Payroll Staff Accountant

About the Role

Sift is seeking a Staff Accountant to take full ownership of payroll operations for employees across multiple U.S. states as well as a global workforce. This position is part of the Finance & Accounting team and calls for a highly detail-focused payroll specialist who can manage bi-weekly and monthly payroll runs accurately, keep the books clean through timely journal entries and reconciliations, and work closely with Finance and HR as the company grows.

The right candidate will bring strong multi-state payroll experience, confidence working in ADP, and a mindset centered on improving processes while ensuring every payroll cycle is completed correctly.

Payroll Processing

• Run bi-weekly payroll for employees across multiple states and monthly payroll for the global population, handling calculations, checks, validations, audits, and final completion.
• Ensure payroll is accurate for earnings, deductions, garnishments, taxes, retroactive adjustments, leave-related pay, and off-cycle payments.
• Assist with year-end activities such as W-2 preparation, audit support, and payroll calendar planning.

Accounting & Reconciliation

• Record payroll-related journal entries in the General Ledger and complete payroll reconciliations, quickly investigating and resolving differences.
• Work with Finance on payroll reporting and balancing activities.
• Review, categorize, and approve employee expense reports and corporate card activity; then post the related journal entries and perform reconciliations.

Reporting & Systems

• Build and improve payroll reports and dashboards that support day-to-day operations, trend review, and leadership requests.
• Support system upgrades, testing, and implementations, including configuration updates, process documentation, and end-user support.

Process & Controls

• Keep documentation, SOPs, and internal controls current and aligned with company policies and audit requirements.
• Contribute to continuous improvement efforts that make payroll workflows more efficient, strengthen controls, and enhance the employee experience.
• Handle additional projects and tasks as needed.

Qualifications

• 3 to 5 years of direct payroll processing experience, including bi-weekly payroll cycles.
• Multi-state payroll background with the ability to research and apply evolving payroll laws and regulations.
• Hands-on experience using ADP Workforce Now.
• Advanced Excel capability, including lookups, pivot tables, and data validation.
• Strong attention to detail, ownership, and a clear commitment to accuracy and confidentiality.
• Ability to juggle competing priorities while meeting payroll cutoff deadlines.
• Clear, service-minded communicator who can explain payroll topics to non-payroll stakeholders.
• Comfort with learning new tools and processes and contributing to continuous improvement.

Nice to Have

• Experience with ERP systems, especially NetSuite.
• Familiarity with expense tools such as Navan, Expensify, or Brex.

About the Company

Sift is an AI-powered fraud prevention platform that helps leading global businesses protect digital trust. The company uses machine learning, user identity intelligence, and a large data network scoring 1 trillion events annually to help more than 700 customers grow securely and deliver smoother consumer experiences.

Additional Information

Sift states that it is building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace and values authenticity, belonging, and trust across its teams and community.

The company also provides transparency about how applicant personal data is handled during recruitment.

Compensation for this position is listed at $100K to $140K.