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This position has closed. Northwestern Mutual removed this listing from their careers page on Oct 6, 2026. The interview prep below is still useful, and there are similar open roles at the bottom of this page.

Accounting Operations Specialist

Northwestern Mutual · Milwaukee, WI · Full time

Posted Oct 2, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 4, 2026

Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you found an error in your own work after the books had closed.

What they are checking: Honesty and ownership, since quiet fixes in accounting can turn small mistakes into control failures.

Tell me about a process you made faster or more accurate. What did you change, and how did you prove it worked?

What they are checking: Initiative on the system and process improvement work the posting names, backed by measured results.

What would you do

You find an open suspense item that has been sitting for two months and nobody knows where it came from. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they dig to the source of an imbalance instead of writing it off or letting it age further.

An auditor asks for support on an account you reconcile, and the backup is spread across three files. How do you handle the request?

What they are checking: Whether they can produce clear, organized support and stay cooperative under audit pressure.

It is day three of close, you have five reconciliations due and a regulatory data request lands on your desk. How do you prioritize?

What they are checking: Judgment about deadlines that carry regulatory weight versus routine close tasks, and willingness to ask for help early.

About the work

Walk me through how you reconcile a balance sheet account at month-end, from pulling the data to signing off.

What they are checking: Whether they follow a disciplined, repeatable process or just make the numbers tie without understanding them.

How would you book a journal entry for an accrued expense, and how does it reverse the next month?

What they are checking: Basic GAAP accrual mechanics, which are the daily work of a month-end close team.

Our transactions come from internal admin systems, third-party vendor systems and manual entries. Where do you expect errors to creep in, and how would you catch them?

What they are checking: Whether they think about data feeds and handoffs as risk points rather than trusting every system output.

What does a strong internal control look like for a reconciliation process, and how would you know if one was weak?

What they are checking: Whether they understand controls as a real safeguard, including review, segregation of duties and evidence.

How do you analyze an income statement account month over month to spot something that looks off?

What they are checking: Fluency with flux analysis and the judgment to tell a real change from a booking mistake.

What do you know about how a broker-dealer or wealth management business earns revenue, and why might that matter for the accounting?

What they are checking: Curiosity about the business behind the entries, which helps them spot transactions that do not make sense.

Practice this interview out loud.

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The full job description

As published by Northwestern Mutual.

About The Job The Wealth Accounting Specialist is a key member of the team responsible for ensuring complete and accurate accounting of finance-related activity related to Northwestern Mutual's investment products and services subsidiaries. The team performs a wide variety of accounting functions including month-end close, analysis, and participation in enterprise-wide system and/or process development activities. Responsibilities include accurate journal entry preparation, account reconciliation, resolving reconciliation issues, analyzing financial activity, assisting in system/process improvements, supporting auditors, and providing information for regulatory filings and examination requests. What You'll Do: • Performs financial accounting functions related to the company's broker-dealer and wealth management products and processes to ensure conformance with GAAP accounting standards. Responsible for the accurate and timely preparation of journal entries and account reconciliations. • Supports the review of the accounting transactions generated by numerous internal administrative and third-party vendor systems coupled with manual accounting. • Researches and resolves reconciliation issues, imbalances, and open suspense items. Maintains an effective internal control environment. • Analyzes balance sheet and income statement accounts to ensure the accuracy of accounting. Analyzes financial activity for alignment with expectations and the identification of trends or unusual items. • Assists in efforts to implement system or process improvements, including those involving change in the operating departments or new products. • Assists with internal or external auditors in their examination of annual financial statements and provides support for requested information. • Provides information for regulatory filings, as well as examination requests from the SEC, FINRA, and OCC. Skills You'll Have: • Bachelor's degree in accounting or business administration with accounting emphasis. • Finance or other business degree with financial emphasis or equivalent relevant work experience may be considered. • Minimum of 1 year of relevant professional accounting experience. • Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation or CPA candidate preferred. • Experience with the application of statutory or GAAP accounting standards in the insurance or financial services industries. • Proficiency in end-user reporting tools. • Effective oral and written communication skills. • Demonstrated analytical skills and the ability to work independently. • Requires SEC fingerprinting. • Focuses on specific details to spot and correct errors in advance of them being found and surpass quality expectations. Performs work with thorough proofreading for presentation, content, accuracy, and overall quality. • Applies knowledge and utilizes systems that facilitate or automate one or more business application solutions, including linking rules to workflow management and requirements acquisition. • Facilitates collaboration, communication, coordination, and planning with individuals and teams from different functions within the organization, and who have different areas of expertise, to achieve common goals • Understands and applies knowledge of financial accounting principles, processes, and systems to drive accuracy, efficiency, and optimization of financial activities. Develops and adheres to controls that support financial integrity in accordance with internal control framework, mandated laws and regulations. • Applies the knowledge of financial statements, financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling to ensure decisions are fiscally sound and responsible. This position has been classified as an Associated Person under NMIS guidelines and requires fingerprinting and completion of required form.Non-Registered Fingerprinted - FINRA Compensation Range: Pay Range - Start: $60,880.00 Pay Range - End: $91,320.00 Geographic Specific Pay Structure: Structure 110: Structure 115: We believe in fairness and transparency. It’s why we share the salary range for most of our roles. However, final salaries are based on a number of factors, including the skills and experience of the candidate; the current market; location of the candidate; and other factors uncovered in the hiring process. The standard pay structure is listed but if you’re living in California, New York City or other eligible location, geographic specific pay structures, compensation and benefits could be applicable, click here to learn more. Grow your career with a best-in-class company that puts our clients' interests at the center of all we do. Get started now! Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes talented individuals of all backgrounds. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.