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cash accountant

title: Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Cash Accountant
salary: $55,000 - $85,000
categories: [Accounting, Finance, Treasury, Corporate Accounting]
description: A comprehensive overview of the key responsibilities, required technical skills and professional background for the role of a Cash Accountant.
Clear, recruiter-style summary of the Cash Accountant role: a hands-on accounting professional responsible for daily cash management, bank reconciliations, cash forecasting, payment processing and month-end close activities. Ideal for candidates with strong Excel and ERP experience (SAP/Oracle/NetSuite), treasury exposure, and a rigorous approach to internal controls and SOX compliance.

🎯 Role Definition

The Cash Accountant is responsible for accurate, timely management of an organization’s cash position and liquidity. This role owns daily bank reconciliations, cash receipts and payments posting, short-term cash forecasting, bank relationship coordination, and controls that ensure cash integrity. The ideal candidate balances operational execution (payment runs, wire processing, lockbox) with strategic monitoring (cash forecasting, KPI reporting) and thrives in environments that require strong ERP, Excel and treasury system skills (Kyriba, GTreasury). Key SEO keywords: Cash Accountant, cash management, bank reconciliation, cash forecasting, treasury operations, SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, SOX compliance.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Staff Accountant with a focus on cash or reconciliations
  • Accounts Receivable Specialist or AR Cash Application analyst
  • Treasury Analyst or Bank Operations specialist

Advancement To:

  • Senior Cash Accountant / Lead Cash Accountant
  • Treasury Manager / Cash Manager
  • Accounting Manager or Assistant Controller

Lateral Moves:

  • Accounts Payable Manager
  • Financial Analyst (working capital / liquidity)
  • Internal Controls / SOX Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Prepare and deliver the daily cash position and liquidity report by aggregating bank balances, short-term investments, outstanding payments, intercompany positions, and FX exposures; provide actionable insights to Treasury and FP&A teams.
  • Execute daily bank account reconciliations across multiple bank relationships and legal entities, investigating and resolving reconciling items within established SLA’s to ensure accurate balances for month-end close.
  • Process, review and authorize high-value electronic payments (ACH, domestic and international wires, SEPA) and ensure adherence to payment approval matrices, dual controls and banking mandates.
  • Post, apply and reconcile cash receipts including lockbox processing, electronic remittances, customer payments and automated clearing house (ACH) transactions; resolve unapplied cash and payer disputes with AR teams.
  • Maintain and reconcile intercompany cash positions and intercompany loan accounts, prepare netting schedules and support periodic intercompany settlement and reconciliations.
  • Build, maintain and enhance rolling cash forecasts (daily, weekly, monthly) using inputs from AR, AP, payroll and treasury; highlight variances, cash burn trends and near-term liquidity risks for stakeholders.
  • Prepare and post month-end journal entries related to cash, bank interest, bank charges, short-term investments and foreign exchange revaluations; ensure entries are supported and properly documented.
  • Support monthly and quarterly close activities related to cash and bank accounts, including reconciliations, variance analysis, account reconciler uploads and timely sign-off to meet close calendars.
  • Monitor, analyze and report bank fees, interest income/expense and service charges; work with banks to correct billing errors and optimize banking fee schedules.
  • Implement and enforce SOX and internal control procedures related to cash handling, payment approvals, segregation of duties and bank account authorization; prepare supporting documentation for attestation.
  • Manage relationships and communication with external banks, payment processors and third-party vendors to resolve exceptions, accelerate collections and add banking capabilities (e.g., positive pay, virtual accounts).
  • Support treasury systems (Kyriba, GTreasury, banking portals) and ERP cash modules including configuration updates, bank connectivity testing (SWIFT, host-to-host) and reconciliation automation efforts.
  • Analyze and reconcile foreign currency cash transactions, process FX revaluations at period end, and coordinate with Treasury for hedging or conversion decisions as needed.
  • Maintain and update daily cash dashboards, KPI metrics (DSO, days cash on hand, days payable outstanding when applicable) and ad-hoc liquidity models for executive leadership and FP&A.
  • Investigate and remediate cash exceptions such as uncredited wires, duplicate payments, and returned items; coordinate root-cause analysis and recommend process improvements.
  • Support short-term investment activities including placement of excess cash, movement between sweep accounts and maintenance of investment detail for accounting and audit purposes.
  • Prepare documentation and provide on-request support for internal and external audits related to cash, bank reconciliations, controls testing and bank confirmations.
  • Coordinate lockbox setup and maintenance, optimize remittance processing, and ensure accurate posting of lockbox deposit detail into the general ledger.
  • Maintain bank mandate documentation, signatures, and bank account authorizations; process new account openings, closures and signatory changes in line with policy and compliance requirements.
  • Support implementation and continuous improvement projects for cash application automation, payment factory setups, and ERP-to-bank straight-through processing (STP).
  • Reconcile and monitor petty cash and corporate card clearing accounts, ensure monthly reconciliations and appropriate expense documentation.
  • Collaborate with Accounts Payable and Procurement on timing of cash outflows to optimize working capital and reduce unnecessary liquidity strain.
  • Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), month-end checklists and knowledge base articles for cash operations and treasury-related accounting tasks.
  • Provide coaching and subject matter support to junior staff, rotate tasks to build team capability and maintain cross-coverage for vacation and peak periods.

Secondary Functions

  • Support audit requests by compiling bank confirmations, reconciliation backup, and process narratives for cash-related controls and balances.
  • Contribute to process improvement initiatives and automation roadmaps to reduce manual reconciliations and accelerate cash application.
  • Assist FP&A with cash scenario modeling for M&A, capital expenditures and significant financing events when required.
  • Participate in cross-functional project teams for ERP upgrades, bank migrations, or implementation of treasury management systems.
  • Provide ad-hoc analysis to senior finance stakeholders on cash optimization opportunities, vendor financing, and short-term liquidity tactics.
  • Help maintain compliance with AML/KYC policies for banking arrangements and flagged transactions, escalating suspicious activity to appropriate teams.
  • Train and onboard new hires in cash accounting processes, ERP navigation and bank portal procedures.
  • Document process changes and maintain a repository of policies, controls and contingency plans for payment interruptions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Cash management and daily cash position reporting
  • Bank reconciliation expertise across multiple banks and currencies
  • Cash forecasting and liquidity modeling (daily/weekly/monthly)
  • Payment processing (ACH, domestic and international wires, SEPA) and payment platform experience
  • ERP proficiency: SAP FI/CO, Oracle Financials, NetSuite or similar
  • Treasury Management Systems: Kyriba, GTreasury, FIS or equivalent
  • Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, dynamic arrays) and familiarity with VBA or macros for automation
  • Experience with AR cash application tools and lockbox processing
  • Familiarity with SWIFT, host-to-host bank connectivity and payment file formats (MT, ISO20022)
  • Strong knowledge of SOX and internal control frameworks for cash and payments
  • Accounting standards knowledge (US GAAP; IFRS exposure a plus) for cash and short-term investment accounting
  • Month-end close and journal entry preparation for cash-related GL accounts
  • Bank fee analysis and reconciliation techniques
  • Experience with reconciliations software (BlackLine, Trintech or similar)
  • Basic SQL or data-querying skills for extracting transaction data (preferred)

Soft Skills

  • High attention to detail and a strong sense of ownership for accuracy
  • Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret cash trends and variances
  • Clear oral and written communication for liaising with banks, auditors and internal stakeholders
  • Problem-solving orientation and persistence in resolving exceptions
  • Time management and ability to prioritize in a fast-paced close environment
  • Strong collaboration skills to work across Treasury, AR, AP and FP&A teams
  • Confidentiality and sound judgment when handling sensitive financial data
  • Adaptability to systems changes and process improvements
  • Customer-service mindset for internal stakeholders and external banking partners

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or related field

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s plus professional certification (CPA, CMA) or advanced degree (MS Finance, MAcc)

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Economics
  • Business Administration
  • Banking / Treasury Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of progressive accounting or treasury experience with demonstrable cash, bank reconciliation and payment processing responsibilities

Preferred:

  • 3–7 years experience in cash accounting, treasury operations or corporate banking environment, including ERP (SAP/Oracle/NetSuite) and treasury system implementation or optimization
  • Prior exposure to SOX compliance, external audits, and multinational cash management across multiple currencies
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