WHAT DOES A SENIOR ACCOUNTANT DO?

Published: Dec 16, 2025 - The Senior Accountant leads financial analysis and reporting by reviewing monthly performance, identifying variances, and supporting forecasts and year-end projections. This role ensures accurate budgeting, compliance with accounting standards, and process improvements while advising on complex transactions and financial controls. The accountant also manages and mentors a team, oversees reporting packages, and supports staff development and legislative reporting.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Senior Accountant

1. Senior Accountant Details

  • Consolidation Accounting: Prepare consolidation journal entries for the monthly consolidation process
  • Financial Reporting: Prepare quarterly footnotes and financial statements.
  • Financial Analysis: Review and consolidate monthly financial data from reporting units and prepare various analyses
  • Audit Support: Prepare quarter-end and year-end reporting schedules and assist with external and internal audits
  • SEC Reporting: Provide support for the preparation of quarterly and annual SEC filings and board presentations
  • GAAP Compliance: Provide assistance and support to operating units and other departments to ensure that financial results are prepared in accordance with GAAP/
  • Internal Controls: Assist with testing of the Financial Reporting department's internal control procedures.
  • System Maintenance: Assist in the maintenance of the system/database.

2. Senior Accountant Responsibilities

  • Journal Accounting: Prepare monthly journal entries, financial statement preparation, and bank reconciliations.
  • Cash Monitoring: Monitor cash receipts, review and bill tenant recurring charges and billing adjustments, and perform tenant ledger reconciliations.
  • Invoice Review: Review invoice coding and approvals, and ensure a proper audit trail is in place.
  • Rent Billing: Prepare any percentage rent billings.
  • Lease Review: Review leases and leasing activity to ensure accurate billing.
  • Cash Management: Supervise cash management procedures.
  • Budget Management: Compile key assumptions and capital budget information, maintain lease-level budgeting for all tenants, review and enter budget information into the accounting system, process estimates for miscellaneous income and specialty leasing.
  • Forecast Support: Assist with the quarterly forecast and provide support to the corporate office in gathering information for the quarterly financial reports.
  • Year-End Reconciliation: Annual year-end reconciliation process, percentage rent, insurance, utilities, sewer/trash, and real estate taxes.
  • Payroll Coordination: Coordinate payroll reporting process.
  • Audit Assistance: Assist in all audits at the property.

3. Senior Accountant Functions

  • Month-End Close: Support the month-end close related to content costs for the projects.
  • Journal Accounting: Prepare journal entries, margin analytics, and flux analysis.
  • Margin Analytics: Work with FP&A, finance, and revenue teams to assist with developing margin analytics for new product launches.
  • SOX Compliance: Perform operating procedures and internal controls processes to be consistent with SOX.
  • Product Requirements: Help develop user requirements for new products impacting content creators.
  • Cost Testing: Perform and document testing for projects affecting content costs.
  • Process Improvement: Support process improvements and assist with exciting accounting transformation projects to achieve scalability and efficiency across processes and workflows.
  • Data Issue Resolution: Work with product teams to identify and resolve upstream data issues.
  • Data Extraction: Work with the team to pull data systematically via Mode or other data-lake tools.

4. Senior Accountant Details and Accountabilities

  • Accounting Verification: Verify accounting records to assess accuracy and compliance
  • Journal Accounting: Prepare and record asset, liability, revenue, and expenses entries by compiling and analyzing account information
  • Account Reconciliation: Maintain and balance accounts by verifying, allocating, posting, and reconciling transactions, resolving discrepancies
  • Financial Reporting: Direct and coordinate the preparation of financial reporting according to IFRS, Sibelco Group reporting, and statutory requirements
  • Financial Summary: Summarize financial status by collecting information
  • Financial Statements: Prepare balance sheet, profit and loss, and other statements
  • Intercompany Accounting: Manage intercompany reconciliations and transfer pricing calculations
  • Audit Support: Provide information to auditors
  • Audit Management: Manage and coordinate the annual external audit process
  • Tax Reporting: Prepare VAT and other tax reporting
  • Invoice Verification: Be responsible for verifying the accuracy of invoices and other accounting documents and records

5. Senior Accountant Additional Details

  • Close Processes: Participate actively in the monthly and quarterly close processes for multiple countries
  • Global Accounting: Be involved in day-to-day global operational activities through handling all accounting areas of specific countries
  • SOX Compliance: Ensure compliance with SOX policies
  • External Coordination: Cooperate with external accounting and payroll service providers and auditors in several countries
  • International Tax: Be involved in international tax-related matters (VAT, Corporation tax) and review of financial statements prepared according to different countries’ GAAPs
  • Project Leadership: Participate in and lead projects assigned to the role
  • Team Training: Be involved in the training and education of junior team members

6. Senior Accountant Essential Functions

  • Financial Close: Perform the monthly financial close process, including ensuring all costs incurred are properly recorded, reviewing/posting journal entries, account balance reconciliations, and financial statement preparation according to corporate deadlines and standards.
  • Financial Analysis: Compiles, consolidates, and conducts basic analysis of accounting and finance information.
  • Financial Review: Examines a variety of financial statements and transactions for completeness, internal accuracy, and conformance with accounting standards.
  • Commission Support: Supports the sales commission processes, including tracking and payments.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensure compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Sarbanes-Oxley, and corporate policies and procedures
  • Policy Development: Participate in the ongoing development/establishment of accounting policies and procedures and operational strategies, including the review and implementation of process and system changes
  • Confidentiality Management: Maintain confidentiality in all matters

7. Senior Accountant Role Purpose

  • Vendor Data: Error handling of the vendor master data (financial fields only) in collaboration with Master Data Governance
  • Payment Compliance: Support the implementation of a “No PO, No Pay” culture and ensure a proper reference (e.g., PO number) is on the invoice
  • Invoice Processing: Invoice handling and verification (sort, code, and 3-way match)
  • Discrepancy Analysis: Analyse and control invoice discrepancies and issues, including price and quantity differences
  • Payment Processing: Ensure timely payments of invoices, review the weekly payment run, and team up with Cash and Bank
  • Expense Follow Up: Mobile expense follow-up
  • SOX Compliance: Ensure compliance/execute SOX controls, monthly reconciliation of A/P accounts, update of policies and procedures, etc.
  • Document Filing: Maintain a filing system for all financial documents.
  • KPI Reporting: Create KPI reports and analyse setup improvements
  • PTP Key User: Key user of PTP accounting flows

8. Senior Accountant General Responsibilities

  • Tax Preparation: Preparation of selected tax returns
  • Financial Documentation: Preparation of the indicated documentation for quarterly and annual financial statements
  • Accounting Verification: Periodic verification of the correctness of accounting for the company's revenues and costs
  • Tax Reconciliation: Reconciliation of tax accounts settlements
  • Tax Procedures: Develop tax procedures for the department
  • Tax Compliance: Active participation in tax inspections and tax projects

9. Senior Accountant Key Accountabilities

  • Fixed Assets: Record fixed asset acquisitions, transfers, and dispositions into the accounting system.
  • Asset Tracking: Keep track of assets in process, such as leasehold improvements, to ensure proper capitalization and in-service dates.
  • Policy Compliance: Review additions to ensure compliance with CGI policy before data entry.
  • Asset Classification: Recommend reclass for items that do not qualify as a fixed asset.
  • Asset Reconciliation: Reconcile the balance in the fixed asset subsidiary ledger to the summary-level account in the general ledger.
  • System Reconciliation: Reconciliation of the Fixed Asset Subledger to the Asset Tracking System (CFP)
  • Journal Entries: Record Adjusting Journal Entries required for Fixed Assets.
  • Asset Scheduling: Preparation of Fixed Asset Continuation Schedule for Corporate.
  • Prepaid Accounting: Ensure accuracy of prepaid additions and amortization periods.
  • Finance Collaboration: Collaborate with the finance team on P&L coding updates.
  • Amortization Accounting: Record Amortization of Prepaids via an adjusting journal entry.
  • Schedule Maintenance: Maintain a clean and accurate schedule.
  • General Ledger: Preparation and entry of various adjusting journal entries to assist the General Ledger team in multiple areas.
  • Lease Accounting: Preparation of IFRS 16 entry to record equipment leases.
  • PO Review: Watcher on Purchase Order creation to ensure accurate coding of fixed assets and prepaids.
  • Balance Reconciliation: Reconciliations of assigned balance sheet accounts.

10. Senior Accountant Roles and Details

  • Client Accounting: Providing day-to-day accounting and other services to allocated clients
  • Account Preparation: Preparing trial balances, management accounts
  • Financial Statements: Typing out and formatting the client’s annual financial statements
  • Administrative Support: Carrying out, on a timely basis, all administrative tasks
  • Accountant Support: Assisting the accountants with any requests that come from the client
  • Quality Control: Applying standard procedures to facilitate the rendering of quality services to clients in a consistent, effective, and efficient manner, and exercising quality control to ensure that all accounting reports conform to set standards
  • File Management: Assisting to ensure that clients’ files (be it electronic or paper-based) are organised, completed, and up to date
  • Time Recording: Recording all time spent accurately to facilitate invoicing and internal reporting
  • Process Compliance: Following processes and procedures, working to set quality standards, and keeping to agreed turnaround times
  • Client Resolution: Ensuring that client queries and/or complaints are dealt with efficiently and timeously, and escalated immediately
  • Service Excellence: Ensuring the highest level of service, quality of work, and support to the Clients, the CSM, KAM, and other areas internally, as well as other teams within Stonehage Fleming.
  • Internal Liaison: Liaising with internal departments to promote clear channels of communication and working relationships
  • Project Support: Providing ad hoc assistance with projects and analyses

11. Senior Accountant Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Financial Performance: Consult with operational managers (internal and external) and review results to determine monthly financial performance reporting, including analytical reviews of revenues and expenditures, against budget to identify variances, estimate year-end projections, and determine historical or future trends
  • Budget Coordination: Coordinate the preparation of the budget and forecast information for Corporate Programs
  • Accounting Review: Review of transactions and monthly accounting entries, including periodic review of recurring transactions with the business areas
  • Technical Advisory: Provide technical and professional advice and assistance in matters of financial policy, procedures, and controls, and accounting policies and standards, including the evaluation and analysis of non-routine and complex events or transactions
  • Control Assessment: Review transaction processes, ensuring appropriate controls exist to mitigate the risk of errors, fraud, and misstatement
  • Process Improvement: Identify areas for continuous improvement and lead change through providing advice and expertise in accounting and business process areas
  • Process Documentation: Support the development of business process documentation to support analysis, process improvement, and implementation of recommendations
  • Reporting Oversight: Be responsible for the oversight of the non-consolidated working paper packages for all aspects of the operating reporting included in the legislative reporting, including preparing and reviewing related note disclosures
  • Team Leadership: Provide leadership, direction, guidance, and supervision to a team of accounting professionals and technical staff by communicating department vision, work, values, and core deliverables
  • Staff Development: Provide coaching and mentoring to staff and support training and development to facilitate successful career development

12. Senior Accountant Duties and Roles

  • General Ledger Close: Timely, accurate recording of all entries before the general ledger close in accordance with the corporate closing schedule.
  • Financial Reporting: Ensures financial statements are presented timely to management in accordance with GAAP, accompanied by appropriate financial variance analysis.
  • Issue Escalation: Ensures accounting management is notified of accounting, internal control, and business issues as they develop to devise timely and appropriate action plans.
  • Results Analysis: Reviews and analyzes financial results for assigned areas in support of the month-end close.
  • Management Communication: Communicates financial results and variance analysis to management.
  • Balance Reconciliation: Timely, accurate preparation and/or review of assigned balance sheet reconciliations and/or month-end schedules.
  • Issue Resolution: Timely research and resolution of reconciling items with exceptions reported to management for review and consultation.
  • Customer Support: Timely research and resolution of customer inquiries.
  • Team Development: Review the work of, and develop Accountant I and/or Accountant II

13. Senior Accountant Details

  • Financial Statements: Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual statements (balance sheets and income statements) to identify results, trends, and financial forecasts.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Manage and coordinate compliance with local, state, and federal government reporting requirements and tax filings in the different jurisdictions.
  • Audit Coordination: Collaborate with auditing services to ensure proper compliance with all regulations.
  • Financial Analysis: Collect and analyze financial data, which is then used in the preparation of weekly and monthly estimates
  • Cash Flow: Prepare weekly cash flow statements, and control expenditure and cash flow
  • Statutory Reporting: Coordinate the preparation of year-end accounts and statutory accounts
  • Financial Inquiry: Respond to financial inquiries by gathering and interpreting data
  • Record Review: Examine financial records to check for accuracy
  • Bookkeeping Management: Manage the preparation and posting of receipts, deposits, purchase orders, invoices, refunds, and other standard bookkeeping tasks
  • AR AP Management: Manage accounts receivable and accounts payable
  • Petty Cash: Provide oversight to Admin in line with petty cash disbursements, replenishment, and petty cash count.
  • Expense Oversight: Review and oversee reimbursements.
  • Ledger Coordination: Coordinate the preparation, tracking, and reconciliation of ledgers, budgets, and financial plans.
  • Payroll Coordination: Coordinate the payroll preparation process
  • Variance Analysis: Analyze past results, perform variance analysis, identify trends, and make recommendations for improvements.
  • Financial Projections: Report on financial projections (e.g., liquidity and cash flow)
  • Close Support: Support the month-end and year-end close processes
  • Policy Development: Develop mechanisms, policies, and procedures to enhance compliance with the requirements of the finance functions, accounting standards, and regulations.
  • Process Improvement: Implement and drive improvements in the core financial processes and reporting for the business.
  • Technology Enablement: Use technology to streamline and amplify the finance function capabilities.
  • Digital Learning: Learn new technologies and transform the learning into applicable tools to benefit the growth ambitions.
  • Team Leadership: Motivate/lead/train/supervise other team members within the finance function.

14. Senior Accountant Responsibilities

  • Ledger Maintenance: Maintain accounting ledgers by posting account transactions
  • Account Reconciliation: Verify accounts by reconciling statements and transactions
  • AP AR Oversight: Oversee accounts payable and receivable
  • Management Support: Assist the accounting manager in preparing documents and interpreting complicated financial information for managers, executives
  • Financial Reporting: Prepare financial reports for taxes, regulatory agencies, and stockholders
  • Balance Management: Maintain account balances and bank statements
  • General Ledger: Manage the general ledger and assist with month-end and year-end close processes
  • Process Compliance: Ensure compliance with all internal processes

15. Senior Accountant Functions

  • General Accounting: General accounting tasks, including account reconciliations, journal entries, and review of billing/payable data
  • Expense Analysis: Analysis and review of company expenditures, confirming proper allocation of expenses to the various departments, and reporting to the various departments.
  • Month End Close: Month-end close responsibilities, including Profit and Loss analysis, accrued expenses, accounts payable, and various other balance sheet reconciliations
  • GAAP Compliance: Reviewing invoices and revenue to ensure accuracy and compliance with GAAP
  • Process Improvement: Seek ways to improve accounting processes and procedures both nationally and internationally
  • Project Support: Assist with and handle special projects

16. Senior Accountant Overview

  • Accounting Support: Support various aspects of the accounting and reporting process.
  • Process Ownership: End-to-end process ownership to support finance and business partners.
  • Internal Controls: Understand internal control design concepts sufficient to assess the effectiveness of controls in their area and to design new processes and controls for emerging and growing business activities.
  • Judgment Execution: Execute judgments to keep projects moving and ensure the right decisions are reached to close the books each month.
  • Risk Escalation: Escalate risks and issues to leadership.
  • Process Improvement: Identify process improvement and automation opportunities to drive positive change across the organization.
  • Project Leadership: Lead delivery of accounting tasks and projects.
  • Business Partnership: Enhance partnerships between Accounting and various business and IT groups.
  • Technical Accounting: Research, conclude, and memorialize technical accounting position papers.

17. Senior Accountant Roles

  • General Ledger: Records of business transactions related to the General Ledger
  • Financial Reporting: Preparation of financial reports
  • Period Close: Period end close processes, reconciliation systems, discuss with appropriate account/profit Centre owners, and prepare and post journal entries.
  • Account Reconciliation: Reconcile various balance sheet and income statement accounts.
  • Reporting Packages: Prepare and assist with the review of recurring reporting packages to include financial statements, analysis, and assist in the preparation of year-end financial statements.
  • Client Communication: Daily contact with clients within the assigned area of responsibilities
  • Audit Participation: Participation in internal and external audits
  • System Interfaces: Understanding interfaces and their impact on financial statements
  • Internal Controls: Adherence to Internal controls and compliance
  • IFRS Compliance: Monitor and analysis of business transactions according to IFRS and Volvo Group Financial Policies and Procedures

18. Senior Accountant Essential Functions

  • Financial Analysis: Active analysis and generation of actionable financial information
  • Internal Controls: Follow-up and verification of general internal control activities and ownership of the CSAQ process
  • Process Alignment: Work closely with the Atlanta office to ensure the timely implementation of standard practices
  • Financial Reporting: Assist the Finance Manager in the preparation of RE and other financial reporting
  • Statutory Compliance: Help with the verification of Statutory Compliance in coordination with the operation units
  • Audit Coordination: Lead coordination/collaboration efforts with External/Internal Audits
  • Team Coordination: Coordinate closely with the Accounting Coordinator to ensure appropriate team workload balance

19. Senior Accountant Key Accountabilities

  • Account Reconciliation: Prepares monthly balance sheet account reconciliations and account analysis that requires advanced knowledge of accounting
  • Report Generation: Generates financial reports that require intermediate to advanced computer skills
  • Stakeholder Collaboration: Works with department supervisors, managers, directors, administrative staff, and other staff to identify and recommend solutions to issues that arise.
  • Data Compilation: Gathers, compiles, and reports complex financial information for various reporting purposes, both internal and external.
  • Financial Close: Be responsible for the financial close of an assigned hospital, including accruals, variation analysis, communication with the facility, and final reporting
  • Team Participation: Function effectively within a team and participate constructively to produce results in a cooperative way
  • Problem Resolution: Identify and resolve problems that arise by understanding the way the business operates and the opportunities for improving the efficiency of the general ledger department or the department under review
  • Journal Entries: Post routine journal entries without supervisor approval, prioritize assigned workload to most efficiently meet deadlines, and evaluate best practices for analytical review
  • Continuous Improvement: Continually seeks to make suggestions, offer solutions, and act upon both internal and external customer needs, concerns, and priorities

20. Senior Accountant Responsibilities and Key Tasks

  • Technical Accounting: Research accounting standards and perform analysis to ensure proper application of GAAP and IFRS to non-recurring, complex, or new transactions and the development of required disclosures
  • Month End Close: Complete monthly close tasks, prepare recurring and ad hoc reports and analysis, and review the work of consultants and junior staff
  • Business Integration: Assist in the integration of new businesses and operations, including development and ongoing execution of data transmission process from source systems, communication and review of internal control procedures over financial close and reporting process, identification of intercompany transactions, and revision of consolidated financials and footnotes for new accounting and disclosure requirements
  • Divisional Partnership: Partner with divisional accounting teams to ensure that financial results are accurate and submitted timely, and follow global internal control policies over the financial close process.
  • Consolidation Entries: Identify, document, and record elimination, consolidation, and GAAP adjustment journal entries
  • Project Analysis: Perform project analysis, develop and implement procedures to improve effectiveness and efficiency
  • Audit Support: Assist in completing external and internal audits and special projects
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