Accounting & Payroll Manager

Vaco; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco by Highspring seeks a Payroll & Accounting Manager to lead global payroll and compensation accounting, ensuring compliance and integrity across jurisdictions. You will oversee multi-state US payroll, vendor relations, and GL reconciliations, partnering with HR, Finance, and auditors.

Responsibilities include budgeting, audits, tax compliance, and system optimizations, with in-office 3 days/week in New York area. 110k–140k base + bonus, hybrid role.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field.
• 7-10+ years in payroll or compensation accounting in a multi-state/global org.
• Strong US GAAP knowledge and accounting fundamentals.
• Experience with payroll platforms, HRIS, and advanced Excel.
• Deep understanding of multi-state and international payroll regulations.
• Hybrid in-office work 3 days/week in NYC or equivalent locations.

Responsibilities

• Global & multi-state payroll leadership across US and international entities.
• Vendor & software management; escalate issues and optimize systems.
• Prepare compensation journal entries, accruals, and GL reconciliations.
• Build budgets/forecasts and support internal/external audits.
• Ensure tax filings and wage/hour compliance across jurisdictions.
• Lead payroll/HRIS implementations and strengthen internal controls.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Vendor management

GL reconciliations

Budgeting & audits

Tax compliance

HRIS & payroll software

Advanced Excel

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting/Finance/Business

Tools

Enterprise payroll platforms

HRIS software

Excel

Job description

Payroll & Accounting Manager

Compensation: $110,000 - $140,000 base + bonus

Location: New York, NY (Hybrid, 3 days/week in-office)

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Payroll & Accounting Manager to lead the administration, oversight, and continuous improvement of global payroll and compensation accounting processes for a growing international enterprise.

Serving as the in-house subject matter expert, this role owns end-to-end multi-state US and international payroll operations, compensation-related general ledger accounting, reconciliations, and vendor relationships. You will partner closely with HR, Finance, external global payroll providers, and auditors to maintain 100% compliance and accounting integrity across multiple jurisdictions.

Key Responsibilities

• Global & Multi-State Payroll Leadership: Oversee and execute multi-state US and international payroll processing, ensuring compliance, timeliness, and precision across global entities (including France, UK, UAE, Australia, Japan, and others).
• Vendor & Software Management: Manage relationships with external payroll service providers and software vendors, serving as the escalation point for issue resolution and system optimizations.
• Compensation Accounting & GL Reconciliations: Prepare compensation-related journal entries, accruals, and ledger account reconciliations. Maintain underlying calculations for salary adjustments, bonuses, and long-term incentive programs.
• Financial Planning & Audit Support: Build budgets and forecasts for all compensation-related expenditures. Lead internal and external audit requests, delivering accurate workpapers and technical explanations.
• Tax Compliance & Controls: Partner with US and international payroll vendors to ensure accurate state, federal, and local tax filings, wage/hour compliance, and statutory reporting.
• Systems & Process Optimization: Lead payroll and HRIS software implementations, evaluate workflows, analyze root causes for discrepancies, and design scalable internal controls.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Professional Experience: 7-10+ years of progressive experience in payroll, compensation accounting, or related financial operations within a complex, multi-state (and ideally global) organization.
• Technical Accounting Foundation: Strong knowledge of US GAAP/general accounting principles, including accruals, GL entries, account reconciliations, and financial reporting.
• Systems Proficiency: Hands-on expertise with enterprise payroll platforms, HRIS software, and advanced Excel functions.
• Regulatory Depth: In-depth understanding of US multi-state and international payroll regulations, tax filings, and wage/hour laws.
• Work Arrangement: Ability to work in-office 3 days/week in Seattle, NYC, or Fort Lauderdale, with flexibility for non-standard hours to support global payroll cycles as needed.

EEO Notice

Vaco by Highspring is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by federal, state or local law.

Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [e-mail].

Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that workplace discrimination is illegal.

Privacy Notice

Vaco by Highspring and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries ("we," "our," or "Vaco by Highspring") respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.

• California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here.
• Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here.
• Residents of all other states may access our policies here.
• Canadian residents may access our policies in English here and in French here.
• Residents of countries governed by GDPR may access our policies here.

Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring's use of AI can be found here (https://www.highspring.com/ai-use-notices/). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client's use of AI products in hiring.

Pay Transparency Notice

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:

• the individual's skill sets, experience and training;
• licensure and certification requirements;
• office location and other geographic considerations;
• other business and organizational needs.

With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses.