Accounting Payroll Manager

About the role

The Payroll / Accounting Manager owns accurate, on-time payroll and day-to-day accounting operations for NTEC. Reporting to the Director Accounting Operations within Finance & Accounting, this role leads payroll processing, general ledger activity, month-end close and compliance, and supervises all payroll staff. Extended hours are required at month-end, quarter-end and year-end. The incumbent must take a personal and active approach to health, safety and environment and understand and follow all state, federal and company health, safety and environmental requirements applicable to the work area and tasks assigned.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end payroll for all employees on a bi-weekly cycle, including hourly, salaried exempt, salaried nonexempt and union employees.
• Oversight responsibility and review to ensure the accuracy of all payroll functions, including: timekeeping, overtime, shift differentials, bonuses before each payroll run; deductions and withholdings (benefits, 401(k), garnishments, child support and tax levies); new hires, terminations, final pay, pay changes and multi-state payroll where applicable.
• Reconciliation of payroll registers to the general ledger each pay period.
• Federal, state and local payroll tax returns (Forms 941, 940, state unemployment and withholding).
• Year-end payroll: W-2s, W-2c corrections and year-end reconciliations.
• Serve as the point of contact for employee pay questions and resolve discrepancies quickly.
• Lead month-end and year-end close, including journal entries, accruals, prepaids and account reconciliations.
• Oversee vendor payments.
• Maintain the general ledger payroll accounts to ensure transactions are coded correctly.
• Support the annual budget, forecasting and variance analysis, including budget/forecast preparation for SG&A and operating sites as needed.
• Prepare schedules and support for the annual audit, 401(k) plan audit and tax filings.
• Keep payroll and accounting practices compliant with FLSA, IRS, state wage-and-hour laws and GAAP.
• Design and maintain internal controls, segregation of duties and approval workflows.
• Monitor changes in tax rates and payroll regulations and update systems accordingly.
• Responsible for understanding and implementing new payroll laws and regulations, including updating systems and testing for accuracy.
• Maintain confidential employee and financial records securely.
• Supervise, train and review all payroll staff.
• Administer the payroll/HRIS and accounting systems; lead process improvements and automation, including: managing system upgrades and coordinating timelines for testing and implementation; assisting with reporting needs; problem-solving system issues.
• Partner with HR on benefits, onboarding and compensation changes.
• Participate in the implementation of new benefit plans, including changes to administrators, updating systems and testing for accuracy.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or a related field, or equivalent experience; CPP (Certified Payroll Professional), CPA, MBA or CMA certification preferred.
• 5+ years of combined payroll and accounting experience, including at least 2 years in a supervisory or lead role.
• Hands-on experience processing full-cycle payroll for 1,200+ employees, preferred.
• Experience in energy, utilities, construction or another field-workforce industry preferred.
• Working knowledge of GAAP, federal and state payroll tax rules and wage-and-hour law.
• Experience with month-end close, account reconciliations and journal entries.
• Proficiency with a payroll/HRIS platform (e.g., ADP, Paylocity, UKG, Paycom) and an accounting/ERP system (Ellipse).
• Multi-state payroll and union or prevailing-wage payroll experience preferred.
• Experience leading a payroll or ERP system implementation preferred.
• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups and reconciliation workbooks.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion.
• Project management experience.
• Exceptional accuracy, with the ability to catch errors before they reach an employee’s paycheck or the financial statements.
• Strong deadline management, delivering payroll and close on schedule, every cycle.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain pay and accounting issues clearly to employees, managers and auditors.
• Demonstrated leadership in developing staff and building repeatable, documented processes.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to trace discrepancies to root cause and fix the process, not just the transaction.

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is required to frequently sit with frequent forward bending and occasional rotation. The employee must rarely lift, carry and/or move up to 13 pounds and rarely lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. The employee is required to rarely push or pull up to 45 pounds horizontally. The employee frequently is required to use hands to finger, handle or feel and reach with hands and arms. The employee is required occasionally to walk; climb stairs; and stand with rare rotation. Rarely the employee is required to squat repetitively or reach up to 74”. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Working Environment

Works in office environment and rarely site environment. This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.