Accountant I – Payroll Tax Compliance

Job Description

Accountant I | USC Auxiliary Services

The Tone:
This is a hybrid role at USC Auxiliary Services, located in Los Angeles, CA, offering a blend of on-site and remote work. The successful candidate will join the Payroll Tax Compliance team within USC Payroll Services. This position is critical for supporting payroll tax compliance across USC’s highly diverse employee population, playing a significant role in ensuring all payroll tax activities are accurate, timely, and compliant with federal, state, and local requirements. This role requires an adaptable and technology-minded individual who can thrive in a collaborative, deadline-driven environment, especially given the evolving nature of payroll tax regulations and the team’s critical processing deadlines.

The TL;DR
• Role: Early Career
• Type: Hybrid
• Location: Hybrid, Los Angeles, CA
• Pay: $33.00 – $38.51 hourly
• Team: USC Payroll Services, Payroll Tax Compliance team
• Mission: Owns ensuring payroll tax activities are accurate, timely, and compliant with federal, state, and local requirements for USC’s diverse employee population.
• Tech Stack: Microsoft Excel, AI, automation tools

What You’ll Actually Do
• Compliance Support: Support comprehensive payroll tax and accounting compliance activities for USC’s diverse employee population, ensuring adherence to all relevant regulations.
• Record Management: Review and verify accounting and payroll tax records and transactions for accuracy, completeness, and appropriate supporting documentation to maintain data integrity.
• Account Reconciliation: Reconcile various accounts, diligently research discrepancies, prepare necessary adjustments, and meticulously maintain documentation for audit purposes.
• Financial Reporting: Prepare and review reports and other essential accounting documents in strict accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
• Technology Integration: Actively participate in the evaluation, user testing, and responsible integration of emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, to identify opportunities for process improvement, efficiency, and accuracy within payroll tax and accounting processes.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s degree and knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles, including fund accounting, are required for this role.
• Experience: A minimum of 1 year of work experience is essential. Preferred qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and two years of relevant experience, particularly with payroll, payroll tax, tax compliance, accounting, or related financial functions.
• Skills: Demonstrated adaptability and willingness to learn new technologies, systems, processes, and regulatory requirements in a rapidly changing environment. An interest in learning and applying emerging technologies, including AI and automation tools, to support process improvement and operational efficiency is crucial. Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including experience using formulas, functions, pivot tables, and lookups for data analysis and validation, are also required.
• Bonus: Experience providing excellent customer service in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment. Knowledge of university financial systems and accounting applications. Experience working with large and confidential data sets, with demonstrated attention to data accuracy, integrity, and appropriate handling of sensitive information. Ability to quickly learn new regulations and procedures and apply them accurately.