Payroll and Benefit Accountant

Department: Shared Services Accounting and Finance

Reports to: Shared Services Manager

Job Summary

Position Overview

The Payroll and Benefit Accountant manages general ledger postings, reconciliations, and accruals related to employee compensation, benefits, and payroll taxes. This role works closely with Accounts Payable, HR Benefits, and Payroll to ensure wages, payroll taxes, and employee benefit-related transactions are recorded accurately and timely.

Essential Job Functions and Duties

Record Transactions: Post and manage general ledger entries for wage expense, payroll taxes, employee benefit expenses and withholdings, employer contributions and insurance liabilities.

Reconcile General Ledger Accounts: Perform monthly and yearly balance sheet reconciliation for payroll accruals, health plans, retirement funds and insurance liabilities. Reconcile benefit deductions (health insurance, 401(k), pensions, life insurance, FSA and disability) with vendor invoices and general ledger accounts.

Audit Support: Supply documentation and assist internal and external teams during benefit plan and financial audits and financial reporting disclosures.

Process Improvement: Identify and help automate reporting workflows or administrative control processes for payroll and benefit accounting.

Payroll Accounting: Reconcile payroll registers to the general ledger to ensure total gross wages, employer taxes, deductions, and net pay from payroll register has posted correctly to corresponding general ledger accounts. Collaborate with accounting to confirm payroll transactions cleared the bank.

Accrual Calendar: Maintain the payroll accrual calendar and ensure payroll accruals are calculated correctly in accordance with the company’s close schedule.

Process Improvement: Identify and support opportunities to standardize and improve payroll and benefit accounting processes, automated reporting workflows, strengthen controls, and reduce manual effort.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field.

• Four to six years of general accounting and/or payroll accounting experience, preferably in a multi-regional and multi-currency organization.

• Strong knowledge of IFRS (or GAAP) as it relates to accounting for compensation, benefits, payroll taxes and retirement plans.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate well, both written and verbally, and to work with others across the organization to accomplish the objectives of the role and team.

• Strong attention to detail, ensuring controls are operating effectively, and all accounts are reconciled on time each month.

• Experience working under a monthly accounting close timetable and ability to meet deadlines.

• Self-directed professional who takes ownership, demonstrates accountability, and actively pursues continuous learning.

• Continuous improvement mindset focused on improving process efficiency, strengthening controls, and enhancing service delivery.

• Intermediate to advanced knowledge of MS Office Suite, including use of pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and some advanced functions where necessary.

• Fluency with the Spanish language a plus but not required.

Working within a Shared Service environment provides opportunities to interact with and work across multiple accounting functions and with other teams around the world.

About Boart Longyear

Established in 1890, Boart Longyear is the world’s leading provider of drilling services, drilling equipment, and performance tooling for mining and drilling companies. It also has a substantial presence in aftermarket parts and service, energy, mine de-watering, oil sands exploration, production drilling, and down-hole instrumentation.

Boart Longyear is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Boart Longyear has operations in United States, Canada, Australia, Chile, Germany, Poland and several countries in Africa.