Remote Accountant Jobs in Park Ridge, IL (NOW HIRING)

Pay: $34-36/hr

Benefits

•     Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance

•     Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance

•     2x Life and AD&D Insurance (Company Paid)

•     Optional Additional Life Insurance

•     401(k) Match and Pension

•     Paid Time Off (PTO)

•     Parental Leave

Payroll Administrator/Staff Accountant

Department: Accountant

FLSA Status: Exempt

Reports To: Accounting Manager

Location: Corporate

Work Arrangement: Hybrid - 3 days per week in office

Position Summary

This role is anchored in payroll processing: running biweekly U.S. payroll end to end in ADP Workforce Now for a union and shift-premium workforce, with full ownership of the payroll checklist from time close through funding. Beyond payroll, the Staff Accountant supports month-end close through journal entries and account reconciliations in SAP, and serves as backup for Accounts Payable, including OCR invoice processing and vendor payment execution when coverage is needed. Hands-on ADP Workforce Now experience is required for this role. This is a hybrid position, with three days per week in the office.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Payroll Processing — Biweekly | ADP Workforce Now

•     Run biweekly payroll for approximately 200 U.S. employees across five sites, plus remote and sales employees, using ADP Workforce Now as the system of record.

•     Own the full payroll checklist: time close, pre-process audit, preview, finalize, and funding, following documented steps at each stage.

•     Apply OT and double-time rules, holiday/weekend premiums, shift differentials, and call-in/reporting pay as applicable to a union and shift-premium environment.

•     Validate payroll outcomes using ADP registers, time exception reports, and earnings code reporting before finalizing each cycle.

•     Manage exceptions and corrections, including retro pay, off-cycle checks, termination payments, garnishments, and one-time earnings/deductions.

•     Support quarter-end and year-end payroll activities, including W-2 balancing support and reconciliation.

•     Track and help resolve payroll tax notices in partnership with ADP.

•     Prepare and validate payroll reporting and respond to information requests from HR and operations.

•     Experience processing Union 401(k) and FSA benefit files into third-party platforms is a nice to have.

Accounting — SAP | Month-End Close Support

•     Prepare and post journal entries in SAP with appropriate supporting documentation and review trail.

•     Independently reconcile assigned accounts (accrued liabilities, prepaid/expense accruals) and clearly explain reconciling items: what they are, why they exist, and when they'll clear.

•     Support month-end and year-end close activities, including tie-outs, variance explanations, roll-forwards, and audit schedule support.

•     Build and maintain standard recurring entries with clear logic, consistent timing, proper reversals, and control documentation.

•     Process weekly freight invoices.

Accounts Payable Backup — SAP + OCR (Nice to Have)

Listed as nice to have, since this is teachable: covers invoice processing and vendor payments roughly twice weekly as backup.

•     Step in to process AP when needed.

•     Validate invoices, including 3-way match where applicable (PO/receiver/invoice or cost center approval workflow).

•     Process invoices through the OCR workflow (or MIRO), including coding, exception handling, and duplicate detection.

•     Generate payment proposals and issue vendor payments twice weekly as backup.

•     Confirm approvals before release and ensure proper remittance communication.

General — Must Have

•     Able to work independently with minimal day-to-day oversight.

•     Strong Excel skills: Pivot Tables, XLOOKUP, SUMIFS.

•     Handles sensitive payroll and employee information with discretion.

•     Coordinates across HR, Plant Operations, and Payroll/Accounting to resolve time, pay, and general accounting issues.

Required Qualifications

•     Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.

•     3–5+ years of relevant accounting experience with direct, hands-on responsibility for U.S. payroll processing.

•     Hands-on experience running payroll in ADP Workforce Now is required; ADP Comprehensive or a comparable full-service ADP model is a plus.

•     Experience using SAP for general ledger postings, journal entries, and account reconciliations; AP exposure preferred.

•     Experience in a union and shift-premium environment; manufacturing experience preferred.

•     Strong Excel skills, including PivotTables, XLOOKUP, and SUMIFS, with the ability to analyze payroll and AP exports.

•     Strong controls mindset, confidentiality, attention to detail, and commitment to accurate, well-supported work.

Core Competencies

•     Payroll processing accuracy and control discipline in ADP Workforce Now

•     Month-end close readiness and audit-ready documentation

•     Confidential handling of employee and payroll information

•     Clear communication with HR, operations, ADP, and accounting stakeholders

•     Ability to manage recurring payroll and close deadlines while providing backup coverage across accounting processes

•     Balance sheet reconciliations

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