Position Summary
The Client Accounting and Advisory Services (CAAS) Manager leads the delivery of outsourced accounting, and advisory services to churches, denominational bodies, religious nonprofits, and individual clergy. This role owns a portfolio of client relationships end to end — from onboarding and workflow design through monthly close, compliance filings, and strategic advisory conversations with pastors, church treasurers, and finance committees.
Beyond technical accounting, the position requires fluency in the specialized tax and compliance issues that govern ministers and religious organizations: dual-status taxation, housing and parsonage allowances, self-employment tax elections, church payroll exemptions, and nonprofit fund accounting. The successful candidate combines strong technical judgment with the pastoral sensitivity required to advise clients whose finances are inseparable from their calling.
Key Responsibilities
Client Service & Relationship Management
- Portfolio ownership. Serve as the primary point of contact for an assigned book of church, ministry, and clergy clients, managing scope, expectations, deadlines, and overall service quality.
- Advisory conversations. Meet regularly with senior pastors, church administrators, treasurers, and finance committees to review financial results, explain variances, and translate accounting data into decisions leadership can act on.
- Onboarding. Lead new client onboarding, including chart of accounts design, fund structure setup, opening balance conversion, system migration, and documentation of client-specific procedures.
- Scope and engagement management. Draft and monitor engagement letters, identify out-of-scope work, prepare change orders, and support pricing and renewal discussions.
- Retention and growth. Identify unmet client needs and recommend additional services such as payroll, budgeting support, internal control reviews, or clergy tax planning.
Accounting Operations & Financial Reporting
- Monthly and annual close. Oversee the full close cycle across the client portfolio: journal entries, bank and credit card reconciliations, accruals, allocations, and closing checklists.
- Fund accounting. Ensure accurate tracking and reporting of restricted, temporarily restricted, and unrestricted funds, designated giving, capital campaigns, benevolence funds, missions accounts, and building funds.
- Financial statements. Review and deliver monthly and annual financial statements, including Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Activities, Statement of Functional Expenses, and Statement of Cash Flows prepared in accordance with GAAP for not-for-profit entities (ASC 958).
- Budgeting and forecasting. Build annual operating budgets with client leadership, prepare budget-to-actual reporting, and support multi-year cash flow forecasting for staffing, facilities, and debt service.
- Contribution and giving records. Oversee the integrity of contribution records, ensure timely and compliant donor acknowledgment letters, and reconcile giving platform data to the general ledger.
- Audit and review support. Prepare workpapers, schedules, and supporting documentation for external auditors and denominational reviews, and serve as liaison throughout fieldwork.
Clergy & Church Tax Compliance
- Minister compensation structuring. Advise on compensation packages for ministers, including proper designation and documentation of housing and parsonage allowances under IRC §107, board resolution timing, and the fair rental value limitation.
- Dual-status taxation. Apply the dual-status rules correctly — ministers treated as employees for income tax purposes and self-employed for Social Security and Medicare — including proper W-2 preparation with no FICA withholding and voluntary withholding arrangements.
- Self-employment tax matters. Advise on SECA obligations, Form 4361 exemption eligibility and consequences, and the §265 limitation on deducting expenses allocable to tax-free housing allowance.
- Accountable reimbursement plans. Design and document accountable plans for ministry expense reimbursement, auto mileage, continuing education, and professional expenses, and train client staff on substantiation requirements.
- Worker classification. Evaluate employee versus independent contractor treatment for musicians, guest speakers, nursery workers, custodial staff, and ministry contractors.
- Exempt organization compliance. Monitor unrelated business income exposure and Form 990-T requirements, support Form 990 and 990-EZ filings where applicable, and advise on the church filing exemption, the church audit protections of IRC §7611, and political activity and lobbying limitations.
- Special issues. Advise on love offerings and designated gifts, benevolence fund policies, gifts to staff, church-provided housing and vehicles, 403(b)(9) church retirement plans, and clergy participation in health reimbursement arrangements.
Team Leadership & Development
- Supervision. Manage, coach, and develop a team of senior accountants, staff accountants, and bookkeepers, including workload assignment and capacity planning.
- Review responsibility. Perform detailed review of team deliverables and hold final quality-control responsibility for work released to clients.
- Training. Build and deliver internal training on clergy tax law, church accounting practices, and firm methodology; keep the team current on legislative and regulatory changes.
- Performance management. Conduct performance reviews, set development goals, provide ongoing feedback, and participate in recruiting and hiring for the CAAS team.
- Utilization and realization. Monitor budgets, time and billing, write-offs, and margin by engagement, and take corrective action where realization falls short.
Process, Technology & Firm Contribution
- Workflow standardization. Document and continuously improve standardized workflows, close checklists, review procedures, and client deliverable templates.
- Technology stack. Own the CAAS technology stack — general ledger, church management and giving platforms, document management, and workflow tools — and lead evaluations and implementations.
- Automation. Identify and implement automation opportunities in transaction capture, reconciliation, reporting, and client communication to increase capacity without adding headcount.
- Internal controls. Assess client internal control environments, identify segregation-of-duties weaknesses common in small church offices, and recommend practical safeguards over cash, counting procedures, and disbursement authorization.
- Firm initiatives. Contribute to thought leadership, webinars, client education materials, and business development activities that support firm growth.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a closely related field.
- Five or more years of progressive accounting experience, including at least two years supervising or reviewing the work of others.
- Demonstrated experience in outsourced/client accounting services, public accounting, or nonprofit or church financial management.
- Working knowledge of nonprofit fund accounting and GAAP for not-for-profit entities.
- Advanced proficiency with cloud accounting platforms (QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, or comparable) and strong Excel skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical tax and accounting concepts to non-financial church leaders and volunteer boards.
- Proven ability to manage multiple client deadlines simultaneously with a high degree of accuracy and accountability.
Preferred
- Active CPA license, or EA credential with a clergy tax specialization.
- Experience with church and non-profit tax and compliance reporting
- Familiarity with church management and giving systems (Aplos, Realm, ACS, Shelby, Planning Center, Tithe.ly, Pushpay, or similar).
- Experience serving denominational offices, multi-site churches, schools, camps, or religious nonprofits.
- Personal familiarity with church governance structures, congregational culture, and the working realities of ministry staff.
Competencies
- Technical judgment. Knows when a question is settled, when it is gray, and when it needs to be escalated or researched rather than answered on the spot.
- Client empathy. Communicates with pastoral sensitivity and discretion; treats client financial matters as confidential and often personal.
- Ownership. Drives work to completion without prompting and takes responsibility for outcomes across the portfolio.
- Coaching orientation. Develops staff deliberately rather than simply correcting their work.
- Process thinking. Instinctively looks for the repeatable version of a one-off solution.
Work Environment & Physical Requirements
- Primarily an office or remote-office environment with extended periods of computer work.
- Increased hours during year-end close.
- Occasional evening availability to accommodate church finance committee and board meetings.
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive base salary commensurate with experience and credentials.
- Annual performance and business development incentive opportunity.
- Retirement plan with employer contribution.
- Paid time off, firm holidays, and flexible scheduling outside peak season.
- Paid CPE, professional dues, license renewal, and support toward CPA or EA credentialing.
- Hybrid and remote work flexibility.
To Apply
Submit a resume and a brief cover letter describing your experience with church, nonprofit, or clergy accounting alongside your application. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Paid sick time
- Paid time off
- Work from home
Experience:
- Client Accounting Services (CAS): 3 years (Required)
- Public accounting: 5 years (Required)
- GAAP: 5 years (Required)
- Multi-Client Management: 3 years (Required)
- QBO: 3 years (Required)
- Church/Nonprofit: 1 year (Preferred)
License/Certification:
- Enrolled Agent (Preferred)
- CPA (Preferred)
Work Location: Remote
