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Head of Accounting: role profile, KPIs and interview questions

Use this role profile, key performance indicators (KPIs), interview questions and onboarding plan to hire your Head of Accounting. Find someone who can organise the accounts and explain which figures the owner can trust.

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  2. In PapaHR the profile turns into a job ad, an onboarding plan and probation goals.
  3. After 90 days, review the person against the same KPIs and competencies.

Job profile

Why the role exists

Keep accurate accounts and deliver timely reports so the business understands its liabilities and avoids unexpected losses.

Result in a year

Monthly closes follow the calendar, reports pass review and liabilities are recorded. Identified errors have actions and deadlines; a trained colleague can cover critical accounting work.

Place in the structure

  1. Reports toFinance Director; otherwise, the owner or Managing Director.
  2. Direct reportsAccountants and accounting assistants; may have no direct reports in a small business.
  3. Works withOwner — reports, liabilities and potential losses, Finance Director — closing deadlines and planning data, Sales — sales documents and customer balances, Purchasing and warehouse — receipts, stock balances and discrepancies, Human resources team — payroll inputs, Legal adviser — contract terms and disputed documents, External reviewer — balance verification and review findings
Key result areas
  1. Month-end close: verified balances and completed calculations — Close plan completion100% of planned closing steps completed on time and reviewed.
  2. Reporting obligations: prepared and accepted reports — On-time reporting100% of scheduled reports accepted by recipients by the deadline.
  3. Reporting quality: figures supported by documents and calculations — First-review reporting quality100% of reviewed reports need no material corrections at first review.
  4. Reconciliations: verified balances and explained differences — Reconciliation plan completion100% of planned reconciliations completed with differences explained.
  5. Source documents: supported transactions for the closing month — Document collection plan completion100% of listed documents received and checked before close.
  6. Risk control: actions that prevent recurring errors — Risk action plan completion100% of actions due during the period completed and checked.
Requirements

Experience: Independent month-end closing, reporting and review of other accountants’ work.

Formal: Relevant education or demonstrated training in accounting.

Should know

  • How transactions affect profit, balances and liabilities.
  • Reporting requirements in the company’s country of operation.
  • Tax calculation principles relevant to company transactions.
  • Payroll calculations and checks of supporting employment records.
  • Methods for checking source documents and verifying balances.
  • Financial data access controls and document retention.

Should be able to

  • Build a closing calendar and assign responsibilities.
  • Trace discrepancies in accounting software and spreadsheets.
  • Check calculations and documents before submitting reports.
  • Explain the financial impact of errors to the owner.
  • Train accountants and arrange cover for their work.
  • Document disputed transactions and request missing evidence.
Competencies at three levels

Accounting judgement

Supports well-founded decisions on how to record complex transactions.

  1. Checks evidence for routine transactions and escalates complex cases.basic
  2. Investigates unusual transactions, gathers evidence and explains the chosen treatment.solid
  3. Establishes a clear process for disputed transactions and trains colleagues.strong

Managing the close

Delivers reviewed reports by the required date.

  1. Completes assigned closing tasks on schedule and reports delays.basic
  2. Links closing steps, assigns owners and resolves delays early.solid
  3. Reduces closing delays while preserving checks and time for corrections.strong

Investigating discrepancies

Prevents incorrect balances, duplicate payments and overlooked customer debts.

  1. Matches documents to amounts and flags differences.basic
  2. Traces differences to transactions, corrects causes and checks results.solid
  3. Identifies recurring causes and introduces checks before close.strong

Integrity and accountability

Prevents errors being hidden to meet deadlines or improve reported results.

  1. Reports errors and checks evidence before recording transactions.basic
  2. Assesses errors, proposes corrections and alerts management.solid
  3. Controls disputed transactions and secures corrections despite pressure on results.strong

Organising the accounting team

Maintains reliable accounts without constant intervention from management.

  1. Sets clear tasks and checks document readiness.basic
  2. Assigns responsibilities, reviews risky transactions and arranges cover for each colleague.solid
  3. Builds team independence and removes reliance on one person at close.strong

Explaining financial matters

Helps the owner understand liabilities and make timely decisions.

  1. Explains which document is needed and by when.basic
  2. Explains amounts at risk, consequences of delays and possible solutions plainly.solid
  3. Agrees document deadlines across departments and prevents recurring delays.strong
Builder

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Head of Accounting

Keep accurate accounts and deliver timely reports so the business understands its liabilities and avoids unexpected losses.

Duties
  1. Organise transaction recording and assign accounting responsibilities.
  2. Maintain the calendar for closing, reporting and required payments.
  3. Check calculations, balances and transaction completeness before close.
  4. Prepare reports and confirm acceptance by recipients.
  5. Review tax calculations and add liabilities to the payment schedule.
  6. Organise customer, supplier and bank reconciliations.
  7. Ensure source documents are collected, checked and stored.
  8. Review payroll calculations and reconcile human resources inputs.
  9. Explain discrepancies, liabilities and reporting limitations to management.
  10. Correct errors and prevent their recurrence.
  11. Organise accounting for transactions in multiple currencies.
  12. Review imported purchases and supporting documents.
  13. Set up data transfers between warehouse and accounting systems.
  14. Support migration to a new accounting system.
  15. Prepare documents and explanations for external review.
  16. Participate in inventory counts for stock and equipment.
  17. Monitor contracted outsourced accounting services.
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Head of Accounting KPIs

  1. Close plan completion — Steps reviewed on time / planned steps × 100%. Mistake: Counting steps as complete before checking balances and resolving differences.weight 20% · month
  2. On-time reporting — Reports accepted on time / planned reports × 100%. Mistake: Counting submitted reports without confirming acceptance.weight 20% · month
  3. First-review reporting quality — Reports without material corrections / reviewed reports × 100%. Mistake: Hiding errors or classifying material corrections as minor.weight 20% · month
  4. Reconciliation plan completion — Reconciliations completed on time / planned reconciliations × 100%. Mistake: Closing unexplained differences or selecting only easy accounts.weight 15% · month
  5. Document collection plan completion — Documents checked before close / planned documents × 100%. Mistake: Removing unsupported transactions from the list to improve the score.weight 15% · month
  6. Risk action plan completion — Actions completed and checked on time / planned actions × 100%. Mistake: Counting written procedures without checking whether they prevent the error.weight 10% · quarter
Calculator

Work out the KPI bonus

Enter how much of each target was met, in percent, and the bonus at 100%. You can change the weights.

KPIWeight, %Achieved, %Share
Close plan completion
On-time reporting
First-review reporting quality
Reconciliation plan completion
Document collection plan completion
Risk action plan completion
KPI total
Bonus
Sum of weights

The weights are an example. They should add up to 100%.

Interview questions

Scorecard

Run the interview and get the result

Score each answer from 1 to 5 and the total is worked out by competency. Keep this page open on your phone during the interview.

Accounting judgement

Describe a disputed transaction. What documents did you request, what decision did you make, and how did you verify it?

✓ Listen for: Specific transaction, checked evidence, personal decision and subsequent review outcome.

⚑ Red flag: Relied solely on a verbal request from the director.

Tell me about a document received after month-end close. How did you assess its impact and arrange corrections?

✓ Listen for: Assessed reporting impact, agreed corrections and retained a record of changes.

⚑ Red flag: Moved the amount to a convenient month without assessing consequences.

Managing the close

Describe a close that was falling behind. Where was the delay, what did you change, and how did you check the result?

✓ Listen for: Dependencies between steps, personal actions and a verified outcome.

⚑ Red flag: Removed checks just to meet the date.

Tell me about the first closing calendar you introduced. How did you set deadlines and involve other departments?

✓ Listen for: Agreed inputs, owners, checkpoints and a process for reporting delays.

⚑ Red flag: Sent the calendar and treated subsequent delays as someone else’s problem.

Investigating discrepancies

Describe a supplier discrepancy caused by your own accounts. How did you find the cause and check the correction?

✓ Listen for: Traced documents and payments, corrected the transaction and repeated the reconciliation.

⚑ Red flag: Adjusted the balance to match the supplier statement without checking.

Tell me about a recurring warehouse data transfer error. How did you detect it and prevent it happening again?

✓ Listen for: Found the source, agreed a change and checked subsequent imports.

⚑ Red flag: Manually corrected the total every month.

Integrity and accountability

Describe a time management wanted a more favourable financial result. What did you do, and how did the discussion end?

✓ Listen for: Explained consequences, preserved accurate figures and proposed a sound alternative.

⚑ Red flag: Changed figures because the director carried the responsibility.

Tell me about your own error found after submitting a report. Who did you tell, what changed, and how did you improve checks?

✓ Listen for: Acknowledged the error, assessed consequences and verified the correction.

⚑ Red flag: Concealed the error or blamed an assistant.

Organising the accounting team

Describe an accountant’s unexpected absence before close. How did you reassign their work and preserve checks?

✓ Listen for: Checked access, reassigned tasks, appointed a reviewer and reviewed the close.

⚑ Red flag: Asked the absent employee to work without arranging cover.

Tell me about someone who repeatedly made calculation errors. How did you change their work and assess the result?

✓ Listen for: Investigated causes, provided training, introduced checks and reviewed subsequent calculations.

⚑ Red flag: Quietly redid everything without discussing causes.

Explaining financial matters

Describe explaining the difference between profit and cash to an owner. What decision did they make afterwards?

✓ Listen for: Connected figures to debts, stock and payments; identified the resulting decision.

⚑ Red flag: Used accounting terminology without checking understanding.

Tell me about a department that kept submitting documents late. What did you agree with its manager, and what changed?

✓ Listen for: Explained consequences, agreed an owner and checked subsequent closes.

⚑ Red flag: Only complained about irresponsible colleagues.

Score at least one answer and the result shows up here. ·
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Test task

Review a month-end close and explain risks to the owner · 2 hours

Practice scenario: a trading business with 25 employees. All amounts are illustrative and in US dollars. The month must close by the fifth working day. A sample shows these transactions: a $600 supplier invoice was recorded twice; a $400 supplier advance was expensed before delivery; a customer paid $700 against a $1000 sale, and the remaining balance is unreconciled; a $250 purchase has no source document; payroll of $900 has been accrued, with payment scheduled after close. These are separate transactions, with insufficient data to calculate profit. The manager suggests leaving disputed amounts unchanged to meet the deadline. Prepare a table showing each issue, its impact, evidence needed, action, owner and deadline. Show the known customer balance and explain the difference between accrued payroll and its payment. Propose a schedule for remaining checks and a message to the owner of up to 150 words. Identify decisions that require more information. No tax rates or journal entries need to be calculated.

How to assess it

  • Identifies the duplicate invoice and unsupported expensing of the advance.
  • Shows the $300 customer balance separately from cash received.
  • Requests the missing document and keeps the amount visible.
  • Separates accrued payroll from the future payment.
  • Specifies evidence, owners and a realistic sequence for corrections.
  • Proposes checks of corrections before close.
  • Explains consequences clearly; does not invent profit from incomplete data.

Ready job ad

Head of Accounting at [company]

[Company] operates in [business activity]. We need a Head of Accounting to organise the accounts and month-end close. The team is [team structure], reporting to [job title].

What you will do

  • Organise accounting and review work by [team structure].
  • Close by [closing deadline] with verified balances.
  • Prepare reports and track reporting and payment deadlines.
  • Obtain documents from sales, purchasing and the warehouse.
  • Review reconciliations, payroll and tax calculations.
  • Explain errors, liabilities and loss prevention options to the owner.

What we need

  • Experience independently closing accounts and preparing reports.
  • Able to review accountants’ work and assign responsibilities.
  • Understand accounting for [business activity] transactions.
  • Find causes of discrepancies and verify corrections.
  • Use accounting software and spreadsheets confidently.
  • Explain complex issues plainly and report errors openly.

What we offer

  • Pay: [salary] US dollars, [review arrangements].
  • Hours: [schedule], work arrangement: [format], location: [city].
  • Team: [accounting team], support: [external advisers].
  • Tools: [accounting system], [document storage arrangements].
  • Authority: [access rights and departmental document request authority].
  • Apply: [contact], selection stages: [stages].

In PapaHR this text becomes a job opening with a careers page and a candidate pipeline.

90-day onboarding plan

Before day one

  1. Agree the accounting handover date and participants.Manager
  2. Prepare the role profile and document owners’ contact details.HR
  3. Prepare individual access to accounting software and document archives.IT
  4. Gather reporting schedules, system lists and unfinished reconciliations.Mentor

Day one

  1. Discuss authority, closing deadlines and how to report risks.Manager
  2. Check system logins and access to document archives.New hire
  3. Explain current accounting responsibilities and upcoming reporting deadlines.Mentor
  4. Introduce the accounting team and managers supplying documents.HR

First week

  1. Document the handover, including balances and unresolved issues.New hire
  2. Check upcoming liabilities and completeness of reporting documents.New hire
  3. Agree priorities for investigating inherited errors.Manager
  4. Record the reconciliation plan and request missing documents.New hire

30 days

  1. Complete the first close and save review results.New hire
  2. Review the reporting package and discuss material corrections.Manager
  3. Approve closing dates and owners for incoming documents.Manager
  4. Assign accounting responsibilities and define calculation checks.New hire

60 days

  1. Complete planned reconciliations and explain remaining differences.New hire
  2. Implement agreed actions for the most significant errors.New hire
  3. Test controls for duplicates and missing documents.New hire
  4. Agree resources for corrections involving other departments.Manager

90 days

  1. Present closing results and adherence to reporting deadlines.New hire
  2. Test handover of one critical task to a trained backup.New hire
  3. Assess reporting accuracy and completion of planned corrections.Manager
  4. Discuss probation period outcomes and the next development plan.HR

Probation period goals

  1. Complete the accounting handover and expose existing issues.By week one, document the handover; list the amount, priority and next action for each unresolved issue.
  2. Establish predictable closing and reporting.By day 90, complete 100% of agreed closing steps and reports due after handover.
  3. Verify key balances and resolve priority errors.By day 90, complete 100% of agreed reconciliations and corrections; explain any deferrals to management.
  4. Arrange cover for a critical accounting responsibility.By day 90, a designated colleague or provider completes a test task using instructions without prompting.

Career path

Staff Accountant

Owns an area such as documents, reconciliations or payroll.

To move up: Learn adjacent areas and independently verify balances at close.

Senior Accountant

Handles complex transactions and reviews colleagues’ work.

To move up: Run a complete close and explain reporting risks to management.

Head of Accounting

Owns accounting processes, reporting and the accounting team.

To move up: Develop budgeting, cash flow management and business decision analysis.

Finance Director

Owns financial planning, cash flow and business financial performance.

To move up: Develop strategic planning and financial management across business units.

Questions for a 1:1 meeting

  1. What could delay this month’s close, and what decision do you need from me?
  2. Which balances remain unverified, and how does that affect our understanding of liabilities?
  3. Where could we pay twice or overlook a customer debt?
  4. Which documents keep arriving late, and whose help should I secure?
  5. Which error happened again, and what process needs to change?
  6. Which upcoming required payment is missing from the payment schedule?
  7. Which task would stop without you, and how is backup training progressing?
  8. Where are you under pressure to alter figures, and what support do you need?

Mistakes in hiring and managing

  1. Hiring for software knowledge without assessing full closing experience.
    Better: Discuss a close the candidate led and assess an error scenario.
  2. Judging performance only by the absence of complaints or penalties.
    Better: Check balances, report acceptance and removal of error causes.
  3. Handing over accounts without recording old errors and unfinished reconciliations.
    Better: Document the starting position and agree a correction plan.
  4. Demanding documents from accounting without involving other departments.
    Better: Assign document owners in sales, purchasing and the warehouse.
  5. Making one person the sole holder of access and knowledge.
    Better: Arrange individual access, instructions and tested cover for critical tasks.
HR in money

What a bad hire costs: Head of Accounting

The same calculation as in PapaHR «HR in money»: the cost of hiring plus the salary for the months the new hire worked at half capacity.

One leaver
A year

In the first months a new hire delivers about half the result, so the company pays the other half of the salary for learning. In PapaHR the calculation uses your real leavers.

Questions and answers

How does a Head of Accounting differ from an accountant?

An accountant usually handles an area such as documents, reconciliations or payroll. The Head of Accounting organises the whole accounting function, reviews its output and oversees reporting. In a small business, they may also handle individual accounting tasks.

Does a small business need a Head of Accounting?

Assess transaction complexity, document volumes and the need to review others’ work. Even with outsourced accounting, someone inside the business must coordinate documents and check the results. Choose a working arrangement that matches this workload.

How does a Head of Accounting differ from a Finance Director?

The Head of Accounting ensures accurate records and reporting of completed transactions. The Finance Director plans cash flows and evaluates future business decisions. When combining the roles, define each responsibility and allocate time to both.

How do you assess a Head of Accounting at interview?

Ask about a close they led, an error they found and a difficult reconciliation. Then use a practice scenario with a duplicate document and an unverified balance. Assess the evidence they request and how they explain the impact to management.

What should a Head of Accounting do during handover?

Document the systems, access rights, balances, upcoming deadlines and unresolved issues received. Then agree reconciliation and correction priorities with management. This makes it possible to assess the new hire against the actual starting position.

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