Staff Accountant

Job Title: Staff Accountant Job Description
The Staff Accountant supports the day-to-day accounting operations of a growing organization, with a primary focus on general ledger accounting, month-end close activities, account reconciliations, journal entries, financial reporting, and variance analysis. This role offers broad exposure across corporate accounting, close, reporting, and analysis, and provides the opportunity to work closely with accounting leadership in a stable, collaborative, and development-focused environment.
Responsibilities
- Prepare and post month-end journal entries accurately and on time.
- Perform monthly bank reconciliations and balance sheet reconciliations, ensuring all accounts are properly supported.
- Maintain and reconcile general ledger accounts, identifying and correcting discrepancies as needed.
- Review expense accounts for proper coding and make necessary adjustments to ensure accurate financial reporting.
- Assist with monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statement preparation in accordance with GAAP.
- Perform income statement and balance sheet variance analysis, explaining key drivers and trends.
- Research and resolve account discrepancies and variances in a timely and thorough manner.
- Support internal and external audit requests by preparing schedules, documentation, and responding to inquiries.
- Prepare ad hoc financial reports and analysis as requested by leadership.
- Assist accounting leadership with ongoing projects and process improvements to enhance efficiency and accuracy.
- Support monthly, quarterly, and year-end close processes, ensuring deadlines are met.
- Contribute to financial reporting and analysis activities, including income statement variance analysis and other reporting needs.
- Apply advanced Excel skills to support reconciliations, reporting, and financial analysis.
- Maintain accurate financial records and handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately.
- Support payroll audit and fixed asset accounting activities as needed.
- Identify and correct account coding or reconciliation issues, ensuring adherence to internal controls and standard accounting procedures.
- Collaborate with team members and cross-train across different accounting functions and responsibilities.
Essential Skills
- Bachelors degree in Accounting or Finance.
- 25 years of Staff Accountant or related general accounting experience.
- Strong knowledge of GAAP and standard accounting procedures.
- Hands-on experience with general ledger accounting and month-end close processes.
- Proven experience preparing and posting journal entries.
- Experience performing bank reconciliations and balance sheet reconciliations.
- Experience assisting with financial statement preparation and financial reporting.
- Experience performing income statement and balance sheet variance analysis.
- Advanced Excel skills, including pivots and VLOOKUP, for reconciliations, reporting, and analysis.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with the ability to research and resolve account discrepancies.
- Excellent attention to detail and accuracy when working with financial data.
- Strong organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet recurring month-end deadlines.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently while contributing effectively within a team environment.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive financial information appropriately.
- Experience supporting internal and external audit requests.
- Strong understanding of internal controls and general accounting best practices.
Additional Skills & Qualifications
- Experience with Oracle or Oracle Cloud ERP systems.
- Experience with fixed asset accounting.
- Experience with payroll audit and related audit support activities.
- Experience preparing ad hoc reports and supporting special accounting projects.
- Experience identifying and correcting account coding or reconciliation issues.
- Comfort working in a corporate accounting environment with broad exposure across close, reporting, and analysis.
- CPA license or progress toward CPA certification is a plus, but not required.
- Demonstrated time management skills and ability to work under tight deadlines.
- Comfort asking questions, learning from feedback, and contributing to process improvements.
Work Environment
This role operates in a hybrid work environment with one required in-office day per week, currently scheduled for Tuesdays. The accounting team is well-established, stable, and known for strong employee retention and consistent processes. The culture is supportive and collaborative, where team members encourage questions, continuous learning, and development. The position offers broad exposure across month-end close, journal entries, reconciliations, variance analysis, financial reporting, and fixed asset accounting, with opportunities for cross-training in different accounting functions. Team members use tools such as Excel (including pivots and VLOOKUP) and enterprise systems like Oracle or Oracle Cloud to perform reconciliations, reporting, and financial analysis. The environment emphasizes professionalism, accuracy, confidentiality, and a balance of routine accounting tasks with more analytical work and process improvement initiatives.
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract position based out of Downers Grove, IL.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $33.65 - $38.50/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job
classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be
subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits
available for this temporary role may include the following:

Medical, dental & vision
Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
Short and long-term disability
Health Spending Account (HSA)
Transportation benefits
Employee Assistance Program
Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)
Job Type & Location
This is a Contract position based out of Downers Grove, IL.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Nov 17, 2026.
Workplace Type
This is a hybrid position in Downers Grove,IL.

About Aston Carter

Aston Carter provides world-class corporate talent solutions to thousands of clients across the globe. Specialized in accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions, we extend the capabilities of industry-leading companies. We draw on our deep recruiting expertise and expansive network to meet the evolving needs of our clients and talent community with agility and excellence. With offices across the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe, Aston Carter serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® Platinum Award winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [email protected] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.