Accountant II

University of Wisconsin Stout • Madison, WI

7d • $65,000 - $75,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Accountant II performs advanced accounting duties in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and procedures. The role audits and reviews payroll tax transactions under university, state, and federal tax regulations and develops and maintains accounting policies and procedures to support accurate recording and reporting of payroll transactions.

The position is part of Payroll Administration at UW-Shared Services, which provides payroll, benefits, HR, business services, and reporting services to UW employees and universities. Payroll Administration focuses on domestic and foreign national payroll tax work, including validating tax payments and tax applications, aligning foreign national employee data, auditing employee information for payroll tax compliance, and coordinating processes and interfaces between databases.

The office is at 660 West Washington in Madison, Wisconsin. The position is expected to work in the office three days per week, with two days potentially remote; telecommuting agreements may change. It is a full-time, salaried, exempt academic staff ongoing position. The expected starting annual salary is $65,000–$75,000, depending on education, related experience, and qualifications.

Requirements

• Associate’s degree in accounting, finance, or a related field, or at least 3 years of related professional work experience in tax preparation, compliance, audit, or tax resolution.
• Ability to interpret policies and develop and maintain an accounting program in a complex environment.
• Proficiency in identifying discrepancies, reconciling tax accounts, and diagnosing root causes.
• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with employees at various levels.
• Intermediate Excel skills.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or a related field, or CPA certificate.
• Experience interpreting, developing, and implementing complex policies, procedures, and rules relating to international tax law.
• Experience analyzing financial systems and establishing internal control mechanisms.
• Ability to create queries and analyze data sets to resolve complex problems.
• Experience working with complex ERPs.

Responsibilities

• Organize, prepare, and update payroll financial statements, monthly and year-end adjustments, and reports in an automated payroll system to ensure accurate recording and reporting of wage and tax-withholding transactions.
• Prepare and analyze payroll tax data, reports, and records; identify discrepancies; investigate issues; and recommend and implement basic solutions.
• Assist with accounting and review of reconciliations, tax payments, schedules, and reports.
• Answer questions and provide accounting-related information to internal and external stakeholders according to established policies and procedures.
• Assist in preparing monthly, quarterly, and annual tax-liability reporting and reconciliation.
• Review, prepare, and audit taxable wage and withholding transactions and payments.
• Develop and maintain automated financial systems and recommend controls to ensure system reliability and data integrity.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree