Senior Accountant Job Description (Free Template)

I often recommend firms hire senior accountants before juniors.

Hiring senior allows the firm owner to truly delegate – without providing much, or any, oversight.

But if you want to attract the best senior accountants, you’ll need a job description that stands out.

And that’s exactly what I’m sharing with you in this post. 🙂

Table of Contents

• Senior Accountant Job Description Template
• Why Should You Hire Senior Accountants?
• What Should You Include in a Senior Accountant Job Description?

Senior Accountant Job Description Template

Why Should You Hire Senior Accountants?

As your firm grows, you’ll need more people to take on the increasing workload.

My typical recommendation is to hire a senior before hiring juniors. Usually, this means looking to hire a Senior Accountant around the $250k annual revenue mark.

That said, this hire only makes sense if your cash flow allows it. 

A Senior Accountant comes with a significant overhead cost, and while it worked for me when I was running Xen Accounting…

It did put a lot of pressure on my cash flow when I made the hire. 

Make sure your firm can handle it before making the jump.

With that out of the way, here are a few reasons you might want to hire a Senior Accountant:

They Step in So You Can Step Away

If you started your firm to have more work-life balance but still find everything running through you, you’re likely working more hours than you should. 

This is something often associated with traditional firm structures, where all major decisions and approvals funnel through the owner.

However, a senior accountant can take over critical tasks and decisions, so you’re no longer the bottleneck. 

This gives you the freedom to work flexible hours, avoid overtime, and take long vacations — just like one of my Future Firm Accelerate members who enjoyed three weeks off in Hawaii.

They Can Maintain Client Relationships

Client relationships take a lot of time and are very important to your firm’s profitability.

You need people who can handle these relationships and know how to communicate effectively.

Most senior accountants possess the skills to manage sensitive issues and pinpoint the details that keep clients happy and loyal.

When I was running my firm, I decided to hire a couple of experienced CPAs first. 

Here’s the job posting I used — check out the highlighted sections to see how I made it stand out:

As I mentioned earlier, hiring seniors first put a lot of pressure on my cash flow. 

But in hindsight, choosing this team structure was absolutely the correct move.

Those two hires were able to maintain client relationships and handle other key responsibilities, so I could focus more on growing the firm.

However, transitioning clients to your senior accountant can be tricky — especially when they’re used to emailing or calling you directly. 

Here’s what I recommend:

Once you’ve chosen the right team member as the client’s main point of contact, start involving them in client calls using a structured approach:

1. First Call: Introduce them as your senior accountant and have them observe while you lead.
2. Next Several Calls: Gradually involve them by having them answer questions, provide updates, or handle small parts of the conversation.
3. When Ready: Let them take the lead while you step in only when needed.

They Can Make an Immediate Impact

Senior accountants have the experience needed to step into high-level work right away.

It’s much easier to pull yourself from working inside the business when you have people who can work autonomously from the start.

Here’s an example from one of my Future Firm Accelerate members who shared how hiring a senior accountant made an immediate difference on day one.

They Can Mentor and Guide Junior Accountants

Hiring junior accountants cost less, but training them takes time.

Senior accountants can step in and help train junior accountants, which gives you more time to focus on firm growth.

Mistakes and slow progress made the process frustrating, but having a senior accountant can mitigate this.

With that said, you’ll have to rely on delegation to fully maximize your senior accountants’ capabilities.

I admit I haven’t mastered delegation, but I’ve found some effective ways to make it work.

If you need more help in improving your job description or overall hiring process, I recommend checking out my coaching program, Future Firm Accelerate.

You’ll have access to dedicated lessons and resources about improving your recruitment process, just like Daniel.

What Should You Include in a Senior Accountant Job Description?

Company Profile

This section should explain what your firm does and why it exists.

Include your “Why” statement here to help candidates understand your mission and see if their values match yours.

As I shared on LinkedIn, some of the most successful firms don’t focus on tactics or automation first; they start with their Why.

For example, Bench (despite their abrupt closure & sale in December 2024)  does a good job of this.

Keep it simple and to the point — just like we do in our Future Firm job postings, as you’ll see below.

A Brief and Transparent Introduction to the Role

This section should give a clear overview of the role, separate from the detailed list of duties and responsibilities. Share the main responsibilities and how the position will impact your firm. 

Keep it short — just enough to help candidates understand the role and where it fits in your team.

Be upfront about what to expect, including the level of responsibility, key tasks, and any opportunities for growth. You can go for something like the example below.

Job Responsibilities

This section is sometimes labeled as “What Your Day-to-Day Will Look Like,” “Your Role,” or “Key Duties and Responsibilities.” It lists what candidates will do on a regular basis.

You’ll list tasks here such as:

• Managing client relationships:  Act as the main point of contact for a group of clients, providing support, answering questions, and keeping them informed.
• Preparing financial statements: Finish year-end financial statements and explain them to clients in a clear way.
• Onboarding new clients: Help set up new clients by organizing their financial records and fixing any issues in their books.
• Reviewing work quality: Check the work done by others to make sure everything is correct.
• Ensuring task completion: Be responsible for getting all client work done on time and done correctly.
• Providing virtual CFO support: Help with budgets, cash flow plans, KPI reports, and other important related tasks.
• Handling bookkeeping & sales tax: Support bookkeeping and sales tax work to keep records accurate and up-to-date.

Here, you can provide a bit more detail about each task to help candidates better understand what’s expected of them.

A clear list helps candidates understand the role and how it fits into your firm, like this posting I came across on Zip Recruiter.

Required Skills and Qualifications

This section is sometimes titled “What You Need to Succeed” or “What We’re Looking For.” It lists the key requirements for the role, helping candidates know if they have the skills and experience needed to do well as a senior accountant.

Here’s what to include:

• Certifications: For example, “CPA certification required” or other important credentials.
• Experience: Be clear about how much experience is needed, like “5+ years in accounting or a similar role.”
• Technical Skills: Include must-have skills such as tax compliance, financial analysis, or proficiency with software like QuickBooks or Xero.
• Soft Skills: Mention traits like leadership, communication, and attention to detail.

There will be times when you need to be more specific — especially for remote roles. 

Make it clear that you’re looking for someone with strong experience using cloud-based tools and working in a remote setup to ensure they can integrate seamlessly into your workflow, just like the one below.

(Here’s another post to check out if you want to outsource bookkeepers or build an offshore team.)

Compensation and Benefits

This is your “Why You Should Join Us” section. For most applicants, this will be the most important section. 

While some firms include salary ranges, others use phrases like “above-market compensation” or “competitive salary package.”

Fair pay is just the bare minimum. Go beyond that by sharing what makes your firm unique and why it’s a smart career move.

Check out this LinkedIn post of mine on 3 things to focus on if you want to hire and retain top talent.

I recommend highlighting these aspects in your Compensation and Benefits section:

• Career growth: “We provide paid training programs and opportunities for leadership development.”
• Work-life balance: “We offer flexible work hours and hybrid work options to support your personal and professional life.”
• Team culture: “Enjoy semi-annual team retreats to exciting destinations and regular team-building activities.”
• Recognition and rewards: “We celebrate firm achievements with performance bonuses.”

This section should make candidates feel that joining your firm will not only be a rewarding job but also the right step in their career.

Here’s how we do this at Future Firm:

Company Values

Your company values are the foundation of how your firm operates and interacts with clients and team members.

These are some of what you will usually see in the company values section:

• Client-Centered Approach: We prioritize client needs and build lasting relationships.
• Excellence: We strive for accuracy, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Efficiency: We focus on smart workflows and automation to improve productivity.
• Accountability: We take full responsibility for our actions and commitments.
• Continuous Learning: We embrace growth, innovation, and industry best practices.
• Professionalism: We maintain clear communication, confidentiality, and respect in all interactions.

That being said, let’s face it — this section can easily turn into a bit of a snoozefest.

Most candidates won’t find a generic values section particularly exciting.

This is why I suggest making this section short and sweet, just like this example I pulled from my staff accountant job description blog post.

Instructions to Apply

Make the application process simple and clear. 

For example, “Email your resume and cover letter to [email address]” or “Apply through [link].”

Let candidates know what happens next, like when they’ll hear back or if there are additional steps, such as a series of interviews or tests. 

Speaking of interviews, you may find my interview questions to ask accounting candidates guide helpful if you want to increase your chances of landing top talent.

Don’t forget to include a deadline too.

A Template to Help You Find the Right Senior Accountant

I hope this post gave you some insights on attracting senior accountants to your firm.

What do you think of my senior accountant job description template? Did I miss anything?

I’d love to hear your thoughts — drop a comment below and let me know!

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