Staff Accountant

Heidrick & Struggles•Chicago, IL

10d•$75,000 - $85,000

About The Position

Heidrick & Struggles is a premier provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, serving the senior-level talent and consulting needs of the world's top organizations. In our role as trusted leadership advisors, we partner with our clients to develop future-ready leaders and organizations, bringing together our services and offerings in executive search, diversity and inclusion, leadership assessment and development, organization and team acceleration, culture shaping and on-demand, independent talent solutions. Heidrick & Struggles pioneered the profession of executive search more than 70 years ago. Today, the firm provides integrated talent and human capital solutions to help our clients change the world, one leadership team at a time.® Additional information on the firm can be found at www.heidrick.com. The Role The Staff Accountant is responsible for supporting the monthly and year‑end close by preparing and recording journal entries, performing account reconciliations, and ensuring the accuracy of general ledger and trial balances. This role manages day‑to‑day accounting activities related to prepaid expenses, office occupancy, bank reconciliations, intercompany transactions, and other key accounts, while maintaining strong internal controls and thorough documentation. The Staff Accountant works closely with Accounts Payable, Treasury, AR & Billing, Tax, and international finance teams to resolve issues, complete data balancing activities, and reconcile related ledger accounts, and also provides critical support during interim and year‑end audits.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in accounting.
1-2+ years of related professional experience.
Detail-oriented.
Advanced Excel skills.
Strong analytical skills.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Demonstrates the ability to think clearly about business problems, breaking down problems and presenting ideas for solutions while evaluating the pros and cons of each option.
Ability to form networks of positive business relationships that enhance personal and business success.
Demonstrates strong, realistic confidence in oneself in challenging situations and maintains a calm focus on results over time.
Ability to develop and apply creative solutions to business problems, anticipating situations and needs and finding flexible answers to new situations; champions innovation to improve business performance.
Manages multiple priorities during peak close and project periods while maintaining high quality of work.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a corporate or public environment with exposure to multi-entity or multi-currency operations.
CPA or CPA candidate.
Knowledge of Peoplesoft General Ledger or Oracle.
Experience in accounting and financial systems.
Experience in interfacing with business customers in defining general ledger, account and reporting requirements.
Experience in Account to Report process improvement and application systems implementation

Responsibilities

Prepare and record journal entries in general ledger related to prepaid expenses, office occupancy, bank reconciliations, intercompany transactions and other various accounts.
Assist with intercompany reconciliations and confirmations.
Work closely with Accounts Payable, Treasury, AR & Billing, Tax and international finance teams.
Perform data balancing activities, reconciliation and analysis of related ledger accounts.
Assist in the month end and year end close process.
Provide audit support for interim and year-end audits.
Strong knowledge and understanding of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), general accounting process and internal control elements.