How To Become A Corporate Accounting Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a corporate accounting manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Thomas King

The corporate accounting manager reviews the organization's balance sheet reconciliations and major accounts. This includes inventory and stock, taxes, accruals, and intercompany accounts. He/She ensures timely and accurate reporting of all financial accounting across the organization. He/She leads the development and implementation of new procedures and processes to improve the workflow of the department. Furthermore, he/she provides monthly reports and commentary of financial results with detailed analysis. Additionally, he/she prepares annual statutory accounts for all stakeholders in the company.

To qualify for this job, you need a graduate degree in accounting, finance, or business management. Having relevant certifications such as ACCA, CPA, or ACA is a plus. You must be proficient in Microsoft Office and accounting software. You need a minimum of six years of experience. You must possess communication, negotiation, presentation, analytical, leadership, and organization skills. These managers earn about $104,033 in a year. Their salary varies from $74,000 to $146,000.

What general advice would you give to a Corporate Accounting Manager?

Thomas King

Department Chair, Director, Master of Accountancy Program, Professor, Accountancy, Case Western Reserve University

Be dependable. Reputations form quickly after people join organizations. A newly hired professional who demonstrates the ability to get things done rapidly and accurately will soon become a "go-to" person when new opportunities arise. Such exposure early in a career is invaluable.

ScoreCorporate Accounting ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $97,024

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.5

Growth Rate 17%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.34%

Asian 8.86%

Black or African American 7.86%

Hispanic or Latino 15.17%

Unknown 4.12%

White 63.65%

Gender

female 45.66%

male 54.34%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

9.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.3

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.9

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a corporate accounting manager

Explore corporate accounting manager education requirements

Most common corporate accounting manager degrees

Bachelor's

81.0 %

Master's

13.7 %

Associate

3.7 %

Start to develop specific corporate accounting manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Reconciliations	9.43%
CPA	9.11%
GAAP	7.82%
Close Process	4.56%
External Auditors	4.36%

Complete relevant corporate accounting manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New corporate accounting managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a corporate accounting manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real corporate accounting manager resumes.

Research corporate accounting manager duties and responsibilities

Manage the general accounting and recording of treasury and international transactions.
Manage payroll and all taxation matters, coordinate independent audit; communicate with outside organizations and agencies.
Coordinate with external CPA firm in the preparation of the annual financial audits.
Work with outside professionals including CPA firm on the preparation of annual audit and tax return schedules.

Prepare your corporate accounting manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your corporate accounting manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a corporate accounting manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Corporate Accounting Manager Resume templates

Build a professional Corporate Accounting Manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Corporate Accounting Manager resume.

Apply for corporate accounting manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a corporate accounting manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average corporate accounting manager salary

The average Corporate Accounting Manager salary in the United States is $97,024 per year or $47 per hour. Corporate accounting manager salaries range between $71,000 and $131,000 per year.

Average Corporate Accounting Manager Salary

$97,024 Yearly

$46.65 hourly

How do corporate accounting managers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

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1 Star

Corporate Accounting Manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019

Pros

Making business processes work right and helping people

Cons

Tracking billable hours