Premium Accountant

Contract to Hire position based in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.

Responsibilities

• Manage the receipt and application of premium-related payments across various lines of business, ensuring timely and accurate posting.
• Review incoming cash activity and validate accuracy against expected balances, investigating discrepancies and resolving issues promptly.
• Coordinate payment activity, including preparation of funding requests and wire details, and ensure proper documentation of all transactions.
• Upload, maintain, and reconcile paid and unpaid transaction records within internal systems to support accurate reporting.
• Perform account reconciliations related to premiums, receivables, and claims balances, ensuring alignment between subledger and general ledger activity.
• Investigate and resolve discrepancies between subledger activity and the general ledger, preparing journal entries and supporting schedules as needed.
• Support period-end close by preparing accurate journal entries, reconciliations, and detailed tie-outs between source data and financial records.
• Analyze general ledger activity tied to premium revenue and cash movements to identify trends, variances, and potential issues.
• Partner with accounting leadership to explain fluctuations in balances and support monthly financial reporting and revenue recognition analysis.
• Prepare summary reporting that highlights key drivers impacting revenue recognition, outstanding balances, and cash flow visibility.
• Provide insight into aged receivables and unpaid premium activity to help improve forecasting and cash flow management.
• Utilize system data and reports to improve transparency between transactional processing and financial outcomes, and propose data-driven solutions.
• Document workflows, controls, and standard operating procedures to create clear, repeatable processes and support audit readiness.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve data accuracy, and enhance efficiency within premium accounting and revenue operations.
• Support internal and external audit requests by providing clear documentation, reconciliations, and explanations of account activity.
• Work independently and take ownership of assigned accounts and processes, proactively driving improvements and resolving issues.
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners across finance, operations, and other teams to ensure consistent understanding of premium and revenue activity.
• Evaluate large data sets, identify errors or inconsistencies, correct issues, and develop recommendations to improve data quality and reporting.

Requirements

• Approximately 2 to 4 years of accounting or revenue-focused experience, ideally within a general ledger environment.
• Ability to reconcile and explain differences between source system reports and data warehouse or DVR reports.
• Experience supporting month-end close activities, including reconciliations, journal entries, and financial reporting.
• Understanding of GAAP principles and their application within general ledger and revenue accounting.
• Ability to analyze financial data, identify variances, and clearly explain drivers behind fluctuations in balances.
• Comfort working across multiple systems and large data sets, with the ability to evaluate, clean, and improve data quality.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including advanced use of pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, formulas, and data validation.
• Experience with financial reporting and financial analysis related to revenue, premiums, and cash movements.
• Hands-on experience applying premiums and working with premium revenue concepts, billing, and reporting practices.
• Motivation to take ownership of processes, work independently, and drive continuous improvement.
• Comfort operating in a dynamic, growth-oriented environment with changing priorities and evolving structures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or a related field is preferred.
• Exposure to insurance or financial services accounting, particularly insurance premium operations, billing, and related processes.
• Familiarity with premium revenue concepts, insurance billing, and reporting practices.
• Experience working in a VBA-based ERP or system is a plus, including VBA programming exposure.
• Experience with data warehouse reporting and the ability to interpret and reconcile data warehouse DVR reports.
• Experience supporting audits or operational reviews, including preparation of documentation and reconciliations.
• Exposure to process improvement or automation initiatives within accounting or revenue operations.
• Experience with accruals and audit-related accounting activities.

Pay

$30.00 - $36.00 per hour.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital coverage.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available.
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents).
• Short and long-term disability.
• Health Spending Account (HSA).
• Transportation benefits.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave).

Schedule

Hybrid position in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.