How to hire an accounting associate

How to hire an accounting associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step accounting associate hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an accounting associate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new accounting associate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an accounting associate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring an accounting associate, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect accounting associate also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents accounting associate salaries for various positions.

   Type of Accounting Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Accounting Associate	Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks produce financial records for organizations. They record financial transactions, update statements, and check financial records for accuracy.	$16-35
   Bookkeeper	Bookkeepers are employees who are in charge of the company's general ledger. They are well-versed in basic accounting principles, and they apply these in their work... Show more	$14-25
   Finance Clerk	Finance clerks are financial professionals who are responsible for performing various administrative tasks such as keeping financial records, preparing bills, and delivering excellent customer service. These clerks are required to process bills, checks, receipts, and other documents to ensure that they are all properly signed and distributed... Show more	$12-26

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Reconciliations
   • Customer Service
   • Data Entry
   • Account Reconciliations
   • General Ledger Accounts
   • Purchase Orders
   • Work Ethic
   • PowerPoint
   • Balance Sheet
   • CPA
   • GAAP
   • Accruals
   • Expense Reports
   • ACH

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage revenue ledger including other subsidiary ledgers and responsible for the reconciliation of various income accounts to ensure accuracy of postings.
   • Reconcile bank statements and prepare company's financial data to be process by outside CPA for tax season.
   • Assist the firm's CPA in yearly personal and corporate income tax returns, business valuations and audits.
   • Reconcile cash receipts to the general ledger (lock-boxes, checks, wire transfers, and ACH payments).
   • Insure preparation and submission of computerize payroll to DFAS for assign personnel.
   • Develop PowerPoint presentations for use in trials and conferences.

   More accounting associate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your accounting associate job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An accounting associate salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, accounting associates' average salary in montana is 53% less than in district of columbia.
   • Seniority. Entry-level accounting associates earn 54% less than senior-level accounting associates.
   • Certifications. An accounting associate with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an accounting associate's salary.

   Average accounting associate salary

   $50,537yearly

   $24.30 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level accounting associate salary

   $34,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 1, 2026

   Average accounting associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$64,182	$31
   2	California	$63,566	$31
   3	New York	$62,824	$30
   4	Virginia	$59,211	$28
   5	Massachusetts	$58,749	$28
   6	Connecticut	$57,658	$28
   7	Maryland	$55,853	$27
   8	New Jersey	$55,403	$27
   9	Pennsylvania	$54,327	$26
   10	Delaware	$51,714	$25
   11	Texas	$51,317	$25
   12	Georgia	$50,655	$24
   13	North Carolina	$50,593	$24
   14	Kentucky	$48,960	$24
   15	Utah	$48,473	$23
   16	Illinois	$46,318	$22
   17	Florida	$46,293	$22
   18	Arizona	$45,390	$22
   19	Washington	$44,160	$21
   20	Colorado	$43,654	$21

   Average accounting associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Point72	$100,358	$48.25
   2	BMO Capital Markets	$97,462	$46.86
   3	OCC	$97,100	$46.68
   4	Asana	$95,890	$46.10	3
   5	Tradeweb	$93,649	$45.02	3
   6	Upserve	$92,710	$44.57	1
   7	Schaeffer Oil	$92,471	$44.46
   8	Neuberger Berman	$90,111	$43.32
   9	NTT Data International L.L.C.	$86,544	$41.61	3
   10	Northern Trust	$86,520	$41.60
   11	Elanco	$85,490	$41.10
   12	BlackRock	$83,632	$40.21	3
   13	Wpp Us Holdings Inc	$83,023	$39.91	1
   14	Guidehouse	$82,463	$39.65	7
   15	Goldman Sachs	$81,949	$39.40	2
   16	Amgen	$79,959	$38.44	2
   17	Grant Thornton	$79,027	$37.99	44
   18	NIC	$78,284	$37.64
   19	Boston Scientific	$78,224	$37.61	1
   20	Apache	$77,144	$37.09	1

4. Writing an accounting associate job description

   A good accounting associate job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an accounting associate job description:

   Accounting associate job description example

   At Materion, everyone is included, respected and offered opportunity to grow. Join us!
   
   The Materion Finance & Accounting Development Program (FADP)
   is designed to accelerate early career development of high potential college graduates to prepare them for upwardly mobile careers within finance at Materion. The program is managed by a dedicated Finance & Accounting Development Program Manager with oversight by the CFO and Materion's leadership team.
   The program prepares participants for roles of increasing responsibility through a combination of rotational assignments, structured learning, formalized feedback, and mentoring. Program participants will have the opportunity to interact with finance and accounting leaders and participate in various key financial initiatives.
   FADPs will complete a two-year program consisting of three 8-month rotations. Geographical flexibility is required during the program and also upon completion of the program. Relocation assistance is provided. The first 8-month rotation will be at our Corporate Office in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio area.
   Through your rotations, you will receive respected mentors amongst our leadership team and learning opportunities with challenging hands on experience. Program participants will receive exclusive training and exposure to multiple parts of a complex business to provide them a well-rounded experience within multiple finance functions.
   Rotation examples include the following:
   Operations FinanceAccountingInternal AuditFinancial Planning & AnalysisTreasuryTax
   Prior to completing the program, participants will work with the Program Manager to identify a position to assume within the accounting & finance organization. Throughout the rotations, will work with management to establish and align both personal and company goals.
   
   REQUIREMENTS
   Bachelor's degree in Finance or Accounting earned between June 2022 and June 2023GPA of 3.0 or higher Strong interpersonal skills and ability to thrive in a team environment Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem solving skills Results oriented through initiative, ownership, and accountability Flexible and adapt to change easily Geographical flexibility is required during and upon completion of the program
   
   The selection of the person to be hired for this position is contingent on the candidate having export compliance eligibility for access to U.S. controlled technology which comes under the licensing jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of State, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The candidate selected will have to qualify as either a U.S. citizen, a U.S. National, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., a Person Admitted into the U.S. as an Asylee or Refugee., a National of a country that is not prohibited from having access to U.S. controlled technology (via a letter of assurance), or a Person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction.
   
   Materion Corporation and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) is an equal employment opportunity employer. It is the Company's policy to not unlawfully discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. The Company also prohibits harassment of applicants and employees based on any of these protected categories. It is also the Company's policy to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws respecting consideration of unemployment status in making hiring decisions. The information collected by this application is solely to determine suitability for employment, verify identity and maintain employment statistics on applicants.
   
   Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on the Company. Please inform the Company's personnel representative if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.
   
   Please provide complete information. An incomplete application may affect your consideration for employment.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right accounting associate for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with accounting associates they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit accounting associates who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your accounting associate job on Zippia to find and recruit accounting associate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting accounting associates requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new accounting associate

   Once you've found the accounting associate candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new accounting associate. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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