Senior Manager – Finance & Accounting

COGNET; Zone 7 Ambattur; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognet HRO is seeking a Senior Manager – Finance & Accounting with strong US GAAP, payroll accounting, and general ledger operations to lead and strengthen F&A service delivery. The role combines technical accounting expertise with strategic leadership across multiple client portfolios and Payroll-related processes.

The candidate will oversee month-end closes, client reporting, and internal controls, driving standardization and automation while building a high-performing team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in commerce, accounting or finance.
• 15+ years of relevant experience in finance & accounting with US focus.
• Strong knowledge of US GAAP and its application to GL accounting and reporting.
• Proficiency with payroll accounting and reconciliations.
• Experience leading multi-client F&A services and improving processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead US GAAP and GL accounting across multiple client portfolios.
• Oversee payroll accounting and payroll-to-GL reconciliation.
• Manage F&A service delivery, SLA adherence and client reporting.
• Engage with client finance teams and drive process improvements.
• Develop and mentor a high-performing accounting team.

Skills

US GAAP

Payroll accounting

General ledger

Month-end close

Internal controls

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Commerce/Accounting/Finance

MBA Finance/CA Inter/CPA (preferred)

Tools

Excel

Payroll systems

Accounting software

Job description

Cognet HRO is a leading Business Process Outsourcing Services Company providing full range of HR and F&A services to US based clients , With over 17 years of rich experience in Payroll Tax, Benefits S & HR Administration, Finance & Accounting , Sales Support . CogNet has been serving the PEO, ASO, HRO and HR Technology spaces since our inception. We help organizations extend their capabilities through simplified implementation, productivity performance measured to the minute, easy collaboration, and transparent pricing built around real time utilization.Our extensive expertise, data library, and workflow development tools accelerates the client implementation process.We have developed a deep expertise of process and technology in our Services , which allows us to rapidly deliver value to our clients. Cognet has been delivering outsourced solutions to the clients around the Globe.

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Manager – Finance &Accounting with strong knowledge of US GAAP, payroll accounting and generalledger operations to lead and strengthen our F&A service delivery.

The successful candidate will combine technical accountingexpertise with operational leadership. The role requires an understanding ofhow payroll transactions, payroll taxes, employee benefit deductions, employerliabilities and client billing interact with the general ledger and financialstatements.

The individual will oversee multiple accounting processes andclient portfolios, ensure the accuracy and timeliness of deliverables,strengthen internal controls, manage client relationships and drivestandardization, automation and continuous improvement.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring the ability toinvestigate complex accounting variances, establish effective reconciliationcontrols, review financial deliverables and develop a high-performing team.

Key Responsibilities

A. US GAAP and General Ledger Accounting

• Apply a strong working knowledge of US GenerallyAccepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) to accounting operations andfinancial reporting.
  
• Oversee general ledger maintenance, journal entries,account reconciliations, trial balance preparation and month-end andquarter-end close activities.
  
• Review accruals, prepayments, provisions, expenseallocations, balance sheet schedules and adjusting journal entries.
  
• Understand the appropriate accounting treatment forpayroll expenses, employer payroll taxes, employee deductions, benefits,accrued compensation and related liabilities.
  
• Review financial statements, management reportingpackages and supporting schedules for accuracy, completeness andconsistency.
  
• Identify accounting discrepancies, investigate rootcauses and ensure appropriate resolution and documentation.
  
• Support accounting policy implementation, auditrequirements and client-specific reporting conventions.
  

B. Payroll Accounting and Reconciliation

• Oversee payroll accounting activities for US-basedclients, ensuring payroll transactions are accurately reflected in thegeneral ledger.
  
• Understand the accounting flow for gross wages, netpay, employer payroll taxes, employee tax withholdings, benefitsdeductions, retirement contributions and other payroll-relatedliabilities.
  
• Review reconciliations between payroll systems, payrolltax systems, bank statements and general ledger accounts.
  
• Ensure payroll registers, payroll summaries, taxliabilities, funding reports and accounting entries reconcileappropriately.
  
• Investigate differences arising from payrolladjustments, voids, reversals, off-cycle payrolls, timing differences andprior-period corrections.
  
• Monitor payroll clearing accounts, accrued payroll,payroll tax payable, benefits payable and other payroll-related balancesheet accounts.
  
• Validate payroll-related accruals and period-endcut-off, ensuring expenses and liabilities are recorded in the appropriateaccounting period.
  
• Work with payroll operations and tax teams to resolvediscrepancies and strengthen end-to-end controls.
  
• Ensure reconciliations are supported by appropriatedocumentation and completed within agreed deadlines.
  

C. Finance & Accounting Service Delivery

• Manage day-to-day delivery across multiple F&Aprocesses and client accounts.
  
• Oversee bank and balance sheet reconciliations,accounts payable, vendor payments, accounts receivable monitoring, journalentries and general ledger support.
  
• Review client billing support, invoice reconciliationsand financial data imports and exports between operational platforms andaccounting systems.
  
• Ensure accurate trial balances, financial reportingpackages, management books and audit schedules.
  
• Establish review mechanisms, maker-checker controls,escalation protocols and documented standard operating procedures.
  
• Monitor service-level agreements (SLAs), turnaroundtimes, accuracy, productivity and client-specific deliverables.
  
• Manage accounting backlogs, aged reconciling items,exceptions and unresolved transactions through structured follow-up.
  

D. Client Management and Stakeholder Engagement

• Act as a senior point of contact for US clients onaccounting operations, payroll accounting reconciliations and financialreporting matters.
  
• Participate in client review meetings, operationaldiscussions, transition planning and process improvement initiatives.
  
• Explain accounting variances, reconciliationdifferences, control gaps and corrective actions clearly to clients andinternal stakeholders.
  
• Coordinate with client finance teams, payroll teams,tax teams and technology stakeholders to resolve issues.
  
• Manage escalations professionally and ensure timelycommunication of risks, dependencies and deliverables.
  
• Support new client transitions, process documentation,knowledge transfer and stabilization of accounting operations.
  

E. Team Leadership and People Development

• Lead, coach and develop a team of accountingprofessionals, team leaders and subject matter experts.
  
• Establish clear ownership, review responsibilities,performance expectations and escalation procedures.
  
• Monitor team capacity, workload distribution,productivity and quality.
  
• Develop team members’ knowledge of US GAAP, payrollaccounting, reconciliation techniques and financial reporting.
  
• Build a strong review culture focused on accuracy,accountability, documentation and timely delivery.
  
• Conduct performance reviews, identify skill gaps andimplement structured training and development plans.
  

F. Process Improvement, Controls and Automation

• Identify opportunities to standardize accountingprocesses, eliminate manual effort and improve operational efficiency.
  
• Drive automation of reconciliations, journal entries,exception reporting and recurring financial reports where appropriate.
  
• Use advanced Excel, reporting tools and accountingsystems to improve visibility and decision-making.
  
• Develop dashboards to monitor SLA adherence,reconciliation status, aged items, quality, productivity and clientdeliverables.
  
• Strengthen internal controls, audit trails, segregationof duties and data confidentiality.
  
• Lead root-cause analysis and corrective and preventiveactions to reduce recurring errors.
  
• Support process transitions, documentation, continuousimprovement and scalable service delivery.
  

Requirements

Required Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Accounting or Finance;M.Com, MBA Finance, CA Inter, CPA or equivalent professionalqualifications are preferred.
  
• Approximately 15 years of relevant experience inFinance & Accounting, general ledger, accounting operations orfinancial services, with meaningful experience in US accounting.
  
• Demonstrable working knowledge of US GAAP and itsapplication to general ledger accounting, financial reporting, accrualsand period-end close.
  
• Strong practical experience in payroll accountingand payroll-to-general-ledger reconciliation.
  
• Experience reconciling payroll registers, payroll taxliabilities, bank transactions, clearing accounts and general ledgerbalances.
  
• Experience managing month-end close, accountreconciliations, journal entries, trial balances and financial reporting.
  
• Prior experience managing teams and reviewingaccounting deliverables.
  
• Experience in a US-focused BPO, shared services,accounting outsourcing, payroll services, PEO, ASO or HRO environment isstrongly preferred.
  
• Exposure to US payroll platforms, payroll tax systemsand general ledger applications is desirable.
  
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel, includinglookups, pivot tables, reconciliation analysis and data validation.
  
• Excellent written and verbal English communicationskills, with the ability to interact professionally with US clients.
  
• Willingness to work in a schedule that providesappropriate overlap with US business hours.
  

Technical Knowledge and Competencies

The ideal candidate should demonstrate practical knowledge of:

• US GAAP and general ledger accounting.
  
• Payroll accounting and payroll-related balance sheetreconciliations.
  
• US federal, state and local payroll tax concepts andassociated liabilities.
  
• Employee benefit deductions, employer contributions andretirement-related accounting.
  
• Bank reconciliations, accounts payable, accountsreceivable and client billing support.
  
• Month-end and quarter-end close processes.
  
• Accruals, journal entries, trial balances and financialreporting.
  
• Audit documentation, internal controls and compliancesupport.
  
• Accounting systems, payroll platforms and financialdata integrations.
  
• Advanced Excel, analytical problem-solving and processautomation.