Workday Payroll & Accounting Specialist
About The Position
The American Arbitration Association (AAA) is seeking an experienced Workday Payroll & Accounting Specialist to join its team at its downtown Manhattan headquarters. This role combines hands-on Workday Payroll expertise with payroll operations, accounting, reconciliations, and financial controls. The specialist serves as a key functional resource for the Workday Payroll environment and partners with Payroll, Finance, Human Resources, Benefits, IT, and external vendors to help ensure payroll processes are accurate, efficient, well-controlled, and continuously improving. The position supports Workday Payroll configuration, administration, troubleshooting, testing, reporting, and optimization, as well as accurate and timely regular and off-cycle payroll processing. It also supports payroll accounting activities, audits, quarterly and year-end processes, system enhancements, integrations, and ongoing process improvements. The role follows a hybrid work arrangement, with employees generally expected to work in the office two days per week. The specific schedule may vary based on business and team needs.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Information Systems, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 5–7+ years of payroll experience, including significant hands-on experience with Workday Payroll.
- Strong knowledge of Workday Payroll configuration, business processes, reporting, calculated fields, testing, and troubleshooting.
- Experience with payroll costing and accounting configuration.
- Working knowledge of payroll accounting, including journal entries, general ledger reconciliations, accruals, and month-end close.
- Understanding of federal, state, and local payroll requirements.
- Strong Excel and data-analysis skills.
- Detail-oriented and analytical, technically strong, comfortable taking ownership of complex payroll issues, and able to work collaboratively across functions.
Nice To Haves
- Experience participating in Workday implementations, enhancements, or optimization initiatives.
- Workday certification, Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), and/or CPA designation.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a functional administrator and subject matter expert for Workday Payroll, supporting configuration, administration, troubleshooting, testing, reporting, and optimization.
- Configure and maintain Workday Payroll components, including earnings, deductions, payroll calculations, tax elections, withholding rules, costing allocations, and related business processes.
- Maintain payroll accounting and costing configuration, including mapping to general ledger accounts, cost centers, and other financial dimensions.
- Develop and maintain Workday payroll reports, calculated fields, dashboards, audit reports, and controls.
- Troubleshoot complex Workday Payroll issues, identify root causes, and implement configuration or process solutions.
- Support Workday releases, system enhancements, integrations, regression testing, and implementation of new functionality.
- Partner with HR, Benefits, Finance, IT, and external vendors on integrations involving banking, taxes, benefits, timekeeping, and financial systems.
- Identify opportunities to automate payroll processes, strengthen controls, improve data quality, and reduce manual activity.
- Support accurate and timely regular and off-cycle payroll processing, including bonuses, adjustments, deductions, garnishments, retroactive payments, and other payroll transactions.
- Assist with quarterly and year-end payroll activities, including tax reconciliations and W-2 processing.
- Prepare and review payroll journal entries, reconciliations, accruals, and other payroll-related month-end accounting activities.
- Support internal and external audits and help maintain effective payroll accounting and reconciliation controls.
Benefits
- Discretionary annual incentive with a target of 10% of base salary, subject to applicable organizational and individual performance considerations.
- Hybrid work arrangement, with employees generally expected to work in the office two days per week.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
