Accounting Associate

About this role

FWD People is a full-service strategic marketing agency delivering meaningful and measurable results in the health and non-profit sectors. We take pride in being our clients' trusted strategic partner — staying ahead of the curve, and leveraging our expertise and foresight to help them navigate change and seize opportunities. We approach every challenge with a commitment to innovation, excellence, and empathy, and we seek the same qualities in our leaders. As a fast-growing, senior team, we're excited to welcome more forward-thinking individuals who will help us drive growth, foster positive change within our client's industries, and have fun along the way.

We're hiring an Accounting Associate to join our growing Finance team. This Accounting Associate is reporting directly to our Senior Finance Manager. You'll support audit readiness, compliance tracking, and day-to-day financial operations across both our Animal Health and Healthcare business units, building a foundation in agency finance while keeping our books, records, and controls in order.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

What You Will Own:

- Accounting stewardship. Maintain the flow of data from financial systems into Quickbooks in accordance with GAAP.

- Maintaining Vendor & contract financial documentation. Maintaining organized records of client and vendor agreements, W-9s, insurance certificates, and renewal terms so we're always audit-ready.

- Process improvement. Notice friction points in our financial workflows and controls, and bring forward ideas to make audits, closes, and reporting clearer and more sustainable as we grow.

- Reporting support. Help prepare recurring financial reports and dashboards for the Senior Finance Manager and leadership.

Partner with our third-party Accounting Vendor:

- Streamline the communication flow. Be the liaison between FWD People internal teams and the external vendor, routing questions, tracking open items, and keeping communication moving in both directions.

- Verify accounts payable & receivable workflow. Review documentation, invoice and vendor set-up, track timeliness of payables and receivables, and help resolve discrepancies so nothing falls through the cracks.

- Review and post journal entries. Ensure the accuracy of journal entries proposed by third party Accounting vendor, especially for recurring month-end entries.

Assist our Senior Finance Manager:

- Audit preparation & documentation. Pulling together the schedules, reconciliations, and supporting documentation and keep trackers updated so no transaction is left unsupported.

- Quality Assurance. Maintaining oversight on payables and receivables aging, prepare standard journal entries, and execute balance sheet reconciliations during the monthly/yearly close and ad hoc reviews.

- Internal controls & compliance tracking. Building out and maintaining an internal control checklist, financial policies, and compliance calendar.

- Financial systems administration. Helping to keep our finance platforms, Ramp and Justworks, — accounting software, expense tools, billing systems — accurate, organized, and usable for the team.

- Communicating with multiple departments. Collaborating with internal FWD teams to verify accuracy in Project Management software, Forecast, to drive accurate financials.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

- A bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field, and 2-3 years of relevant early-career experience. MBA or CPA (or in-progress) is a plus, but not required

- You're comfortable with numbers. You move confidently between spreadsheets and financial systems, and you catch it when something doesn't tie out.

- You have sharp attention to detail. You catch the small inconsistencies others miss and care about getting the details right — because in finance and audit, they add up.

- You're curious and quick to learn new systems. You don't need to know our specific accounting or finance platforms on day one, but you pick up new tools quickly and aren't intimidated by unfamiliar software.

- You're a clear, thoughtful communicator. You write emails and Slack messages people actually want to read — concise, warm, and easy to act on. You follow up without being asked.

- You bring a service mindset. You take pride in being someone teammates — and our auditors — can rely on, and you find satisfaction in helping others do their best work.

- You exercise discretion and judgment. You'll work alongside sensitive financial, HR, and contractor information, and you treat it with the care it deserves.

- You're proactive. You spot what needs doing and start moving before you're asked. When you don't know the answer, you ask the right question.

- You stay calm in motion. Close deadlines, audit cycles, and shifting priorities are part of agency finance — you find your footing quickly and don't let urgency rattle the quality of your work.

- You're a team-first contributor. You take ownership without ego, give credit generously, and bring positive energy to the work.

- You enjoy bringing order to complexity. You like understanding how the financial and operational pieces of a business connect, and you take pride in keeping the books and controls running smoothly behind the scenes.

INTERVIEWING AT FWD PEOPLE

We believe in transparency and respect for your time. Our hiring process is designed to be open, fair, and as straightforward as possible, giving you a clear picture of what to expect while also giving us a chance to get to know you. Here’s how it works:

- Initial Conversation: A friendly chat to learn about your background, goals, and what excites you about this opportunity (and in general).

- In-Depth Interview: A deeper discussion about your skills, experiences, and how you envision contributing to our team.

- Scenario Conversation: A collaborative discussion where we’ll walk through a few real-world scenarios together. This is an opportunity to show us how you think through challenge

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