Staff Accoutant

The Staff Accountant will play a critical role in maintaining financial accuracy and operational efficiency within a fast-paced consumer packaged goods environment focused on trade promotions and customer deductions. This position exists to ensure that trade deductions—from chargebacks to freight claims—are meticulously tracked, analysed, and resolved, sustaining the integrity of financial reporting while supporting effective collaboration across Accounting, Sales, and Customer Service functions. Working with modern trade management tools and financial systems, the successful candidate will navigate complex transactional data to deliver timely reconciliation and dispute resolution, directly impacting cash flow and profitability.

The core responsibilities of the Staff Accountant revolve around processing and reconciling trade deductions, which requires a thorough understanding of various deduction types such as off-invoice allowances, pricing discrepancies, damages, returns, and compliance penalties. Daily tasks include researching and validating deductions through diverse documentation sources like remittance advices, customer portals, and electronic data interchange (EDI) files. The role demands not only precision in posting credit memos and maintaining audit trails but also a proactive approach to identifying unsupported deductions and driving dispute resolution with customers. Monthly activities involve creating accruals and reconciling these deductions as part of the month-end close, ensuring that reserves for anticipated deductions are accurate and grounded in detailed analysis.

Cross-departmental collaboration is a vital aspect of this role. The Staff Accountant will partner closely with Sales and FP&A teams to verify promotion-related deductions against approved customer agreements and trade plans, establishing a consistent and controlled approach to chargebacks. Additionally, coordination with Supply Chain and Customer Service teams supports investigations into freight and damage deductions, ensuring swift resolution and transparent communication of deduction status, particularly for high-value items or long-outstanding cases. Regular reporting will be prepared to provide visibility into deduction trends by customer and category, aiding senior management in decision-making and continuous improvement efforts.

This role requires working knowledge of financial platforms tailored to trade management, including experience with Netsuite or similar ERP systems. These tools facilitate accurate recording and reporting, enabling the Staff Accountant to maintain controls and identify areas for process enhancement. The position also involves developing and maintaining standard operating procedures that govern trade deduction workflows, ensuring adherence to internal controls and supporting audit readiness.

The Staff Accountant will operate within an onsite setting, embedded in an environment where volume and velocity of transactions demand strong organisational skills and attention to detail. This permanent role will suit an individual capable of balancing routine reconciliation with the flexibility to support ad hoc queries and collaborate across departments.

This position sits within the food and beverages manufacturing sector, where the accurate handling of trade deductions has a direct bearing on the financial health and operational success of the business. The Staff Accountant’s contribution helps secure reliable financial outcomes while supporting commercial teams in achieving transparent and fair trade practices.