consistency across the firm, while maintaining confidentiality and sound professional judgment.

Essential Functions:

Accounting Operations, Close and Financial Reporting

• Own and manage the monthly, quarterly and year-end close process, including task assignments, review standards and timely resolution of issues.
• Review monthly income statement, balance sheet and cash flow reporting for accuracy, completeness and consistency; investigate significant or unusual variances and escalate matters appropriately.
• Ensure transactions are properly recorded and classified, cost center and office-level activity are accurately accounted for, and subsidiary ledgers reconcile to the general ledger.
• Review and approve journal entries, account analyses, reclassifications and supporting documentation in accordance with established policies and control requirements.
• Oversee timely reconciliation of balance sheet accounts, bank accounts, and other key control accounts; ensure reconciling items are documented, assigned and resolved.
• Manage fixed asset accounting, including capitalization, disposals, transfers, depreciation and periodic reconciliation of the fixed asset register to the general ledger.
• Monitor budgets, forecasts, and cash flow projections; support leadership with clear, reliable financial information and analysis.
• Coordinate financial statement audit and other external review activities, including preparation of schedules, management of requests and timely remediation of findings.

People Leadership and Management

• Lead, manage and develop accounting professionals, including direct oversight of workload, priorities, service levels, work quality and staffing coverage.
• Provide regular coaching, timely feedback and practical training; conduct performance discussions and support career development and succession planning.
• Review and approve work product ensuring appropriate segregation of duties and effective supervisory controls without creating unnecessary process bottlenecks.
• Maintain a collaborative, responsive and client-service-oriented team culture that supports attorneys, business professionals and Firm leadership across offices.
• Assess team capacity and capabilities as the Firm grows; recommend organizational changes, resource needs, cross-training plans and use of shared services or technology where appropriate.
• Lead through change by communicating the business rationale, defining new expectations, reinforcing adoption and monitoring results.
• Partner with Human Resources on recruiting, onboarding, performance management and employee relations matters affecting the accounting team.

Standard Operating Procedures and Business Controls

• Design, document, implement and maintain standard operating procedures for recurring accounting activities, including process maps, roles, approval requirements, supporting documentation, timelines and escalation protocols.
• Establish and maintain a practical internal control framework for the finance function, including preventive and detective controls, segregation of duties, approvals, reconciliations, access controls and management review.
• Evaluate and develop control matrices and evidence-retention standards; periodically test control execution and address gaps or inconsistent practices.
• Ensure accounting policies, procedures and controls remain scalable, consistently applied across offices and aligned with Firm requirements, applicable accounting principles and audit expectations.
• Identify financial and operational risks arising from growth, new offices, combinations, system changes, new services or evolving business practices; design appropriate mitigating controls.
• Maintain clear ownership and version control for finance policies and SOPs, and ensure changes are communicated and incorporated into training.

Continuous Improvement and Operational Excellence

• Lead continuous improvement initiatives that increase accuracy, timeliness, transparency and scalability while reducing manual effort, rework and avoidable risk.
• Analyze end-to-end finance processes, identify root causes of delays or errors, and implement sustainable corrective actions rather than temporary workarounds.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators, service-level expectations and control metrics for close, reconciliations, transaction processing, issue resolution and internal client service.
• Standardize processes across offices and business units while identifying appropriate exceptions based on legal, regulatory or operational requirements.
• Champion effective use of financial systems, workflow tools, reporting technology, automation and data validation; participate in system implementations, enhancements, testing and change management.
• Create a disciplined operating rhythm for issue tracking, process reviews, action plans and benefits realization, with clear owners and due dates.
• Benchmark finance operations against leading professional services practices and recommend improvements that support the Firm's growth strategy.
• Promote a mindset of ownership, disciplined execution, constructive challenge and ongoing learning throughout the finance function.

Business Partnership and Firm Growth

• Collaborate with Finance leadership on strategic financial planning, operating priorities and initiatives that support profitable growth and sound business decisions.
• Partner effectively with attorneys, office leadership and administrative departments to resolve accounting matters, improve upstream data quality and strengthen compliance with Firm policies.
• Support financial and operational integration associated with new offices, lateral groups, combinations, entity changes or other growth initiatives.
• Prepare concise analyses and recommendations for leadership, clearly describing issues, business impact, risk, options and proposed actions.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex accounting and process matters, balancing responsiveness with appropriate controls and policy adherence.
• Perform other duties and lead special projects as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or a related field from an accredited institution required; CPA or other relevant professional certification preferred.
• Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible accounting experience, including financial reporting, general ledger, reconciliations, cash flow, close management, audit support and accounting operations.
• Minimum of three years of direct people-management experience, including assigning and reviewing work, coaching employees, managing performance, developing talent and leading teams through change.
• Experience establishing or strengthening SOPs, internal controls, close governance and scalable accounting processes required.
• Demonstrated success leading process improvement, operational excellence, automation or finance transformation initiatives in a growing, complex organization.
• Experience in a multi-office law firm or other professional services environment strongly preferred; experience supporting rapid growth, integrations or organizational change is highly valued.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office; experience with enterprise financial systems, reporting tools and workflow technology preferred.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly with team members, attorneys, administrative leaders, auditors and senior management.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, exercise discretion, maintain confidentiality and operate effectively in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

Key Attributes

• People leadership and talent development
• Operational discipline and accountability
• Process improvement and change leadership
• Business controls and risk awareness
• Strategic thinking with hands-on execution
• Collaboration and internal client service
• Data-driven decision making
• Integrity, discretion and sound judgment

The salary range for this position is $134K to $170K.

Please note that quoted salary ranges are based on Benesch's good faith belief at the time of the job posting and are not a guarantee of what final salary offers may be. Base pay is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Base pay is only one part of the Total Rewards that Benesch provides to compensate and recognize our staff professionals