How to hire an Accountant

How to hire an accountant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step accountant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an accountant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new accountant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an Accountant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The accountant hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect accountant also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of accountants.

   Type Of Accountant	Description	Hourly Rate
   Accountant	Accountants and auditors prepare and examine financial records. They ensure that financial records are accurate and that taxes are paid properly and on time... Show More	$19-34
   Accountant And Office Manager	An accountant/office manager is responsible for monitoring the organization's accounting records and financial reports, analyzing statistical information, and managing payroll processes. Accountant/office managers must have excellent knowledge of accounting disciplines and principles to perform accounting duties and train accounting staff of the accounting operations, overseeing account receivables, conducting bank reconciliations, and responding to the staff's inquiries and concerns... Show More	$16-35
   Certified Public Accountant	A certified public accountant (CPA) acts as an advisor to small businesses and chief financial officers to Fortune 500 companies. They typically work for both small and large public accounting firms... Show More	$23-57

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Reconciliations
   • General Ledger Accounts
   • Account Reconciliations
   • GAAP
   • Payroll Tax Returns
   • Customer Service
   • CPA
   • Financial Data
   • Balance Sheet Accounts
   • External Auditors
   • Accruals
   • Fixed Assets
   • Internal Controls
   • Financial Transactions

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage preparation of the statutory financial statements and financial aggregates in compliance with IFRS and local applicable norms.
   • Manage personnel financial matters including salaries, taxation procedures and other relate issues.
   • Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
   • Reconstruct and improve many balance sheet account reconciliations for easier reading and interpretation by senior level management.
   • Perform complex general accounting functions, including preparation of journal entries, account analysis and balance sheet reconciliations.
   • Maintain general ledgers and preparation of monthly and other periodic financial reports in accordance with GAAP and international accounting standards.

   More Accountant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your accountant job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An accountant salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an accountant in Arkansas may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level accountant usually earns less than a senior-level accountant. Additionally, an accountant with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average accountant salary

   $54,890yearly

   $26.39 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level accountant salary

   $41,000 yearly salary

   Updated May 16, 2025

   Average accountant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	District of Columbia	$71,991	$35
   2	New York	$68,492	$33
   3	New Jersey	$67,932	$33
   4	Massachusetts	$62,769	$30
   5	Virginia	$61,511	$30
   6	California	$58,980	$28
   7	Maryland	$58,761	$28
   8	Washington	$57,336	$28
   9	Pennsylvania	$55,064	$26
   10	Colorado	$52,610	$25
   11	Michigan	$52,023	$25
   12	Minnesota	$51,899	$25
   13	North Carolina	$50,764	$24
   14	Illinois	$50,446	$24
   15	Georgia	$50,014	$24
   16	Texas	$49,884	$24
   17	Ohio	$48,446	$23
   18	Arizona	$48,134	$23
   19	Indiana	$47,721	$23
   20	Nevada	$46,453	$22

   Average accountant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	Meta	$100,015	$48.08	4
   2	PayPal	$99,145	$47.67
   3	The Carlyle Group	$96,880	$46.58	3
   4	Apple	$96,163	$46.23	4
   5	Google	$91,469	$43.98	23
   6	Jordan Company	$91,459	$43.97
   7	Microsoft	$90,104	$43.32	1
   8	Cisco	$89,933	$43.24	1
   9	Oracle	$84,756	$40.75	81
   10	Pacific Investment Management Company LLC	$83,766	$40.27	5
   11	Adobe	$83,384	$40.09	9
   12	McKinsey & Company Inc	$82,880	$39.85	8
   13	Ernst & Young	$82,205	$39.52	268
   14	PBF Energy	$82,166	$39.50
   15	Atlassian	$81,373	$39.12	4
   16	Novartis	$79,911	$38.42	2
   17	American Century Investments	$79,738	$38.34
   18	Nabors Holding Company	$79,544	$38.24
   19	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$78,973	$37.97	22
   20	FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies	$78,550	$37.76	3

4. Writing an Accountant Job Description

   A job description for an accountant role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an accountant job description:

   Accountant job description example

   General Dynamics is looking for an Accountant with general ledger and/or cost accounting experience. The Accountant 2 will prepare and process invoices to government, commercial, and inter-company vendors and to provide local, division, and corporate management with various reports and analysis.
   Major Position Responsibilities Maintain general ledger system and sales and cost of sales analysis Prepare and process monthly journal entries, process for payment, and follow up monthly Progress Payment Requests, Cost Plus Invoices, and inter-company invoices Perform monthly reconciliation with other locations Prepare various monthly financial reports for use at local, division and corporate levels Maintain local project cost system by opening, changing and closing various projects as requested by Program Management Prepare Estimates at Completion (EAC's) for various contracts Assist with various audits and other special requests as necessary Prepare department budgets, forward pricing rates, incurred cost submission Manage and prepare proposal pricing Assist with strategic plan preparation and monthly current estimate preparation Basic Qualifications
   BS in Accounting or Finance
   Must possess 2-4 years experience in a general ledger and/or cost accounting position
   
   Benefits
   We are committed to helping our employees and their families lead healthy, productive lives. Our benefits packages and wellness programs help our employees succeed at work and at home. General Dynamics offers a wide array of plans in its flexible benefits program with options that allow each employee to structure a benefits package tailored to meet his or her family's needs.
   
   We Do Work That Matters!
   GD-OTS is a global aerospace and defense company. Every day, people around the work depend on our products for their safety and security. We're looking for talented, motivated individuals who want to become part of a company with a culture driven by diversity, innovation, and agility. The Marion, IL Plant has been providing medium and large caliber ammunition, solid propellant products and other conventional ammunition to the Armed Forces for over 50 years.
   
   #LI-BM1

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right accountant for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your accountant job on Zippia to find and attract quality accountant candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as efinancialcareers, financialjobsweb.com, careerbank, financial job bank.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting accountants requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new accountant

   Once you've decided on a perfect accountant candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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