Staff Accountant - Trade Deductions

Staff Accountant
Permanent
Hybrid
Newton

The Staff Accountant safeguards financial accuracy by leading the timely research, validation, and resolution of trade deductions. Operating key touchpoints across Accounting, Sales, and Customer Service, this role suits an analytical problem solver experienced in managing high-volume trade promotions, chargebacks, and short pays in a fast-moving CPG environment.

Trade Deduction Processing & Reconciliation

• Review remittance advice, customer portals, EDI files, and promo schedules to validate or contest deductions promptly.

• Categorize deductions (promotions, off-invoice allowances, freight, pricing errors, damages, fines) to ensure correct general ledger accounting.

• Issue approved credit memos, maintaining complete audit trails for every adjustment.

• Identify invalid claims, build dispute packages, and partner with customers to recover funds.

• Utilize trade management systems to calculate monthly accruals and reconcile deductions during month-end close.

• Perform monthly reconciliations for bottle deposits and broker commissions.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work with Sales and FP&A to verify deductions against contract terms, trade plans, and deal sheets.

• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Customer Service to investigate freight, damage, and logistics compliance claims.

• Deliver regular aging updates to internal stakeholders; escalate high-value or stalled disputes.

• Provide Sales with tailored chargeback documentation and customer deduction reporting.

Reporting & Month-End Close

• Maintain the trade deduction aging schedule and reconcile it to the general ledger monthly.

• Calculate accruals and verify reserve balances for open and anticipated deductions.

• Produce analytical reporting by customer, product line, and claim type to highlight trends for leadership.

• Support internal and external audit requests related to trade spend and AR balances.

Controls & Process Improvement

• Enforce internal accounting controls and maintain documentation standards across all workflows.

• Streamline deduction logging, coding, and recovery procedures to boost resolution speeds.

• Draft and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for trade deduction handling.

Requirements

• 2+ years of accounting or finance experience (CPG, food & beverage, or consumer products experience strongly preferred).

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance.

• Practical understanding of CPG trade mechanics (scan-backs, bill-backs, MCBs, off-invoice allowances, compliance penalties).

• Direct experience with credit memo creation, cash application, and general ledger reconciliation.

• Strong organizational skills to manage high-volume line items without sacrificing accuracy.

• Clear written and verbal communication for seamless cross-departmental coordination.

• Intermediate Excel skills (XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, pivot tables, data manipulation).

Preferred Qualifications

• ERP software experience (NetSuite preferred).

• Familiarity with major retailer/distributor portals (Walmart Retail Link, Kroger, KeHE, UNFI) and EDI formats.

• Exposure to Trade Promotion Management (TPM) tools or specialized deduction software (e.g., BluePlanner).