What does a senior accounting manager do?
A senior accounting manager is in charge of overseeing and supervising the different accounting teams in a company, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. The responsibilities of a senior accounting manager revolve around preparing financial reports and presentations, assessing the performance of the workforce, participating in audits, managing schedules and guidelines, and devising strategies to improve systems and services. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the teams, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Senior accounting manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior accounting manager resumes:
- Lead research, selection and implementation of government contracting ERP software and facilitate training of engineers and project managers.
- Implement new or improve processes train on the ERP system and manage the transition assignments leading to quality staff performance.
- Point manager in initiating and managing SOX compliance procedures and documentation.
- Manage corporate accounting operations including general ledger system administration, month end close processes, and account reconciliations.
- Initiate ongoing departmental projects to automate daily tasks which include the calculations for income distributions and the daily income account reconciliation.
- Reorganize procurement and budgeting departments for SOX compliance.
- Develop and implement new processes and procedures as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley implementation.
- Develop, maintain and effectively communicate technical and operational accounting policy and procedures in accordance with GAAP.
- Support in preparation of consolidate financial statements and management reporting in accordance with company policies and U.S. GAAP.
- Guide selection and implementation of automate portfolio accounting system that improve efficiency and processing of month-end closing and investment reconciliations.
- Direct centralized cash monitoring and Sarbanes-Oxley electronic assertion implementation department-wide.
- Create and enter journal entries, post cash, post wire payments and check bank for incoming wires and ACH payments.
- Consolidate financial statements for multiple locations and report to corporate using Hyperion.
- Design and oversee the implementation of the executive Hyperion dashboard and financial reporting module.
- Ensure client's compliance with periodic tax payments, IRS requirements, and forward reminders to clients for estimate tax payments.
Senior accounting manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Senior Accounting Managers are proficient in CPA, GAAP, and Reconciliations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Senior Accounting Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CPA, 11%
Project Manager for quarterly and annual CPA firm audits, focusing on revenue recognition policy compliance.
- GAAP, 9%
Support in preparation of consolidated financial statements and management reporting in accordance with company policies and U.S. GAAP.
- Reconciliations, 7%
Bank Reconciliations, general ledger reconciliation, accounts payable and accounts receivable audits to ensure proper classification and allocation of finances.
- Internal Controls, 5%
Introduced Financial Procedures and Policies Manual to establish strong internal controls, accountability, and risk management.
- SOX, 4%
Managed year-end auditing and assisted SOX 404 internal control documentations.
- Close Process, 4%
Implemented consolidation for international subsidiaries and monthly close process.
"cpa," "gaap," and "reconciliations" are among the most common skills that senior accounting managers use at work. You can find even more senior accounting manager responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a senior accounting manager to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what senior accounting managers do because "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." Additionally, a senior accounting manager resume shows how senior accounting managers use analytical skills: "worked with project manager for erp and programmer for targit business intelligence to develop reports and cubes of data from erp. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform senior accounting manager duties is communication skills. Senior accounting managers responsibilities require that "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." Senior accounting managers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "develop relationships and maintain strong communication amongst the market leads, the treasury management firm and the associated banks. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior accounting managers is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday senior accounting manager duties, as "in preparing and analyzing reports, such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "assist outside cpa with monthly investment statements to provide investment detail to banks that hold loans associated with investments. "
Math skills. For certain senior accounting manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of a senior accounting manager rely on this skill, as "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what senior accounting managers do: "forecast losses and earnings using quantitative/qualitative analyses to a high degree of accuracy, and communicaterecommendations to executive management. "
Organizational skills. Another common skill required for senior accounting manager responsibilities is "organizational skills." This skill comes up in the duties of senior accounting managers all the time, as "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." An excerpt from a real senior accounting manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a senior accounting manager does: "lead in process improvements and organizational efficiencies manage a staff of 4 including ar, ap and fund accountant functions. "
The three companies that hire the most senior accounting managers are:
- Deloitte145 senior accounting managers jobs
- ZOOM+Care96 senior accounting managers jobs
- Tarrant County College
89 senior accounting managers jobs
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Compare different senior accounting managers
Senior accounting manager vs. Finance controller
A financial controller is primarily in charge of the daily finance activities and accounting functions of a company. Their responsibilities typically revolve around preparing and organizing financial reports, analyzing data and looking out for any discrepancies or inconsistencies, and overseeing the company's overall revenues and expenditures. A financial controller must also maintain documentation, participate in risk assessment and budgeting activities, and develop strategies for profit growth. Furthermore, one must coordinate with other department staff to ensure accuracy, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior accounting manager are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "fp," "balance sheet reconciliations," and "shared services." On the other hand, a job as a finance controller requires skills like "financial controller," "general ledger," "strong analytical," and "excellent interpersonal." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Finance controllers really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $119,209. Comparatively, senior accounting managers tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $112,609.The education levels that finance controllers earn slightly differ from senior accounting managers. In particular, finance controllers are 5.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a senior accounting manager. Additionally, they're 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior accounting manager vs. Corporate controller
A corporate controller is an individual who is responsible for supervising the overall daily accounting operations of an organization. Integral to the financial health of the organization, corporate controllers are required to help the organization with strategic financial decisions through forecasting reports and financial statements. They oversee maintaining accounting records by keeping and storing them in an operable system. Corporate controllers are also required to manage the accounting operations of the organization's subsidiaries.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior accounting manager responsibilities requires skills like "customer service," "accruals," "fp," and "balance sheet reconciliations." But a corporate controller might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "general ledger," "oversight," "tax compliance," and "risk management."
Corporate controllers earn a higher average salary than senior accounting managers. But corporate controllers earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $141,530. Additionally, senior accounting managers earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $112,609 annually.corporate controllers earn similar levels of education than senior accounting managers in general. They're 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior accounting managers in the next 3-5 years?
Thomas King
Department Chair, Director, Master of Accountancy Program, Professor, Accountancy, Case Western Reserve University
Senior accounting manager vs. Division controller
A division controller is typically in charge of overseeing a company division's financial activities and human resources operations. Their role is to set objectives and guidelines, perform audits and assessments, evaluate the workforce performance, handle budgets and timelines, and develop strategies to optimize processes. They must monitor the progress of activities and projects, producing regular reports and presentations to keep the executives informed. Furthermore, as a division controller, it is essential to lead staff and implement the company's policies and regulations.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior accounting manager is likely to be skilled in "senior accounting," "customer service," "ifrs," and "accruals," while a typical division controller is skilled in "oversight," "general ledger," "journal entries," and "financial performance."
Division controllers earn the best pay in the construction industry, where they command an average salary of $105,362. Senior accounting managers earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $112,609.Most division controllers achieve a similar degree level compared to senior accounting managers. For example, they're 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior accounting manager vs. Cash manager
A cash manager is responsible for monitoring cash flow, analyzing financial transactions, and allocating adequate budget and resources for every department's operations. Cash managers conduct data and statistical analysis to determine the company's expenses and financial loss and strategize techniques in minimizing those risks. They also help senior management in identifying business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources and increase profits for the business. A cash manager handles billing disputes, resolves account discrepancies, and submits accurate financial reports.
Types of senior accounting manager
Updated January 8, 2025
