Payroll Staff Accountant - job 1 of 2

As a Payroll Staff Accountant at Princess Polly, your responsibilities include compiling and reviewing employee time records, inputting payroll data, reconciling payroll discrepancies, preparing analysis reports, and maintaining sub-ledgers. You will also handle month-end, quarter-end, and year-end closes, ensuring compliance with regulations while implementing effective controls and processes.

Princess Polly looks for candidates with a BS/BA degree in Accounting or Finance and at least 3 years of accounting experience in a retail or manufacturing environment. Proficiency in payroll processing, particularly with ADP, is essential. Familiarity with Netsuite ERP and strong skills in Microsoft Excel are also preferred.

Yes, experience with ADP is a must for the Payroll Staff Accountant position at Princess Polly. This proficiency ensures that you can effectively manage payroll processing and maintain accuracy, which is crucial to our financial operations and reporting.

In the role of Payroll Staff Accountant at Princess Polly, you will need to identify risks within payroll processing and implement appropriate controls to ensure compliance with SOX regulations. This involves maintaining proper documentation and evidence to protect the organization against discrepancies.

The Payroll Staff Accountant at Princess Polly uses various tools including ADP for payroll processing and Netsuite ERP software for accounting purposes. Additionally, advanced skills in Microsoft Excel, such as pivot tables and V-lookups, are essential for data analysis and reporting.

In answering this question, detail specific roles where you managed payroll processing, focusing on the systems you used, such as ADP. Highlight your understanding of payroll laws and regulations, accuracy in data management, and how you handle discrepancies.

Discuss your methods for verifying and cross-checking data, perhaps by utilizing reconciliation processes or checklists. Sharing a specific example where your attention to detail prevented an error would also be impactful.

Be open and specific about your experience with accounting software, particularly mentioning ADP and Netsuite. Emphasize how your skills in these programs increased efficiency and accuracy within your teams.

Illustrate your process for identifying, investigating, and resolving payroll discrepancies. Discuss the importance of communication with employees and ensuring that all adjustments are documented and compliant with company policies.

Outline your approach to preparing for month-end, which includes collecting all necessary data, verifying accuracy, completing journal entries, and ensuring reconciliations are in place. Stress the importance of teamwork in this process.

Share a specific example of an accounting process you improved, including the steps taken and the positive outcome it had on efficiency or accuracy. Highlight your analytical skills and how they contributed to this improvement.

Answer by detailing your understanding of SOX compliance, and explain how you ensure proper documentation, risk assessment, and the implementation of internal controls within the payroll and accounting processes.

Discuss your approach to analyzing payroll data, the tools you use, and how you communicate discrepancies to the relevant departments. Showing your analytical skills here is key, along with your proactive communication methods.

Be honest about the challenges you've faced in previous roles, such as managing tight deadlines or handling complex payroll issues, and discuss how you overcame them, focusing on your problem-solving skills.

Explain your method for prioritizing tasks, such as using task lists or project management tools. Emphasize your time management skills and ability to keep calm under pressure while ensuring deliverables are met on time.