Staff Accountant position for the Corporate Office. This position will report to the Accounting Manager.

Position Summary:

• Track inventory and inventory costs for fuel oil inventory on a daily basis
• Ensure timely and accurate billing for fuel oil division
• Update management on the accounts receivable aging report on a weekly basis
• Assist with monthly sales and variance analysisAssist with account reconciliations and preparing journal entries
• Assist in month end close process 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Finance is preferred
• Requires 1 plus years of general accounting experience
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications
• Knowledge of JDE is a plus

 

LINK: 

http://www.recruiter.com/i/7-ways-to-scare-off-a-recruiter/?utm_content=buffer2adc9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Did you know that the average time looking at a CV is 5-7 seconds? According to The Confessions of the Recruitment Industry infographic by BeHiring, not only do recruiters spend less than 10 seconds scanning resumes, if they catch one spelling or grammar error the resume will automatically be discarded. Ouch.

With more than 12 million people unemployed nationally, job seekers cannot afford costly mistakes when submitting their resumes. The window of 5-7 seconds is a narrow one, especially considering a potential employer only allots that amount of time to hundreds of resumes a day. Below are seven common ways to frighten a recruiter; avoid them to increase the chances of that ‘narrow reviewing window’ opening up a little wider for you.

1. Sloppy resumes

At number one, grammatical errors, typos and misspellings are the most common and, often, most costly mistakes. Hundreds or even thousands of people can apply for one position. Why would a recruiter waste his or her time with an applicant who spells acheive for achieve or excede for exceed? Obvious typos tell potential employers the applicant did not take the time to review and reread his or her resume before submission and grammatical errors, especially for communications positions, show employers whether or not an applicant is a good fit. Using a colon in place of semicolon, omitting necessary commas and placing the period outside of quotation marks —these are all ways to scare off recruiters. The most threatening error? Misspelling a company’s name. If an applicant cannot make sure to spell the name of the company that he or she is applying to correctly, that person will immediately have his or her resume thrown out.

2. Unprofessional email address

Employees represent the companies they work for; they help maintain and reflect a company’s brand. Recruiters look at potential candidates to see who will best fit into the culture of the company. An unprofessional email sends a red flag to employers. They want to hire mature adults, ones who understand the importance of creating a professional email address. If you aren’t sure whether or not your email is professional, take this test: Imagine a recruiter just called you about a job opening. He or she asks you to provide an email address to forward the information to. Say your email address aloud, just as you would over the phone, and see how it sounds.

3. Residence

Some companies try to avoid hiring out-of-state applicants. Relocation and the expenses that come with it are not always things a company wants to deal with with bringing on someone new. Find out if an employer is seeking “local candidates only” before applying because if that’s the case, he or she won’t even consider an out-of-state resume.

4. Lack of detail in work history

It’s true you do not want to crowd your resume with long sentences, but not providing enough detail is also risky. Simply listing previous positions is not enough. Recruiters want to know the functions and duties carried out while you worked at a company. Lack of detail makes them question how significant your previous roles were.

5. No knowledge of industry applying for

Resumes that reflect work history that has nothing to do with the industry of position you’re applying for are also red flags. Unless it’s a ”no experience necessary” position, most job postings list some type of requirements and/or qualifications for applicants, and applicants must often have some type of background in the field of the open position.

6. Lack of professional references

Having no references can often be a deal breaker for recruiters. Employers value feedback from those who can attest to an applicant’s work ethic and skills. If two or more of a person’s references are personal —family members or friends —this can also hurt an individual’s chances of their resume getting further attention. Too many personal references tell employers an applicant doesn’t have enough professional references, and this leads them to wonder why? Do they not truly have the work experience they claim to? Was their work poorly done? Did they leave on bad terms? You do not wantyour resume to leave recruiters skeptical or confused.

7. High school activities

This pertains to college students (because I’m hoping no one out of school would do this). When seeking internships or regular employment, a list of high school activities blares a warning to recruiters. Like personal references, the applicant doesn’t have enough current or collegiate experience so he or she went back to high school. Unless you’re a freshman student, this is a big no.

Click to access Economy_at_a_Glance.pdf

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-1840-Interview-Tips-9-Interview-Questions-You-Should-Be-Asking?SiteID=CBHANDLE 

Privately held multi-industry company with approximately $25 million in combined sales is searching for a capable individual to fill its Senior Accountant position. Primary responsibilities are payroll, inventory and general ledger accounting.

Position requires a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, with three to five years experience. Microsoft Excel, Word, Outlook, and PC-based accounting system experience required.

Office hours for south of Galleria-area location are 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. with some flexibility for the right person and circumstances. Benefit package includes vacation, holiday, 401(k) Plan with matching percent, and partially-paid health insurance. Salary is commensurate with experience. 

SUMMARY:

Various accounting responsibilities for privately held landscaping company, with future growth opportunity

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Weekly payroll processing for  company
• Retail inventory receipt of goods
• Investigate gross margin variances for retail operations
• Assist in retail physical inventories twice a year
• Match company credit card receipts and code expenses for statements
• Various balance sheet account analysis (employee receivables, prepaid accounts, accruals, fixed assets, etc.)
• Initiate timely payroll tax and 401(k) deposits
• Investigate differences between general ledger and sub-ledgers
• Prepare monthly recurring journal entries, correcting entries, and entries for various inventory transactions
• Record all accounting activity for land holding partnership
• Assist in reconciliation of intercompany accounts
• Other reports, financial analysis and special projects as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Financial analysis and accounting knowledge
• Some corporate tax knowledge or experience, including Federal income tax, sales tax, franchise tax and payroll taxes
• Payroll experience helpful

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting preferred
• CPA helpful
• Three to five years experience in an accountant position

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2014/01/27/storytelling-job-interview/?a_dgi=aolshare_twitter

Add Storytelling To The Interview Process by

Connect with the interviewer by telling a story

By Marc Miller

Storytelling? Storytelling is a very compelling way to inform the interviewer that you know your stuff.

The purpose of telling stories is to get you to talk about your most memorable accomplishments, biggest challenges, the ways you deal with conflict, and how you recover from a stumble.

If you answer every question in an interview with a story, it shows that you have demonstrated your expertise in a real world setting.

Over time, you will want to build up a library of stories that, at a moments notice, you can pull off the shelf and share.

The stories in your library should be constructed to have three sections:

•Clearly state the problem
•Describe how you solved the problem
•Describe the outcome

What stories should you have at your disposal?

Step #1 – Look at the responsibilities section of the job description

Take each responsibility listed in the job description and create a story that talks about a situation where you demonstrated the documented skill. Write out each story then rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse some more. You will want to be able to tell the story in a very conversational manner. You want it to sound natural.

What if you have not actually performed the tasks or roles described in the job description?

Find a situation where you performed similar responsibilities. Start the story out by saying:

I have not been in that exact situation, but let me tell you about the time I did something similar!

Step #2 – Standard interview questions

Prepare a story for each of the following common interview questions (from About.com):

•What is your greatest strength?
•What is you greatest weakness?
•How do you handle stress and pressure?
•Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it?
•How do you evaluate success?
•Why do you want this job?
•Why should we hire you?
•What are your goals for the future?
•Tell me about yourself.

Step 3 – Be prepared for Behavioral interview questions

Behavioral questions are best answered in story form. Some sample behavioral questions:

•Give an example of an occasion when you used logic to solve a problem.
•Give an example of a goal you reached and tell me how you achieved it.
•Give an example of a goal you didn’t meet and how you handled it.
•Describe a stressful situation at work and how you handled it.
•Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure.
•How do you handle a challenge?
•Have you been in a situation where you didn’t have enough work to do?
•Have you ever made a mistake? How did you handle it?
•Describe a decision you made that was unpopular and how you handled implementing it.

Interview preparation

You will want to practice telling your stories in front of a mirror. Remember to smile! Pay attention to your facial expressions as you tell each story. Your delivery should sound natural and unrehearsed.

Print out each question that you have prepared for, along with a short description of the associated story. Use large fonts with a lot of white space to make it easy to read.

Bring this into the interview and be prepared to take notes on how well each story was received.

If you are unsure which story to use to answer a particular question, repeat the question back to the interviewer by saying, “I want to make sure I understood you correctly. What I heard you say is…”

This gives you a chance to gather your thoughts and scan your list of questions and stories in order to pick the most appropriate.

Over time, your library of stories will grow and you will get better at retelling them. Each time you tell a story, pay attention to how it was received. Did the interviewer enjoy the story? Did the interviewer display positive body language?

The more you practice sharing your stories, the more natural you will become in telling them.

Marc Miller is the found of Career Pivot and author Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for Baby Boomers. Follow him in Twitter and Facebook.

 

Position Summary:

• This position will handle material transfers
• Perform Inventory Reconciliations
• Conduct audits for P&A and Joint Accounting

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or Business is preferred
• Requires 10 years of Oil & Gas experience in Expenditure Accounting
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications
• Knowledge of Excalibur is preferred
• Understanding and knowledge of COPAS documents

http://blog.getsqrl.com/10-myths-about-accounting/

 

 

January 2014
Industry News and Updates

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and has started their new year off in a great way. The first 3 weeks tend to be a very slow time in the recruiting world and that is due to all the month, quarter and year end closes taking place. However, there is something very different about 2014. This is the busiest start to a year I have experienced in the 12 years of being in this great field of recruiting. We are seeing movement at all levels. If you watch the Houston Business Journal closely you will see that there have been a ton of CEO announcements in the past couple of months. With that comes changes at the CFO level and potentially turnover in the Accounting department or just simply replacements made by the new regime. With that, 2014 should be an interesting year, since the unemployment rate for degreed professionals is 3.3% and the economy is at full employment at 5%. That means that we are in short supply of great talent. Did you know that Houston unemployment rate is down to 5.6%? I sure do love the fact that we live in Houston, Texas! My prediction is another great year for our city and I look forward to keep you informed. Stay tuned for my next newsletter in March.

Local Statistics:
• National / Houston Unemployment rate: 5.6/6.2
• Price of Oil: $97 (last year $87)
• Oil Rig Count: 1769(last year 1789)
• Industries hiring: E&P / Oil & Gas Field Services / Manufacturing /Construction / Engineering / Chemicals
• Positions in demand: Controllers, Senior Accountants and Auditors, SEC experience is in high demand
• Sr. Financial Reporting Analyst (XBRL) – DT – 75 to 85K
• Controller, CPA, Manufacturing, North Houston, 110 to 130K
• Controller – West Houston, CPA, Public Accounting, 130 to 160K
• Financial Analyst, Galleria, 70 to 85K
• Inventory Accountant, NW Houston, 70 to 85K
• Staff Accountant, West Houston
• Senior Accountant, West Houston
• Consolidations Accountant – West Houston – 55 to 65K plus bonus
• Senior Tax Accountant, Local Firm, High Net Wealth Client Base, Galleria
• Accounting Manager, CPA – Stafford
• Tax Director, CPA – The Woodlands – Bringing tax in house 140 – 165K
• Senior Auditors and Supervisors – Public Accounting
• Audit Manger, local CPA firm, 100 to 140K
• Senior Auditor, 2 year rotational program, Oil & Gas
• Tax Manager, CPA, Galleria, 110 to 135K
• SEC Reporting Director, San Antonio,
• Senior Tax Accountant, Public Accounting Firm, Galleria, 75k+
• Senior Tax Accountant, Public Accounting Firm, North Heights, 75k+
• E&P Accountant, LOE experience, Galleria, 75-100k
• AR Lead, O&G Services, SAP, Very South Houston, 45-55k
• AR Clerk, O&G Services, SAP, Very South Houston, 16-20/hr
• Staff Auditor, O&G Services, Greenspoint, 60-75k
• Senior Transfer Pricing, Manufacturing, Memorial City, 70-90k
• Financial Analyst, Chemical Trading, Galleria, 40-60k + 50%+ bonus
• Staff Accountant, Restaurant, SW, 45-60k
• SEC Supervisor, Restaurant, SW, 80-90k
• Staff and Senior Auditor, Public Accounting Firm, Galleria
• Staff Accountant, Property Management, Galleria, 45-55k
• Controller, Manufacturing, SW Houston, 100-130k
• AP Analyst – SAP required, South Houston, 60-70k
• Payroll Associate – In-house payroll processing, Northwest Houston, 22/hr

Diane Delgado LeMaire | Area Director, Executive Search & Branch Manager | Creative Financial Staffing, a division of Fitts, Roberts CPA Firm | 5718 Westheimer Suite 800 | Houston, TX 77057 | 713-490-6003 | dcd@fittsroberts.com| 

 

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-3313-Interview-Tips-How-to-survive-brain-teaser-interview-questions/?SiteID=CBHANDLE

 

Consolidations Accountant / Financial Analyst

The responsibilities of this position primarily include:

• Review of financial statements, supporting schedules and internally-generated audit reports; 
• Creation and review of trend analysis and various other analytical tools; 
• Assistance with the consolidation of the financial statements corporate entities; 
• Preparation of various journal entries required in the consolidation of financial statements; 
• Completion of special projects; and 
• Creation of ad hoc reports.

Desired Qualifications

The candidate must be:

• A team-first oriented employee;
• Able to excel in a fast-paced environment;
• Detail oriented;
• Highly analytical;
• Willing and able to work the necessary hours to accomplish the assigned tasks, especially during month- and quarter-end close process; and
• An effective communicator, including the use of both verbal and written forms of communication.

 

The ideal candidate should have, at a minimum:

• Successfully retained a Bachelor’s degree, with a major in accounting, from a reputable business college;
• A firm understanding of accounting principles;
• One to three years of relevant experience in accounting at a large, multi-location corporation and/or public accounting firm;
• Retained, or be eligible and desire to achieve, certification as a public accountant;
• Proficiency handling multiple, simultaneous projects;
• An intermediate to advanced working knowledge of Microsoft software products, particularly Excel and v-lookups, as well as a general ledger software package; and
• · A working knowledge of Hyperion.

Keywords: Accounting, finance, financial analyst, consolidations, financial statements, excel, hyperion, general ledger

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/01/22/mayors-conference-report-on-2014-economy/4775553/

 

 

 

There is so much talk on line about job searching and being a good candidate.

What about being a good client?

I know, as recruiters we’re often afraid to go there publically…………..I’ll tread carefully. Most recruiters who have sought training through guys like Peter Leffkowitz or have worked with large scale staffing firms have been given the 101s of client management. Many “good habits” of client management stem from kvetches, but I can avoid that.

Companies that recruit well through their own recruiters or through the use of agencies have a few things in common.

Here are 9 traits that come to mind:

1. CREATION OF STRONG CANDIDATE EXPERIENCES

– They are conscious of their employer brand and candidate experience taking strides to make sure their market reputation is solid.. They do this in a few ways:

– They treat potential candidates with respect and offer timely feedback after interviews;

– They DO NOT put their job orders out to dozens of recruiting firms;

– They limit how long a job is posted (candidates and recruiters track this stuff);

– Talent teams with hiring managers and recruiters to develop great job specifications;

– They boast leadership teams of hiring managers who are adept at selection to hire and retention;

– They know that canned tests are not the best way to screen candidates and work at developing innovative ways to define what will and will not make it through their culture and skills filters, if they must have them;

– They take chances and think long term looking beyond skills and at traits like potential and fit;

– They give recruiters full access to the hiring manager before starting the search and offer opportunities to dialogue throughout the search process;

– They create and share campaigns about work experiences that are 100% accurate and make sure to appeal to their target employee demographics – a potential oil rigger for ESSO is going to have a whole different set of criteria than a potential client service specialist at ZAPPOS right?

– They are aware that employee and candidate experience has got to be solid, social media tells all and so does RATE MY EMPLOYER.

2. PROVISION OF CONSISTANT FEEDBACK

– Don’t ask a recruiter to find someone for you and ignore their follow up emails and phone calls; it puts a really bad taste in the candidate’s mouth and the recruiters;

– Establish or agree to timelines and schedules when it comes to start dates, interview availability, feedback and offers. State immediately how many interviews to hire;

– Give all candidates feedback, make it constructive.

3. TELL GREAT STORIES ABOUT CAREER GROWTH AND RETENTION

– If you want to sell a passive candidate on a job, tell them about the opportunities for growth and the career path that awaits them – everyone loves seeing this in the career section of a website;

– All job seekers want to know about retention – strong employers take this very seriously and evaluate their leadership accordingly.

4. LIVE UP TO PROMISES

– Do not woo a recruiter to recruit for your company by promising potential employees things that will never happen, they’ll expect you to deliver and when you don’t – get ready for disengagement and resignations. Promises should be documented and followed up on. Things like shared ownership, salary increases, and RSP contributions stock options come to mind.

5. COMPENSATE AT MARKET RATE OR ABOVE

– Don’t expect great candidates to take pay cuts – and don’t expect candidates who take pay cuts to stick around

6. GIVE RECRUITERS HEADS UP IF A CANDIDATE ISNT WORKING OUT

– Give the recruiter a chance to replace the candidate or at least be prepared to help them land somewhere else or better yet brain storm for repurposing if they have talent and potential.

7. CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONAL GROWTH AND WELLNESS

– I get asked about benefits, gym subsidies, community work hours, and educational subsidies all the time.

8. STRIVE TO BE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE

– Clients that do good things for the community, humanity and the earth win accolades with potential employees.

9. CREATE GREAT FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Note: Many candidates will drive by before they decide to interview, especially if they are commuting, that includes walking into the building and standing outside to see what the activity is like…

– Have a comfortable reception area with a receptionist that makes EVERYONE feel welcome;

– Make sure every interviewer is presentable and well versed as to how to put candidates at ease;

– Take candidates and recruiters for a tour of the facilities: (keep them clean and well maintained)

Carmen Jeffery is a self employed recruiter in Toronto, be sure to follow Carmen on Twitter >>

@CJsearch4TO

Diane Delgado LeMaire |　Area Director, Executive Search & Branch Manager | Creative Financial Staffing, a division of Fitts, Roberts CPA Firm | 5718 Westheimer Suite 800 | Houston, TX 77057 |713-490-6003 | dcd@fittsroberts.com| My LinkedIn | My Blog |

Creative Financial Staffing (CFS) is the nation’s largest, privately-held accounting and financial staffing firm. We provide qualified accounting and finance professionals on a temporary and permanent basis across a broad range of industries. Our affiliation with leading accounting firms provides us with resources that help us better understand our client’s needs, attract a higher caliber of candidate, and best assess candidate potential. For more information please visit our website at

 

www.cfstaffing.com.

Our client is growing and adding a Financial Analyst to their team. The company has an aggressive growth plan in place, which creates tons of growth possibilities. Our client is looking for someone with a Finance or Accounting degree and 3 to 5 years of analysis experience. They use an in house system and Excel. Please email me for more details. Email: dcd@fittsroberts.com

• Develop financial models to support analysis of a variety of financial and operating activities
• Develop financial forecasts for operations
• Assist with analyzing opportunities for business expansion and new business opportunities
• Understand key business metrics and assist in making the financial analyses work products consumable for business decision-making
• Drive models and develop assumptions with senior management
• Prepare performance evaluation and analysis – actual results vs. budget or prior performance utilizing multiple reporting tools
• Assist in periodic budgeting and reporting processes
• Assist with forecasting and cash management functions
• Create Margin and historical data reports
• Prepare ad hoc financial analyses and analytical support as needed

Controller, CPA – West Houston – 150K plus bonus

Controller – Southwest Houston – 120 to 135K plus bonus

Controller – Conroe -130 to 140K plus bonus (SAP, Manufacturing)

Staff Accountant – West Houston – 40 to 45K

Staff Accountant – SW Houston – 50K

SEC Supervisor – SW Houston – 90K plus 

Senior Accountant – West Houston – 60K plus bonus

Admin Assistant to C-Level Execs – West Houston – 40 to 50K

HR Coordinator – Galleria – 50 to 60K

Transfer Pricing Senior Tax Accountant – West Houston

Bookkeeper – Public Accounting Firm – Sugar Land

Senior Tax Accountant – Small Public Accounting Firm – Central – Great work life balance!

Gas Plant Accountant – DT – 80 to 105K

Interim Controller – non profit – DT

Accounting & Tax Manager, CPA – Sugar Land – 90 to 120K

dcd@fittsroberts.com 

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-3332-Salaries-Promotions-5-ways-to-better-position-yourself-for-a-pay-raise/?SiteID=CBHANDLE

In 2013, the average worker can expect a raise of 3 percent, according to human resources and consulting group Aon Hewitt. Top performers may be able to snag an additional 1 percent. Although this may seem like small potatoes, many businesses are struggling to give their employees that much. Every bit counts in a down economy, and there are ways you can position yourself for that higher-than-average pay raise at work. If you’re curious about how to get started, read on.

1. Show up early every day

Don’t just show up on time; show up early. Especially if you live in a city with traffic issues, always give yourself more than enough cushion to arrive on time. On the days you arrive early, get settled in and get your secondary tasks out of the way before it’s time to get down to business.

2. Never complain

We all have negative opinions about some things, just keep yours to yourself. Neither your boss nor your co-workers want to hear about your problems. They want to hear only about your solutions. Present any constructive and proactive ideas to your boss in a professional manner, and you just might find yourself in an improved working environment and in a better position for a pay raise.

3. Create your own set of goals

Bosses love it when staff members come up with their own set of goals. It shows initiative, a desire to get ahead and the ability to think creatively. Write out your goals and ask your supervisor for a convenient time to discuss them. Maintain written documentation of all your accomplishments and use this information during your next review.

4. Consult with your supervisor

Don’t wait until your next performance review to find out how others think you can improve. Ask your supervisor what you need to do in order to improve your performance today. This gesture shows initiative, a willingness to learn and eagerness to succeed — all of which sure to impress any boss.

5. Always volunteer

If you find yourself with extra time on your hands, volunteer for additional projects. Sometimes, other departments simply need more bodies rather than any particular expertise, so don’t be shy about exploring new terrain at the workplace. Keep an eye out for any upcoming projects and always put your name in the hat.

Final thoughts

Of course, the last thing you want is to be perceived as a suck-up to your boss. Keep all your discussions with your boss professional and above-board and never gloat if you get any coveted opportunities. Let your actions speak for you. By positioning yourself for the highest possible pay raise, you can lessen the burden of your month-to-month finances and make it easier to attack long-term concerns, such as saving for retirement and college for the kids.

David Bakke is a contributor for Money Crashers Personal Finance, where he frequently writes about money management, careers and small business.

 

 

http://www.houston.org/pdf/research/quickview/Economy_at_a_Glance.pdf