Accounting Specialist (Accounting & Operations | Food Industry)

Position: Accounting Specialist

Location: Oak Park, IL (hybrid - some remote, some in-office)

Reports to: Director of Finance

Salary: around $70,000, depending on experience and qualifications

About the Company

Our client is a European food manufacturer with a strong international presence and an established U.S. subsidiary in the Greater Chicago Area. Since 2012, the U.S. team has been managing operations for the American and Canadian markets, including Sales, Finance, Marketing, Private Label Development, Customer Service, and Logistics.

The team combines the agility of a lean, entrepreneurial U.S. organization with the backing and expertise of a global food group. With the launch of two new product lines, the business is entering an exciting growth phase, creating additional complexity and opportunities across operations.

About the Role

Our client is seeking an Accounting Specialist to join its finance team in a highly cross-functional role.

This position goes beyond traditional accounting and sits at the intersection of finance, operations, customer service, and logistics, supporting the day-to-day financial processes of a growing business.

The role is well-suited for a detail-oriented and proactive professional with a solid foundation in accounting, who is interested in gaining broad exposure across financial and operational functions within an international environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Support core accounting activities, including account and bank/credit card reconciliations and accounts payable, ensuring accuracy and timely resolution of discrepancies

• Assist with the preparation and review of monthly financial reporting, ensuring completeness and accuracy

• Take ownership of customer deduction tracking and resolution, reviewing data through customer portals and working closely with customer service and warehouse teams

• Act as a key point of coordination between finance, logistics, and customer service, proactively following up on discrepancies and driving issues to resolution

• Support warehouse billing processes, including invoice validation, discrepancy investigation, and account reconciliation

• Manage and review employee expenses and corporate card transactions, including follow-ups and reimbursement processing

• Assist with intercompany processes, including accounts payable, reimbursable tracking, and coordination with international counterparts

• Support budget tracking and expense coordination in collaboration with internal teams (e.g. sales and operations)

• Contribute to inventory-related activities, including coordination across systems and support for inventory reporting (e.g. aging, product movement)

• Support sales tax tracking and filings and assist in coordination with external partners (e.g. CPA) for tax-related matters

• Maintain and support additional account tracking (e.g. commission-based accounts) as part of ongoing financial operations

• Contribute to process improvements, helping to bring structure and visibility to day-to-day financial operations

Your Profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field

• 2–4 years of relevant experience in accounting or a related function

• Hands-on experience with QuickBooks or a comparable accounting system

• Strong Excel skills and comfort working with data and reconciliations

• High attention to detail and a structured, analytical mindset

• Proactive and self-motivated, with the ability to take ownership of tasks and drive them through to completion

• Ability to work independently and ensure accurate and timely execution of responsibilities in a fast-paced environment

• Comfortable working in a cross-functional setting, collaborating with teams across finance, operations, and customer-facing functions

• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively across teams

What to Expect

• A highly collaborative, hands-on environment within a lean U.S. organization, offering strong cross-functional exposure across finance, customer service, logistics, and sales

• Direct involvement in the day-to-day operations of a growing business, with high visibility and early responsibility, particularly in the context of upcoming product launches

• Close interaction with internal teams as well as international headquarters, with the opportunity to grow into broader responsibilities and contribute to shaping processes over time

• Health insurance and 401(k) plan

• Generous PTO and a flexible hybrid work model