Accounting Manager Job Description

Salary Range

$125,490 - $219,980

Experience

Mid-career to senior

Work Environment

Corporate or campus finance office

What Does an Accounting Manager Do?

Lenders and auditors trust an organization's numbers only when its statements come out clean and on time. The accounting manager produces those statements for companies, public agencies and colleges. The pressure peaks when the books close each month and at year-end, as every reconciliation gets a second look and every large variance needs an explanation for the controller.

Also known as: Director of Accounting

Other Job Titles for This Work

Workers in this occupation report titles such as Accounting Supervisor, Banking Center Manager (BCM), Branch Manager, Business Banking Manager, Credit Administration Manager, Credit Manager, Financial Center Manager, Financial Planning Manager.

Accounting Manager Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of an accounting manager include:

• Run the monthly and year-end close, setting deadlines and checking that every account is reconciled.
• Review journal entries and account reconciliations prepared by staff accountants before they post.
• Prepare monthly financial statements and explain large variances to the controller or finance director.
• Supervise accountants and clerks; assign work, train new hires and write annual performance reviews.
• Coordinate the annual external audit and answer auditors' requests for schedules and support.
• Design and test internal controls over cash, payables and payroll to prevent errors and fraud.
• Keep accounting policies in line with GAAP and rewrite procedures when standards or systems change.
• Build month-end reports in Excel or the ERP for department heads and senior leadership.
• Lead testing of new modules and workflows when the organization upgrades its accounting software.
• Resolve unusual transactions, such as asset disposals or intercompany charges, with the right accounting treatment.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as an accounting manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• Strong command of GAAP and accrual accounting
• CPA license, preferred by many employers
• Advanced Excel, including pivot tables and XLOOKUP
• Oracle, SAP, Workday or a similar ERP
• Supervising, training and reviewing staff accountants
• Month-end close and reconciliation review
• Explaining the numbers to managers outside finance
• Calm judgement under close and audit deadlines

Education and Training

Senior accountant is the job most accounting managers hold before they are trusted with the monthly close. A bachelor's degree in accounting is the usual requirement, and BLS puts the typical experience for financial managers at five years or more. Larger companies and public universities often favor candidates who add a CPA license or a master's degree in accounting.

Salary and Job Outlook

According to BLS, employment of financial managers is projected to grow about 10 percent from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 65,600 openings a year. Those figures cover a wider group that also takes in controllers, treasurers and finance directors. Openings in this field often are tied to the state of the economy, but accounting managers always will be needed as organizations grow and as auditors, lenders and boards keep asking for clean statements.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Financial managers.

Accounting Manager Pay Range

Highest-Paying States for Accounting Managers

The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are New York ($219,880), Massachusetts ($206,760), New Jersey ($199,110), District of Columbia ($188,880), Virginia ($185,220). Pay is lowest in Arkansas ($116,570), West Virginia ($113,140), Mississippi ($111,390).

What the Work Is Like

O*NET surveys people who work as financial managers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:

• 100% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
• 99% use email every day
• 95% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
• 93% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
• 85% spend more than half the workday sitting
• 73% usually work more than 40 hours a week
• 58% are on the phone every day

Education Workers Say the Job Needs

Tools and Software Accounting Managers Use

Tools and equipment

• 10-key calculators
• Desktop computers
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers
• Personal digital assistants PDA
• Scanners
• Tablet computers

Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• SAP software
• Adobe Acrobat
• Alteryx software
• IBM SPSS Statistics
• Intuit QuickBooks
• Marketo Marketing Automation
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Project

Is This Job a Good Fit for You?

People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.

Skills O*NET rates most important: Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Writing, Monitoring.

Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Economics and Accounting, Mathematics, Administrative.

Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 4 of 5, which means considerable preparation.

Related Careers

These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:

• Chief Financial Officer job description
• Bank Manager job description
• Accounts Payable Manager job description
• Accounts Receivable Manager job description
• Budget Director job description
• Bursar job description
• Controller job description
• Payroll Manager job description

Applying for an Accounting Manager Job

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