Staff Accountant II

Southern Co.; Naperville (IL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Southern Co. is seeking a Staff Accountant II in the Revenue Accounting department to analyze and reconcile billed and unbilled revenue, support month-end close, and ensure financial and regulatory reporting accuracy.

The role collaborates with Billing, Credit, IT, Regulatory, and other partners to investigate variances, implement process improvements, and support automation initiatives; escheatment, tax reporting, and audit support may be involved.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting is required.
• 2–4 years of accounting experience.
• Experience with month-end close.
• Experience preparing journal entries and reconciliations.
• Experience with customer billing is a plus.
• Experience with escheatment/unclaimed property is a plus.
• Experience analyzing large data sets with Excel or reporting tools.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience identifying process improvements.
• Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.
• Utility industry experience is preferred but not required.
• Experience with Oracle ERP and reporting tools preferred.

Responsibilities

• Analyze daily billing transactions to ensure data integrity.
• Review customer refund transactions for reasonableness.
• Prepare journal entries for month-end close.
• Perform controls to ensure revenue recognition is complete.
• Investigate discrepancies and expand as needed.
• Process unclaimed property transactions and escheatment cycles.
• Prepare monthly tax payments and returns.
• Collaborate with Billing, Credit, and IT to resolve issues.
• Provide information to internal and external auditors as required.
• Prepare standard financial/regulatory reports and ad hoc queries.
• Perform monthly account reconciliations and resolve issues.

Skills

GAAP knowledge

Analytical skills

Attention to detail

Communication

Prioritization

Root cause analysis

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting

Tools

Pivot Tables

VLOOKUP

Power Automate

Copilot

Data extracts

Job description

This position within the Revenue Accounting department is responsible for preparing, analyzing, and reconciling billed and unbilled revenue transactions to ensure the accuracy and completeness of financial and regulatory reporting. The role supports the month-end close process, account reconciliations, internal controls, and regulatory compliance activities. The Staff Accountant II will collaborate with Billing, Credit, IT, Regulatory, and other business partners to investigate variances, resolve issues, improve processes, and support automation initiatives. Additional responsibilities may include customer refunds, unclaimed property (escheatment), tax reporting, audit support, and data analysis.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

• - Bachelor’s degree in Accounting required
• - 2 - 4 years of accounting experience
• - Experience with month-end close required
• - Experience preparing journal entries and accounting reconciliations required
• - Experience with customer billing is a plus
• - Experience with escheatment and unclaimed property a plus
• - Experience analyzing large volumes of data using Excel or other reporting tools.
• - Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• - Experience in identifying and implementing process improvements.
• - Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities in a deadline-driven environment.
• - Utility industry experience preferred but not required.
• - Experience working with ERP systems such as Oracle
• - Experience with reporting and query tools preferred.

MAJOR JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• - Analyze daily transactions from the billing system to ensure data integrity.
• - Review customer refund transactions for reasonableness.
• - Prepare journal entries as required for month end close.
• - Perform controls as assigned to ensure revenue recognized is complete.
• - Must be able to recognize discrepancies and investigate and/or expand as appropriate.
• - Process unclaimed property transactions, including loading records into the database and coordinating reissuance of payments, as required for each escheatment cycle .
• - Prepare tax payment requests and required returns monthly.
• - Work with Billing, Credit, and IT to research issues.
• - Provide information to internal and external auditors as required.
• - Prepare standard reports as needed for financial and regulatory reporting.
• - Create queries as needed for ad hoc and new recurring data requests.
• - Perform account reconciliations monthly on assigned accounts and resolve any issues promptly.

Process Improvement

• - Identify opportunities to automate manual accounting processes and improve reporting efficiency.
• - Participate in system enhancements, testing activities, and process improvement initiatives.

Reporting & Data Analytics

• - Analyze large datasets to identify trends, anomalies, and potential reporting issues.
• - Develop and maintain recurring reports, queries, and dashboards to support business needs.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• - Partner with internal departments to resolve billing, refund, revenue, and customer account issues.
• - Support regulatory filings and information requests as needed.

Documentation

• - Maintain process documentation and desktop procedures for assigned responsibilities.
• - Assist with knowledge transfer and cross-training efforts within the department.

SKILLS:

Technical Skills:

• - Strong understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
• - Advanced Excel skills including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP, and data analysis
• - Experience using automation and AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot, Power Automate, or similar technologies
• - Ability to create and maintain queries, reports, and data extracts

Core Competencies:

• - Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills
• - Excellent attention to detail and accuracy
• - Effective written and verbal communication skills
• - Ability to prioritize multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• - Ability to identify root causes and recommend solutions
• - Strong collaboration and customer service mindset