Senior Staff Accountant — Growth Path to Controller

Cognesense; Hillside (IL); On-site; USD 75,000 - 97,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with company match

PTO and 10 paid holidays

Opportunity to grow with a team—senior

Job summary

CogneSense is seeking a Senior Staff Accountant in Hillside, IL to join its growing accounting team. You will own the month-end close, financial reporting, and reconciliations across multiple entities and oversee accounts payable and sales tax compliance.

This role rewards a detail-oriented, hands-on professional who enjoys building processes, solving problems, and improving routines as the finance function scales with the company growth and system upgrades.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of progressive accounting experience, preferably in manufacturing or multi-entity environments.
• Strong working knowledge of GAAP and month-end close processes.
• Experience with accounts payable oversight and multi-state sales tax compliance.
• Proficient with Excel (VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, pivot tables) and ERP systems.
• CPA or CPA-track is preferred, not required.

Responsibilities

• Assist with month-end close, including journal entries, accruals, prepaids, and reclasses.
• Prepare and explain variances for budget vs actual and management reporting packages.
• Oversee full-cycle A/P, vendor statements, and tax compliance.
• Maintain reconciliations for balance sheet accounts and fixed assets.
• Support intercompany transactions and ERP modernization initiatives.

Skills

GAAP knowledge

Month-end close

Account reconciliations

A/P oversight

Sales tax compliance

Excel (Advanced)

Communication

Detail-oriented

Cross-entity accounting

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance

CPA (preferred, progress toward)

Tools

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

ERP system

Excel

Job description

CogneSense is seeking a Senior Staff Accountant in Hillside, IL to join its growing accounting team. You will own the month-end close, financial reporting, and reconciliations across multiple entities and oversee accounts payable and sales tax compliance.

This role rewards a detail-oriented, hands-on professional who enjoys building processes, solving problems, and improving routines as the finance function scales with the company growth and system upgrades.