Accounting Project and Implementation Specialist

Burkland Associates•,

7d•$115,000 - $130,000•Remote

About The Position

The Accounting Project and Implementation Specialist executes project-based accounting work and supports group-wide process and system implementations. The role manages finite client engagements outside recurring monthly production, including historical cleanups, new-client onboardings, and other client project requests. It also assists the broader team in testing, adopting, and refining software and workflows intended to improve efficiency. The specialist owns client projects from kickoff through handoff, protecting production team members from ad hoc project demands. Success includes delivering engagements accurately, within scope and budget; providing documented handoffs to the production team; championing initiatives under the Director’s guidance; and helping implement tools that improve efficiency and quality across client work. Responsibilities may evolve as Burkland grows.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant work history.
At least 5 years of hands-on accounting work, including month-end close, account reconciliations, and accrual-basis financial statement preparation under U.S. GAAP.
Experience creating new processes and championing tools and processes that improve efficiency.
Demonstrated ability to complete historical cleanup and catch-up engagements, including reconstructing records from incomplete or inconsistent source data.
Background in new-client implementation, such as chart of accounts design, opening balance setup, and connecting supporting systems.
Comfort working within fixed-fee or budgeted scopes and tracking time against them.
Ability to independently manage several concurrent engagements in a remote environment.
Strong organizational and project management skills.
Technical accounting judgment to identify inaccurate or incomplete records and determine what close-ready books should look like.
Attention to detail and ability to review work thoroughly while maintaining a sense of materiality.
Hands-on comfort using AI tools in accounting and operational work, with sound judgment about their appropriate use, the need for human review, and client data protection.
Strong communication skills, including setting client expectations, requesting information, explaining findings and scope changes, and keeping the production team informed.

Nice To Haves

CPA license or active progress toward one.
Prior work in an outsourced or fractional accounting firm serving startups or venture-backed companies.
History of building quality control checklists, review standards, or process documentation.
Hands-on use of AI tools in accounting workflows.

Responsibilities

Project manage and execute historical cleanup and new-client onboarding or implementation engagements to the agreed scope and timeline.
Reconstruct and reconcile historical records, correct prior-period errors, and bring client books to a reliable, close-ready state.
Set up new client accounting environments, including chart of accounts, opening balances, and connections to supporting systems, in line with BKA standards.
Flag scope changes and discoveries that affect pricing, and raise them promptly so they are resolved before work continues.
Track hours against the quote in real time throughout each engagement to identify overruns early.
Maintain transparent communication with the ongoing production team throughout each engagement.
Provide a documented final deliverable at the conclusion of each engagement, covering account status, open items, and client-specific processes to support a seamless transition of operational accounting responsibilities.
Use AI tools and firm systems to accelerate cleanup, reconciliation, and review work, with appropriate human review and protection of client data.
Document repeatable approaches for cleanup and implementation work to improve consistency.
Share actual hours and lessons learned from completed engagements to improve future scoping and quoting.
Test and support implementation of new tools, systems, and processes.
Serve as the client's main point of contact during cleanup and implementation, setting expectations, requesting missing information, and explaining findings and scope changes in plain terms.
Keep the production team updated on progress, open issues, and client-specific details throughout engagements.