Accounting Operations Specialist at Strong Hold in Louisville, KY

Description

Who Are We?

We build products and relationships that last a lifetime! No really, that’s what we do. We are a successful family business with a long-term record of steady growth, and we are determined to accelerate our trajectory.  Our diverse team members who speak 22 languages are passionate about their company and their co-workers.  

Check out our website at www.strong-hold.com.

We Are Not:

• Fancy – as manufacturers we believe practical, clean facilities are required to make quality products and retain the best team.
• Transactional - we have long-term relationships with our team members and most valuable customers.
• Satisfied - we celebrate achievement, then set our sights on new goals.

Summary:

We are seeking a high-integrity, intellectually curious, and detail-oriented individual to join our accounting team. This is more than just a data role – it is a mentorship opportunity. You will work directly under a seasoned senior accountant to analyze our current processes, identify friction points, and build systematic solutions that support the company’s growth.

Our accounting team aims to move from manual oversight to automated precision. We need someone who is willing to roll up their sleeves and perform the “heavy lifting” of manual data entry and reconciliation to deeply understand the “why” behind the numbers. Your goal is to master our data so thoroughly that you can eventually automate these tasks and make yourself obsolete in the manual work.

Responsibilities:

• Accounting Tasks: Perform timely and accurate data entry.
• Data Forensic & Cleanup: Dive deep into complex datasets to identify errors, inconsistencies, and outliers. Proactively investigate root causes and implement preventive measures to stop issues from recurring.
• Proactive Problem Solving: Foresee potential problems, brainstorm creative solutions, and propose process improvements before issues arise.
• Process Mapping: Learn existing accounting workflows from the ground up by performing them, then document and analyze them for efficiency gains.
• Excel Mastery: Build sophisticated spreadsheets using advanced formulas, Power Query, PivotTables, and Pivot Charts to streamline reporting.
• AI Utilization: Actively research and implement AI tools (LLMs, automation scripts, precise prompting, etc.) to reduce manual workload and improve data accuracy. Ability to review and validate AI outputs rather than blindly trusting them.
• Administrative Support: Handle detailed, “in-the-weeds” tasks with a high degree of ownership and pride, ensuring the foundation of our financial data is rock solid.

Who You Are:

• High Integrity: Honest to a fault. You take ownership of mistakes, handle sensitive financial data with the utmost discretion, and learn from mistakes to prevent them in the future.
• Detail-Oriented: You take pride in balanced sheets and “clean” data. You spot one-cent discrepancies and won’t rest until they’re fixed. You have a strong ability to simplify complex data into clear, actionable insights.
• Cyber Security & Wire Fraud Awareness: You are naturally cautious and vigilant. You possess strong awareness of cyber security risks and common fraud schemes (especially wire fraud), and you proactively verify suspicious transactions, emails, or requests before taking any action.
• The Happy Learner: Highly intelligent and tech-savvy yet humble enough to learn from others and do tedious work with patience.
• Proactive Thinker: You have the critical thinking to foresee potential problems and enjoy brainstorming effective solutions.
• Tech-Forward: You don’t just use tools — you master them. You are already experimenting with AI and looking for ways to apply it to real business problems.
• Strong Work Ethic: You have a “do the right thing in the most effective way” attitude. You understand that automation is earned through a deep understanding of the manual processes first.
• Well-Rounded Individual: You are not just about mediocrity. You are fun, interesting, open-minded, respectful of cultural differences, and know how to enjoy life outside of work with smiles and appreciation.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in accountancy, Accounting, Finance, or a closely related field is preferred. 
• Strong inventory accounting experience, including inventory valuation, cost accounting, reconciliations, and cycle counts. 
• Lean manufacturing experience (Lean Six Sigma, Kaizen, 5S, value stream mapping, or similar process improvement methodologies in a manufacturing environment). 
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, Power Pivot, Power Query, etc.) and other Microsoft 365 tools. 
• Basic proficiency in Adobe Acrobat. 
• Demonstrated interest or experience in AI prompt engineering or automation tools. 
• Hands-on experience in manufacturing, supply chain, or assembly environments is strongly preferred. 
• Ability to identify useful versus irrelevant data, integrate information, and translate complex “data talk” into clear, actionable insights.

Benefits:

We value our team members and believe in providing competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits, including:

• Competitive wage with annual increases and a performance-based annual bonus.
• 401(k) retirement plan
• Health, dental, & vision, insurance coverage
• Company paid life, short- & long-term disability insurance coverage
• Paid time off for vacation, holidays, and personal days