Senior Staff Accountant

Real Chemistry
Chicago, IL

At Real Chemistry, making the world a healthier place isn’t just an aspiration—it’s our everyday reality. Our drive to transform healthcare is informed by our blend of deep scientific expertise, human-centred creativity, and AI-driven insights, fostering a unique environment where innovation thrives and our people are impact-obsessed. As a global agency, we provide a full suite of services across healthcare communications and marketing to our clients, including top players in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Our #LifeatRealChem culture is rooted in our people—we believe we are best together and are committed to excellence for both our clients and colleagues. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, if you share our passion for healthcare and connection, we invite you to explore our opportunities.

Discover your purpose. Embrace innovation. Experience #LifeatRealChem.

Senior Staff Accountant

Overview

We are seeking a Senior Staff Accountant to join our accounting team and play a critical role in monthly close, financial reporting, and balance sheet ownership. This role requires an accountant who is detail-oriented, accountable for their work, and able to collaborate across teams to ensure accurate and timely financial reporting. The position reports to the Accounting Manager. The successful candidate will be trusted to independently identify variances, prepare support, and explain results and variances.

This is a hybrid role, based in any of our US offices—including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Carmel, or San Francisco—or remotely within the US, depending on team and business needs.

Key Responsibilities


  • Own monthly, quarterly, and year‑end close activities , including preparation and review of journal entries

  • Fully manage assigned balance sheet accounts , performing monthly reconciliations with appropriate backup and clear variance explanations

  • Prepare and analyze monthly financial statements (P&L and balance sheet) , primarily focused on overhead and operating expenses

  • Partner with Accounts Payable, Cash Application, and FP&A teams to validate accuracy of expenses, accruals, and financial results

  • Support cash application and banking transactions , including deeper investigation where additional analysis is required

  • Assist with audit preparation , including assembling support, schedules, and explaining variances to auditors

  • Maintain and reconcile general ledger and subsidiary accounts; identify and resolve discrepancies

  • Support with fixed asset schedules and related accounting activities

  • Respond to accounting and financial inquiries by researching, interpreting, and clearly articulating data

  • Collaborate closely with the broader Accounting team in a highly communicative, non‑siloed environment

What Success Looks Like in This Role


  • Proactively and working independent investigates variances

  • Demonstrates curiosity and problem‑solving skills,

  • Balances accuracy and speed in a fast‑paced, deadline‑driven monthly close environment

  • Works collaboratively across teams and steps in to support peers when capacity allows

Required Qualifications


  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field

  • 3-5 years of experience in public and/or private accounting

  • Strong working knowledge of GAAP accounting principles

  • Hands‑on experience in a large, complex organization with multiple entities, locations, or time zones

  • Advanced Excel skills, including Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, SUMIFS

  • Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, business units, and tight deadlines with accuracy

  • Solid foundation in debits/credits, revenue, cost of goods, and G&A accounts

Preferred / Nice‑to‑Have Experience


  • Experience with NetSuite (ERP) strongly preferred; OpenAir experience a plus

  • Background supporting audits in a corporate accounting environment

  • Experience working with offshore or distributed teams

  • Multi-ledger experience

Hourly Rate: $28-$34 per hour (DOE)

This is the pay range the Company believes it will pay for this position at the time of this posting. Consistent with applicable law, compensation will be determined based on job-related, non-discriminatory factors including but not limited to work experience, skills, certifications, and geographical location. The Company reserves the right to modify this pay range at any time

Real Chemistry is proud to be Great Place to Work® certified; check out what our people shared about our culture and workplace on our Great Places to Work Profile

We believe we can do our best when feeling our best, which is why we’ve put together a benefits program designed to give you the support you and your family need at every stage of life. Real Chemistry offers a comprehensive benefit program and perks, tailored to your region. Globally, this includes offices in our key markets with free snacks to keep you running all day long, generous holiday and paid time off, options for private medical, dental, and vison plans, and support in saving for the future. Other perks include mental wellness coaching and support and access to more than 13,000 online classes with LinkedIn Learning. Learn more about our great benefits and perks and search specific offerings in your region at: .

Working with Real HART: Since the pandemic, we have adapted to how our people told us they want to work. We have office locations in cities in the US, UK, and Europe with many employees and clients that serve as hubs where and when they need us. For employees who are within an hour of one of our offices, we expect attendance in the office two days per week, either at a Real Chemistry office or onsite with clients. We are also actively opening new office locations, so if one opens near you, our Real HART policy will apply. We are not looking for attendance for the sake of attendance but believe that the opportunity to coordinate in-office team meetings, 1:1 meetings with managers, taking advantage of on-site learning, and connecting with client partners is a critical to delivering on our purpose of making healthcare what it should be. Outside of these offices, we have regions, where people work remotely but come together quarterly for collaboration, culture and learning opportunities. We call this our Real Hybrid and Regional Teams (Real HART) approach. Real Chemistry believes we are best together – and our workplace strategy fosters connection and collaboration in person – but also supports flexibility for our people.

Real Chemistry is an Equal Opportunity employer. We continually strive to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable work environment where our employees feel empowered to leverage all they bring from their personal lived experience and professional expertise, to make our team the best in the industry. We encourage motivated and qualified applicants to apply without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, ethnic or national origin, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local employment discrimination laws where Real Chemistry operates. Should you require accommodations throughout the interview process please let your recruiter know.

*Notice: Real Chemistry and its affiliates' names are being misused by scammers through messaging services, fake websites, and apps. Do not share personal or financial information or make payments to any unverified sources claiming to be connected to Real Chemistry. We are working to stop these unauthorized activities and protect our community. Read more .

Posted 2026-04-28

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