Accounting Manager Job Description

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

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.