Reports to: Business Manager (primary); Partners (firm-level financial reporting and planning)
Status: Full-time, salaried, exempt
About the Role:
The Accounting Manager is responsible for the firm’s day-to-day financial operations and internal financial controls. This is a middle-management role with primary responsibility for accounting operations, billing and collections oversight, cash management, payroll administration, budgeting support, and financial reporting for firm leadership. The Accounting Manager exercises independent judgment on matters of significance, including implementing and maintaining firm financial procedures, working directly with attorneys on trust/IOLTA requirements, and coordinating with outside professionals (banking, payroll, and accounting/tax).
The Accounting Manager provides day-to-day direction to the billing team and certain office administrative staff, jointly with the Business Manager. The Business Manager retains overall management responsibility for firm administration; the Accounting Manager exercised control over daily execution, control processes, and deliverables.
Essential duties and responsibilities:
• Manages day-to-day accounting operations, including cash receipts/deposits, credit card activity, disbursements, and accounts payable workflows, with appropriate controls.
• Maintains the general ledger, prepares required journal entries, and supports accurate month-end close and financial statement preparation.
• Performs and/or oversees daily account monitoring and month-end reconciliations; investigates and resolves discrepancies.
• Oversees billing and accounts receivable, including prebill workflow, invoice finalization and delivery (mail/email/e-billing), collections follow-up, and resolution of client billing issues (including e-billing rejections and appeals) in coordination with attorneys.
• Develops and maintains billing/collections procedures and reporting (aging, cash forecasting, and related management reports) in coordination with the Business Manager and partners.
• Prepares periodic financial reporting for partners and outside accounting/tax professionals, including income statement, cash flow, and budget-to-actual reporting.
• Supports annual budgeting and ongoing budget management, including variance tracking and recommendations to firm leadership.
• Administers bi-weekly payroll processing and related recordkeeping, coordinating with the firm’s payroll provider.
• Manages and reconciles line-of-credit activity and related accounting entries and reporting.
• Works with attorneys to maintain trust/IOLTA compliance, including trust reconciliations, investigation/resolution of trust balance issues, and periodic trust cleanup projects.
• Coordinates year-end and periodic audit/compliance support, including documentation for outside accountants, lenders, client audits, and similar requests.
• Maintains finance-related systems and operational controls as assigned, including real estate closing financial processing support (disbursements/wires), expense reimbursement and petty cash controls, stale/uncashed checks and unclaimed property processes, rate updates, and finance-related client/matter setup controls.
Supervisory and leadership responsibilities:
• Provides day-to-day functional supervision (jointly with the Business Manager) for a billing clerk and designated office administrative staff.
• Assigns and prioritizes billing and finance-related work; sets expectations for timeliness and accuracy; establishes and maintains written procedures; trains staff on systems and workflows; monitors work quality and resolves issues.
Working relationships and communication:
• Works directly with partners and attorneys on billing status, collections strategy, client billing requirements, and matter-specific billing issues; provides timely, actionable financial information to support firm decision-making.
• Coordinates with the Business Manager on firm operations, budgeting, staffing needs within the finance function, and implementation of firm policies affecting finance and billing.
Systems and confidentiality:
• Maintains confidentiality and security of firm financial data, payroll data, and client financial information.
• Maintains proficiency in the firm’s financial and billing systems (including practice management/billing software), banking platforms, and payroll systems; recommends process improvements and technology enhancements.
Requirements:
• Education: Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field preferred; equivalent combination of education and experience considered.
• Experience: 5+ years of progressively responsible accounting/finance experience, including responsibility for reconciliations, reporting, and billing/A/R operations; prior supervisory or lead responsibilities strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience working with multiple accounts and account types, managing cash flow and reconciliations in a multi-account environment, and producing management-level reporting.
• Demonstrated experience with specialized finance/billing software and tools for invoicing, e-billing, cost tracking, and financial analysis; payroll processing experience required (ADP preferred).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills