Spindrift Staff Accountant

Spindrift • Newton, MA

30d • $65,000 - $75,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Staff Accountant supports Spindrift’s financial integrity by ensuring that trade deductions are accurately tracked, researched, and resolved in a timely manner. This role sits at the intersection of Accounting, Sales, and Customer Service and is ideal for a detail-oriented problem solver who thrives in a high-volume, fast-moving CPG environment where trade promotions, chargebacks, and customer deductions are a core part of day-to-day operations.

Requirements

• 2+ years of accounting or finance experience; prior exposure to trade deductions, chargebacks, or accounts receivable in a CPG, food & beverage, or consumer goods environment strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Finance
• Working knowledge of trade promotion mechanics common in CPG (off-invoice allowances, scan-backs, bill-backs, MCBs, OI, compliance deductions).
• Experience with cash application, credit memo processing, and general ledger reconciliation.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills; able to manage a high volume of open items while maintaining accuracy.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills; comfortable working cross-functionally with Sales, Logistics, and Customer Service teams.
• Intermediate Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, filtering and sorting large data sets).

Nice To Haves

• Experience with ERP or accounting systems (NetSuite preferred, but not required).
• Familiarity with customer portals (e.g., Walmart Retail Link, Kroger vendor portals, KeHE Connect, UNFI) and EDI remittance formats.
• Prior experience with deduction management software or trade promotion management (TPM) systems, especially BluePlanner, is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Research deduction backup (remittance advices, customer portals, EDI documents, promotional calendars) to validate or dispute deductions in a timely manner.
• Classify deductions by type (trade promotions, off-invoice allowances, freight claims, pricing discrepancies, damages, returns, compliance fines) and ensure proper accounting treatment for each.
• Process approved deductions by creating and posting credit memos; maintain clear audit trails for all adjustments.
• Identify invalid or unsupported deductions; prepare and submit dispute packages to customers and follow through to resolution.
• Leverage our trade management tools to create monthly accruals and reconcile deductions taken as part of the monthly close process.
• Reconcile bottle deposits and review broker commissions on a monthly basis.
• Partner with Sales and FP&A to validate promotional deductions against approved trade plans, customer agreements, and deal sheets.
• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Customer Service to investigate and resolve freight, damage, and compliance-related deductions.
• Communicate deduction status and aging to internal stakeholders on a regular basis; escalate unresolved or high-value items appropriately.
• Support the Sales team with customer-specific deduction reporting and chargeback documentation as needed.
• Prepare and maintain the trade deduction aging schedule; reconcile to the general ledger as part of monthly close.
• Prepare accruals for open or anticipated deductions; ensure deduction reserves are accurate and well-supported; reconcile deductions taken throughout the month.
• Generate regular deduction reporting by customer, category, and deduction type to identify trends and support management review.
• Support audit requests related to trade spending, customer allowances, and AR balances.
• Ensure deduction workflows follow internal controls and documentation standards.
• Identify opportunities to streamline deduction intake, classification, and resolution processes.
• Help develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for trade deduction handling.

Benefits

• Short-term and long-term incentive programs specific to level and department
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, with a current employer contribution rate of 80% towards monthly premiums, regardless of plan type selected
• Company-paid life insurance
• 401k retirement savings plan with a company match
• Monthly cell phone allowance
• Annual allowances for personal use of Spindrift product, health and wellness, professional development, and social justice education
• Additional life insurance
• Short-term disability insurance
• Long-term disability insurance
• Pet insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Paid parental leave
• Vacation time
• Sick time
• Personal time
• Bereavement time
• Community service time
• Holiday time

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level