Senior Staff Accountant

Shutts & Bowen LLP; Miami (FL); On-site; USD 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

A reputable law firm in Miami is seeking a Senior Staff Accountant to support day-to-day financial operations and contribute to compliance and reporting processes. The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance and 5–7 years of experience, preferably in a law firm setting. Responsibilities include preparing financial statements, managing tax filings, and improving financial processes. Strong expertise in general ledger and accounting software, particularly Aderant, is essential for success in this role.

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of progressive accounting experience in a law firm is preferred.
• Ability to manage financial statements and tax filings.
• Proven experience in legal-specific accounting practices.

Responsibilities

• Prepare financial statements, reports, and monthly analysis.
• Assist with month-end and year-end closing processes.
• Coordinate and prepare state and local tax filings.

Skills

General ledger knowledge

Reconciliations

Advanced Excel skills

Tax reporting

Adaptability to technology

Analytical problem-solving

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance

Master’s degree in Accounting or Finance

Tools

Excel

Aderant

Job description

Overview

Shutts & Bowen, a full-service law firm serving clients locally, nationally, and internationally, is seeking a Senior Staff Accountant to join the Finance team in the Miami office. This role supports the firm’s day-to-day financial operations while contributing to process improvements, compliance, and scalable financial reporting.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Director of Finance with preparing financial statements, reports, and analysis monthly.
• Reconcile bank statements, credit card statements, and other financial accounts to ensure accuracy and completeness.
• Assist with month-end and year-end closing processes, including preparing and adjusting journal entries and account reconciliations.
• Responsible for processing accounts payable entry activities.
• Reviewing, Printing, and releasing check payments and working with Accounts Payable to process payments to vendors.
• Contribute to developing and implementing internal controls to safeguard financial assets.
• Maintain, analyze, and update general ledger entries.
• Assist in posting transactions to the general ledger.
• Perform general ledger account reviews and reconciliations, including identifying, investigating, and resolving misclassifications or errors.
• Maintain and update the General Ledger Chart of Accounts.
• Assist with month-end and year-end closings, including journal entries, account reconciliations, and account analysis.
• Maintain and reconcile the fixed asset subledger, including recording additions, disposals, monthly depreciation, and supporting fixed asset tax reporting and compliance.
• Coordinate and prepare state and local tax filings, including business license taxes, sales and use taxes, and property tax filings across multiple jurisdictions.
• Monitor tax deadlines, maintain compliance calendars, and ensure timely filing and documentation.
• Support external tax advisors during annual tax return preparation and review of financial statements.
• Reconcile and ensure compliance for trust/IOLTA accounts.
• Prepare financial reports and assist with responses to audits, surveys, and tax filings.
• Assist in reviewing and developing SOPs and process workflows for automation, efficiency, standardization, and consistency.
• Assist with the annual budgeting process.
• Provide ad hoc reporting (including tax reporting), analysis, and special projects.
• Identify and recommend opportunities to leverage technology, automation, and AI tools to improve finance analysis, reporting, workflows, and compliance processes.
• Lead and manage the unclaimed property process, reviewing financial reports to identify outstanding checks and escheating items to the state.

Education And Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance
• Master’s degree in Accounting or Finance preferred
• 5–7 years of progressive accounting experience
• Preferred experience working as an Accountant in a medium to large law firm (50+ lawyers a plus)

Key Skills And Competencies

• Strong working knowledge of general ledger, reconciliations, depreciation, and amortizations
• Substantial work experience in the required essential accounting deliverables
• Proven experience with accounting principles, tax reporting, and trust accounting
• Proficiency in legal-specific accounting software such as Aderant is preferred.
• Advanced Excel skills required (e.g., VLOOKUPs, XLOOKUPs, SUMIFS, pivot tables, data analysis)
• Adaptability to new technology
• High attention to detail, ability to self-review, and commitment to accuracy
• Demonstrated ability to adopt and apply technology to improve accounting processes
• Strong ability to work within teams and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Self-starter willing to drive initiatives and contribute ideas for continuous improvement. Excellent organization skills, acute attention to detail, and ability to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced and time-sensitive environment
• Strong business/professional communication skills, both written and verbal
• Analytical problem-solving skills

Physical Demands

• An employee must meet the physical demands described here to perform the essential functions of this job successfully: typing/using a keyboard and writing by hand.
• The employee is regularly required to talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close and distance vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

This job description describes the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position. It is not intended to include all duties and responsibilities.

Shutts & Bowen is an Equal Opportunity Employer.