Park Ridge, IL, USA+7 moreMore locations: Woodbridge Township, NJ, USA | Raleigh, NC, USA | Charleston, SC, USA | Williston, VT, USA | Jacksonville, FL, USA | Vienna, VA, USA | Atlanta, GA, USA
In Person
AccountingFinancial Accounting
About the job
Requirements
A bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field is required.
At least 3 years of progressive accounting and/or finance experience in industry, public accounting, or a combination, including some experience in the insurance sector.
Working knowledge of statutory (NAIC SAP) and U.S. GAAP accounting and reporting.
Advanced Excel skills, regular use of AI, and comfort working with large data sets.
Experience with at least one general ledger or ERP system and ability to learn new systems.
Ability to produce accurate, well-documented work and apply analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
Clear written and verbal communication, including explaining technical matters to non-accountants.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines across concurrent clients.
Initiative, willingness to learn, and willingness to take on new and unfamiliar challenges.
Responsibilities
Perform statutory (NAIC SAP) and GAAP accounting and financial statement analysis in varied situations.
Research accounting and regulatory questions and draft technical memoranda citing authoritative guidance, including NAIC SSAPs and ASC 944 and related Topics.
Document current-state processes and controls and help design and implement improvements, automations, and system conversions.
Prepare journal entries, account reconciliations, and ledger clean-ups; resolve premium, commission, loss, and agent/broker reconciliation differences with clients.
Prepare assumed and ceded reinsurance accounting support, settlement calculations, and bordereaux data validations.
Prepare statutory quarterly and annual statement filings using annual statement software.
Assist with regulatory filings and calculations, including RBC, GCC, UCAA applications, and state-specific data calls.
Build and maintain pro forma financial statements, budgets, forecasts, liquidity and cash flow models, and KPI or management reporting packages.
Manage smaller engagements or workstreams end to end by planning work, tracking budget-to-actual hours, meeting deadlines, and communicating status to clients and FOA leadership.
Serve as a day-to-day point of contact for client finance staff on assigned projects.
Delegate and review work performed by Associates, Interns, and other resources, providing clear instructions and constructive feedback.
Identify scope changes and additional client needs and escalate them as potential follow-on opportunities.
Contribute to FOA's template library, including reconciliation workbooks, pro formas, RBC/UCAA templates, and engagement checklists, and contribute to its quality review framework.
Use and help refine FOA's technology stack, including AI tools, ERP/GL platforms, and annual statement software, to improve speed, quality, and realization.
Support business development by reviewing marketing content and participating in industry events.
Collaborate with Audit, Reinsurance, Tax, BAS, and other Johnson Lambert teams on projects.
Participate in recruiting and interviewing to grow the team.
Model FOA's collaborative culture.
Desired Qualifications
CPA license or active progress toward licensure; CPA is preferred but not required.
Hands-on experience preparing NAIC quarterly or annual statements or using annual statement software.
Exposure to reinsurance accounting, premium/loss reconciliations, or bordereaux.
Interest in or experience with AI and automation tools to streamline accounting work.
Nonprofit accounting exposure.
THE OPPORTUNITY
We are looking for a Senior Associate who gets things done. A technically strong insurance accounting professional who produces high-quality deliverables, owns smaller projects end to end, and wants a clear path to Manager. You'll work directly with FOA leadership on a wide range of client challenges across STAT and GAAP reporting, regulatory filings, reinsurance, reconciliations, and system and process projects.
This role suits someone who is entrepreneurial, curious, and energized by variety: no two engagements look the same. If you want your compensation and advancement to reflect the outcomes you deliver, this is the place to build that career.
ABOUT JOHNSON LAMBERT
Johnson Lambert LLP is a national CPA firm with 40+ years of niche focus on the insurance and nonprofit industries. We work with 750+ insurance clients nationwide — spanning property & casualty, life, health, title, reinsurance, captives, and MGAs — and are the 5th largest auditor of P&C insurers in the U.S. Our professionals are active in the AICPA, NAIC, and IASA, keeping us close to the issues insurance leaders face every day.
ABOUT FOA
Financial & Operations Advisory (FOA) is Johnson Lambert's newest practice area, built to complement our Audit, Tax, and Risk Advisory practices. FOA gives insurance organizations (and nonprofits) hands-on financial leadership, operational support, and technical accounting expertise, sized to the situation, working inside the client's structure, with no ramp period.
Our promise is simple: “Insurance is hard. We can help.” We step in when a key role goes dark, a new system doesn't know what the old one knew, new regulatory requirements land on a stretched team, growth outpaces finance, an audit surfaces control gaps, or a strategic project has budget and backing but no owner.
FOA is in a build-and-scale phase, with a three-year plan to grow revenue and the team substantially. Joining now means helping shape the practice, its offerings, templates, technology, and culture, not just staffing it.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Client Delivery & Technical Production
Perform STAT (NAIC SAP) and GAAP accounting and financial statement analysis in a variety of situations.
Research accounting and regulatory questions and draft technical memos citing authoritative guidance (NAIC SSAPs, ASC 944 and related Topics).
Document current-state processes and controls and help design and implement improvements, automations, and system conversions.
Prepare journal entries, account reconciliations, ledger clean-ups; resolve premium, commission, loss, and agent/broker reconciliation differences with clients.
Prepare assumed and ceded reinsurance accounting support, settlement calculations, and bordereaux data validations.
Prepare statutory quarterly and annual statement filings using annual statement software.
Assist with regulatory filings and calculations such as RBC, GCC, UCAA applications, and state-specific data calls, among others.
Build and maintain pro forma financial statements, budgets, forecasts, liquidity/cash flow models, and KPI or management reporting packages.
Project Ownership
Manage smaller engagements or workstreams end to end: plan the work, track budget-to-actual hours, meet deadlines, and communicate status to clients and FOA leadership.
Serve as a day-to-day point of contact for client finance staff on assigned projects.
Delegate and review work performed by Associates, Interns and other resources; provide clear instructions and constructive feedback.
Identify scope changes and additional client needs and escalate them as potential follow-on opportunities.
Practice Building
Contribute to FOA's template library (reconciliation workbooks, proformas, RBC/UCAA templates, engagement checklists) and quality review framework.
Use and help refine FOA's technology stack, including AI tools, ERP/GL platforms, and annual statement software, to improve speed, quality, and realization.
Support business development through reviewing marketing content and participating in industry events.
Collaborate with Johnson Lambert's Audit, Reinsurance, Tax, BAS, and other teams on various projects.
Participate in recruiting and interviewing to grow the team.
Model FOA's culture: fun, collaborative, and challenging.
WHAT YOU BRING
Required
Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
3+ years of progressive experience in accounting and/or finance in industry, or a combination of industry and public accounting. A portion of that experience must be in the insurance sector.
Working knowledge of both statutory (NAIC SAP) and U.S. GAAP accounting and reporting.
Advanced Excel skills and regular AI usage. Comfort working with large data sets.
Experience with at least one general ledger/ERP system and the ability to learn new systems quickly.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and attention-to-detail skills, with a commitment to accurate, well-documented work.
Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical matters to non-accountants.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines across concurrent clients.
Self-starter with initiative who is eager to learn.
Positive attitude and willingness to take on new and unfamiliar challenges.
Preferred
CPA license (or active progress toward licensure). CPA is preferred, not required.
Hands-on experience preparing NAIC quarterly/annual statements or using annual statement software.
Exposure to reinsurance accounting, premium/loss reconciliations, or bordereaux.
Interest in or experience with AI and automation tools to streamline accounting work.
Nonprofit accounting exposure is a plus.
WHO YOU ARE
Builder mindset: you like creating something new and are comfortable with ambiguity.
Ownership: you see a task through and raise your hand for the next one.
Curiosity: you want to understand the “why” behind the numbers and the business.
Growth-oriented: you want a defined path to Manager and are motivated by outcome-based rewards.
COMPENSATION, REWARDS & GROWTH
Competitive base salary
Clear, merit-based path to Manager as the FOA team grows, with promotion driven by demonstrated capability rather than tenure alone.
Direct exposure to firm leadership and the chance to shape a growing practice from the ground up.
CPE support, CPA exam support, and a structured onboarding and training plan.
HOW WILL JL SUPPORT YOU:
25 days of paid time off for all professional level employees
Half-day Fridays during the summer
Employer-subsidized medical & dental benefits for both employee and family
401(k) with employer match
2 paid days off annually for personal community service activities
This position may be filled at either the Senior Associate or Manager level depending on candidate qualifications and experience.
Equity note: Research suggests that women and Black, Indigenous, and other persons of color are less likely than men or White job seekers to apply for positions unless they are confident they meet 100% of the qualifications. We strongly encourage interested individuals to apply, and allow us to evaluate the knowledge, skills, and abilities you demonstrate, using an internal equity lens.
Johnson Lambert prides itself for the hands-on approach and relationships we build with future employees, employees, and clients. We believe each application is the potential for a future relationship with JL. Therefore, a member of our HR team personally reviews all applications submitted.