Senior Staff Accountant

Genuine Parts Company; Plainfield, Northern (IN, KY); Hybrid; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Genuine Parts Company, based in Indianapolis, seeks a meticulous Senior Staff Accountant to join North America Global Business Services – Finance. The role supports month-end close, journal entries, reconciliations, and analysis, and partners with cross-functional teams on budgeting, forecasting and financial planning.

You will drive process improvements in reserves and inventory accounting, assist audits, and provide management with financial insights to support decision making.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in accounting and/or 5 years experience in Accounting/Finance.
• CPA certification required.
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in financial modeling, forecasting, and budgeting techniques.

Responsibilities

• Participate in the month-end close process, including journal entries and reconciliations.
• Lead analysis and management of financial reserves for accurate reporting and compliance.
• Develop and implement strategies to monitor and optimize financial reserves and reduce risk.
• Assist with audits by providing documentation and explanations.
• Analyze data to identify variances and opportunities for improvement.

Skills

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor’s degree in accounting

CPA Certification

Tools

PeopleSoft

Job description

Job Summary

North America Global Business Services – Finance is seeking a meticulous Senior Staff Accountant to join the team at its Indianapolis campus. This role prepares and analyzes financial information, manages account reconciliations, supports close and reporting activities, and identifies accounting process improvements. The position also partners with cross-functional teams on budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and management decision‑making.

Position Performance Measures:

• Timely completion of tasks (maintaining/meeting deadlines on a daily/monthly and ad hoc basis)
• Quality of tasks (accuracy - lacking errors and providing meaningful documentation to support entries and/or position when decisions are made)
• Capacity (ability to maintain / manage volume of locations – which can be impacted by the complexity of said locations/business)

Responsibilities

Accounting

• Participate in the month-end close process, including the preparation and/or review of journal entries, account reconciliations, variance explanations and other financial information and supporting schedules.
• Lead the analysis and management of financial reserves to ensure accurate financial reporting and compliance with accounting standards.
• Develop and implement strategies to monitor and optimize financial reserves, minimizing risk and financial exposure.
• Ensure adherence to company policies and external regulations related to inventory accounting and reserves.
• Assist with internal and external audits by providing necessary documentation, explanations, and support.
• Analyze financial data and trends to identify variances, anomalies, and opportunities for improvement.
• Act as the subject matter expert for assigned areas of responsibility and interact with all levels of management regarding issues related to specific areas.
• Assist in the design and implementation of new controls in response to process changes, system implementations, or identified deficiencies from internal/external audits.
• Other duties as assigned

Strategic Decision Support

• Use operational and financial data to provide financial insights and analytical support to senior leadership to evaluate strategic initiatives, investment opportunities, and business performance
• Conduct ad-hoc financial analyses and modeling to support decision-making and drive business growth.

Reporting and Performance Measurement

• Develop and maintain ledgers, systems, financial models and dashboards to track financial metrics
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual financial and operational reports for senior management, creating charts and visual presentations to highlight trends and foster understanding

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Support various stakeholders across the organization by reporting and tracking of business drivers, financial impacts, and progress toward strategic objectives
• Assist with internal and external audits by providing necessary documentation, explanations, and support.
• Collaborate with accounting, operations, and other departments to ensure consistency of information between financial plans and operational execution

Process Improvement

• Continuously evaluate and streamline financial planning processes and tools in areas of responsibility to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and scalability
• Identify opportunities for process improvement and automation to drive productivity and effectiveness.
• Train, document and update process and procedures for staff.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Thinking: able to view the function as part of the whole, actively innovate and communicate the strategic priorities, particularly in their financial implications.
• Clear Communication: Present and influence with clarity and accuracy to executive level stakeholders.
• Driving Performance: targets opportunities, engages others and creates accountability.
• Responsive & Change Oriented: understands managements’ need for insight and growth- oriented forecasting and modeling.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in accounting and/or 5 years experience in Accounting/Finance
• CPA Required
• Basic knowledge of concepts, practices, and procedures as relates to general ledger accounting
• Advanced analytical skills and strong proficiency in financial modeling, forecasting, and budgeting techniques
• Strong analytical skills
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively communicate financial information to non-financial stakeholders
• Problem solving abilities
• Detail oriented
• Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple priorities with attention to detail

Preferred Qualifications

• Public Accounting background
• PeopleSoft experience

Leadership

• Embodies the following values: serve, perform, influence, respect, innovate, team.
• Effectively communicates by motivating and inspiring others through clear and proactive communication.
• Delivers results and drives customer success by committing and focusing on outcomes to deliver results and making the customer the center of decisions.
• Makes balanced decisions and thinks strategically by being a forward thinker.
• Develops high-performing teams by providing inclusive leadership, attracting and developing world-class talent, providing ongoing feedback, and building trust across the organization.

Physical Demands / Working Environment

• Work performed in a typical office environment.
• Ability to travel as needed, up to 15%.

GPC conducts its business without regard to sex, race, creed, color, religion, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, military status, status as a veteran, or any other protected characteristic. GPC's policy is to recruit, hire, train, promote, assign, transfer and terminate employees based on their own ability, achievement, experience and conduct and other legitimate business reasons.