- Location
- Birmingham, AL · Jackson Thornton
- Education
- Bachelor
Description
About Ascend
Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a dynamic platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a Top 25 firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition and training, leading quality management resources, best-of-breed technology, AI tools, an offshore captive, shared back-office services, a catalytic leadership system, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount today’s industry challenges to reach their full potential. For more information, visit www.ascendtogether.com.
Jackson Thornton is now a member of Ascend Partner Services, a PE-backed growth partner.
About Jackson Thornton CAAS
Jackson Thornton is one of Alabama's oldest and largest accounting firms, with six offices across the state. Our Client Accounting & Advisory Services (CAAS) team pairs technical expertise with a personal touch, acting as an outsourced accounting department for small and mid-sized businesses. We're modernizing quickly: moving client accounting onto modern cloud-based platforms, standing up a dedicated payroll department to own payroll end-to-end, and using AI-enabled tools to automate repetitive work so our people can spend more time advising clients.
The Role
The Client Accounting Supervisor manages day-to-day accounting for an assigned group of clients and is the first line of review and support for Client Accountants. You'll do hands-on accounting work in a modern, cloud-based tech stack, catch and correct issues before they reach the client, mentor staff, and build the advisory relationships and leadership skills that lead toward a Manager role. This seat is for someone who wants to grow beyond compliance work into a genuine advisor to clients.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage client accounting by overseeing general ledger activity, reconciliations, and preparation of financial statements and other deliverables for an assigned group of clients.
- Review Client Accountants' work for accuracy and completeness before it moves up for final sign-off, with real-time coaching.
- Be the day-to-day client contact by fielding questions, resolving routine issues, and identifying opportunities to advise clients on their financials.
- Own deadlines by ensuring deliverables across your book are accurate and on time, and flagging risks to the Manager early.
- Teach and mentor by training Client Accountants on accounting fundamentals, firm procedures, and the technology platforms in use.
- Use and champion technology by working daily in modern cloud accounting platforms and AI-enabled workflow tools, and driving opportunities to automate manual work.
- Solve problems by identifying and correcting inaccuracies in client-provided records, and recommending better processes to clients and internally.
What You'll Bring
- Modern platform fluency:
- Hands-on, working fluency with cloud accounting platforms — Xero and/or QuickBooks Online — and the surrounding app ecosystem (e.g., Dext, Ramp, and similar tools).
- Ability to work comfortably in a paperless, automated, cloud-first environment and are eager to adopt AI-enabled tools rather than tied to legacy desktop processes.
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- 3–5 years of progressive accounting experience; prior review, lead, or client-facing experience a plus.
- CPA not required; candidates pursuing a CPA or other credential are encouraged to apply.
- Problem-solving & advisory instinct with the ability to identify and correct inaccuracies in client records and guide clients toward better processes and decisions.
- Payroll awareness and general understanding of payroll concepts is helpful for client conversations, even though processing is handled by Jackson Thornton's dedicated payroll department.
- Excellent communication and client-service skills along with strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Ability to manage multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment as well as experience improving processes and adopting new tools as the practice evolves.
Why This Role
CAAS is building a modern, cloud-first practice — standardized workflows, an app-driven tech stack, and AI-enabled automation that takes repetitive work off the team's plate — plus a dedicated payroll department so this role stays focused on accounting, advisory, and people leadership. If you want to help shape how a growing practice works rather than just execute the old way, this is that seat. It's a strong track for accountants who want to become trusted advisors to their clients and grow into engagement leadership.
At Ascend, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Ascend hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.
