Research Account Analyst

About the Opportunity

This position supports the functions of the NU-RES Finance office under the NU-Research Enterprise Services (NU-RES) by ensuring that the University maintains compliance with applicable federal regulations, sponsor requirements and university policies with a focus on fiscal compliance. NU-RES Finance supports the research and scholarly activities of Northeastern’ s faculty in collaboration with colleges and administrative staff by providing financial and administrative services, financial and regulatory oversight of sponsored program accounts and monitors trends and develops strategies to address the impacts.

Research Account Analyst (RAA) is responsible for the fiscal management of externally funded sponsored projects, from federal, state, foreign and private sources and manages their portfolio from award acceptance to closeout and reconciliation. 

Reporting to the Assoc Director, Research AR Operations and Director, Research Accounting, the RAA ensures timely preparation and submission of invoices and letter of credit draws to research sponsors, accurate capture of billing schedules and accounts receivables in the financial system, and timely account reconciliation for final invoices/draws and account closeout. The RAA ensures adherence to sponsor requirements for payment requests and serves as primary point of contact to sponsors, college research administrators and faculty/investigators for all invoice/draw and accounts receivable questions for their portfolio.

The position is expected to foster consultative relationships as well as support a professional environment, providing award support and training especially around compliance. The RAA is expected to exercise independent judgement and discretion and take initiative in the management of grants and contracts through working collaboratively with Research Enterprise Services and other University teams.  The candidate must have proven experience with cross functional activity in complex decentralized organization with strong emphasis on building consensus in a collaborative manner. This individual must have strong Excel skills and be able to perform complex analysis on large data sets to assess financial risk and provide accurate and timely reporting monthly. Other key skills include Interpersonal, organizational, time management, problem solving, decision making, collaboration and customer service.

The RAA is expected to work in various electronic platforms and systems and must be technologically savvy.  Must be able to use VPN and work completely electronically. The RAA must be able to navigate through the financial system (Banner) as well as the various grants systems and portals (various federal and non-federal sponsor Portals, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, etc.) as required to perform their role. This position also works with several different agency portals, such as Payment Management System (PMS), PIEE/WAWF, ASAP and Research.gov/ACM$. 

The RAA works with the Associate Directors, Directors, and Executive Director regarding fiscal compliance of sponsored awards, AR monitoring, invoicing, reporting and financial reconciliation at Northeastern.  The ability to create and maintain a culture of service, accountability and timeliness is essential. As a collaborative team member, the RAA supports the other members of NU-RES, interfaces with colleagues across organizational units such as NU-RES Administration, College research administrators and faculty/PIs, and performs other duties as assigned.

A key success factor for this role is being current with respect to federal regulations as well as the ability to train others on the application of these regulations.  This role must treat effective compliance as an equal priority, stay abreast of sponsor rules, regulations, and policy changes, as well as institutional best practices in research administration and finance. Participate in sponsored research initiatives and projects as assigned, as well as lead the adoption of best practices to promote continuous improvement making sure that the highest quality standards are met.

Minimum Qualifications

• BS/BA or related field is required

• Strong technical skills with MS Office 365 including Excel, Word, SharePoint, Outlook, Teams, as well as Adobe Acrobat and other analytical tools.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team-oriented environment

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a high attention to detail and organization

• Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to interact with management and senior leadership

• Proven customer service and client-facing communication skills

• Experience working with federal agencies is required, research administration experience is preferred

• Basic understanding of General Accounting principles, standards, and regulations

• Ability to work, lead and thrive in a fast-paced operations group & manage multiple priorities for cross functional initiatives

• 2-5 years of work experience are required

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities

Monthly Billing Operations - 50%

Ensure proper controls and oversight of invoicing, AR and cash management. Ensure timely preparation and submission of invoices and letter of credit draws to research sponsors, accurate capture of accounts receivables in the financial system, and timely account reconciliation for final invoices/draws and account closeout. Manage and ensure adherence to sponsor billing requirements, including portal invoicing/LOC draws, sponsor invoice templates, supporting documentation, cost share reporting, and other deliverables. Generate invoices and supporting documentation as needed, including reconciliation for final invoices and final AR.

Perform reconciliation of general and operating ledger accounts using various system platforms such as Excel, Cognos, Banner Billing and sponsor portals to ensure and promote a strong internal control structure. Run large data reports and complete financial analysis monthly using Excel VLOOKUP and Pivot tables to effectively and accurately complete monthly letter of credit draws. Establish effective lines of communication with stakeholders. Respond to sponsor inquiries as needed.

Portfolio reconciliation and open AR - 20%

Monitor portfolio fluctuations and develop protocol for escalation and resolution.  Analyze the Open AR Aging report for sponsor trends and document collection efforts. Work with Cash team and leadership team to review the Customer Aging Statement reports in Cognos and develop metrics and reports for strategic planning.  Automate the Customer Aging Statement reports by extrapolating information from Banner Billing and developing Cognos reports with key contacts for each sponsor organization.  Follow up with sponsors on collections and alert key stake holders about potential bad debt issues. Perform risk management reporting to mitigate financial risk in a timely manner.

System data management - 20%

Perform data profiling, quality assessment, and other data manipulation in Banner Billing and Quality Screens in Cognos, to ensure accurate system setup for invoice generation.  Create and maintain schedules of billing events, maintain sponsor addresses, and award demographic information to ensure successful generation of system invoices.  Identify final invoice schedules in contracts and maintain compliance with sponsors.  Ensure the system is set up accurately to report all final invoices. Maintain portfolio records in internal trackers to ensure timely completion of outstanding actions related to account maintenance, and final invoicing and closeout reconciliations.

10% - Identify and implement process changes that reduce risk and increase automation of various business processes. Support management with ad hoc assignments as needed

This position is eligible to be fully remote.

Position Type

Finance

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.  

Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff.  Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion. 

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other  characteristic protected by applicable law.

To learn more about Northeastern University’s commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see www.northeastern.edu/diversity .