CAS Supervisor

Ascend; Birmingham (AL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Ascend's Client Accounting & Advisory Services (CAAS) team in Alabama seeks a Client Accounting Supervisor to manage day-to-day accounting for a portfolio of clients using a modern, cloud-based tech stack.

You'll mentor staff, review work for accuracy, and build advisory relationships that lead toward a Manager role, while using AI-enabled tools to automate routine tasks and improve client service.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or related field is required or equivalent experience.
• 3–5 years progressive accounting experience; client-facing experience is a plus.
• Excellent communication and client-service skills with strong attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Oversee general ledger activity, reconciliations, and preparation of financial statements for a book of clients.
• Review Client Accountants' work for accuracy before final sign-off.
• Be the day-to-day client contact, answer questions, resolve routine issues, and advise clients on their financials.
• Own deadlines by ensuring deliverables are accurate and timely, and flag risks early to the Manager.
• Teach and mentor Client Accountants on accounting fundamentals, firm procedures, and tech platforms.
• Work daily in cloud accounting platforms and AI-enabled tools, driving automation of manual tasks.

Skills

Cloud accounting

Xero

QuickBooks Online

Advisory mindset

Client-facing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting or related field

Tools

Dext

Ramp

AI-enabled tools

Job description

About Ascend

Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a dynamic platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a Top 25 firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition and training, leading quality management resources, best-of-breed technology, AI tools, an offshore captive, shared back-office services, a catalytic leadership system, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount today’s industry challenges to reach their full potential. For more information, visit www.ascendtogether.com.

About Ascend

Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a dynamic platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a Top 25 firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition and training, leading quality management resources, best-of-breed technology, AI tools, an offshore captive, shared back-office services, a catalytic leadership system, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount today’s industry challenges to reach their full potential. For more information, visit www.ascendtogether.com.

Jackson Thornton is now a member of Ascend Partner Services, a PE-backed growth partner.

About Jackson Thornton CAAS

Jackson Thornton is one of Alabama's oldest and largest accounting firms, with six offices across the state. Our Client Accounting & Advisory Services (CAAS) team pairs technical expertise with a personal touch, acting as an outsourced accounting department for small and mid-sized businesses. We're modernizing quickly: moving client accounting onto modern cloud-based platforms, standing up a dedicated payroll department to own payroll end-to-end, and using AI-enabled tools to automate repetitive work so our people can spend more time advising clients.

The Role

The Client Accounting Supervisor manages day-to-day accounting for an assigned group of clients and is the first line of review and support for Client Accountants. You'll do hands-on accounting work in a modern, cloud-based tech stack, catch and correct issues before they reach the client, mentor staff, and build the advisory relationships and leadership skills that lead toward a Manager role. This seat is for someone who wants to grow beyond compliance work into a genuine advisor to clients.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage client accounting by overseeing general ledger activity, reconciliations, and preparation of financial statements and other deliverables for an assigned group of clients.
• Review Client Accountants' work for accuracy and completeness before it moves up for final sign-off, with real-time coaching.
• Be the day-to-day client contact by fielding questions, resolving routine issues, and identifying opportunities to advise clients on their financials.
• Own deadlines by ensuring deliverables across your book are accurate and on time, and flagging risks to the Manager early.
• Teach and mentor by training Client Accountants on accounting fundamentals, firm procedures, and the technology platforms in use.
• Use and champion technology by working daily in modern cloud accounting platforms and AI-enabled workflow tools, and driving opportunities to automate manual work.
• Solve problems by identifying and correcting inaccuracies in client-provided records, and recommending better processes to clients and internally.

What You'll Bring

• Modern platform fluency:
  • Hands-on, working fluency with cloud accounting platforms — Xero and/or QuickBooks Online — and the surrounding app ecosystem (e.g., Dext, Ramp, and similar tools).
  • Ability to work comfortably in a paperless, automated, cloud-first environment and are eager to adopt AI-enabled tools rather than tied to legacy desktop processes.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 3–5 years of progressive accounting experience; prior review, lead, or client-facing experience a plus.
• CPA not required; candidates pursuing a CPA or other credential are encouraged to apply.
• Problem-solving & advisory instinct with the ability to identify and correct inaccuracies in client records and guide clients toward better processes and decisions.
• Payroll awareness and general understanding of payroll concepts is helpful for client conversations, even though processing is handled by Jackson Thornton's dedicated payroll department.
• Excellent communication and client-service skills along with strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment as well as experience improving processes and adopting new tools as the practice evolves.

Why This Role

CAAS is building a modern, cloud-first practice — standardized workflows, an app-driven tech stack, and AI-enabled automation that takes repetitive work off the team's plate — plus a dedicated payroll department so this role stays focused on accounting, advisory, and people leadership. If you want to help shape how a growing practice works rather than just execute the old way, this is that seat. It's a strong track for accountants who want to become trusted advisors to their clients and grow into engagement leadership.

At Ascend, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Ascend hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.