Senior Accountant

Wesleyan University, United States

Updated: about 2 months ago
Location: Remote, OREGON
Job Type: FullTime
Deadline: ;

Position Information
Position Information


Job Posting Number S01250
Position Title Senior Accountant
Department Financial Reporting Office-1196
Job Category Staff Posting
Position Type Full-Time
Work Location Remote
Pay Type Salaried
Salary Range
$61,300-$72,300
Compensation Practices
Experience is taken into consideration in the determination of salary offers.  For more information visit https://www.wesleyan.edu/hr/handbook/compensation-practices/index.html
Position Details
The Controller’s Office supports the financial operations of the University. Members of the Controller’s Office facilitate the collection of University revenue, purchasing and procurement and University expenditures including Payroll and Accounts Payable. The office provides grant and gift administration, tax support, financial statement preparation, capital project accounting, and other general accounting functions.
The Controller’s Office is part of the Finance Office which also includes the development of the annual budget, monitoring of income and spending, and long-range financial planning.
The financial office staff enjoy varied job responsibilities and a diversity of topics allowing them to work with a variety of people across campus.
Reporting to the Controller, the Senior Accountant will work closely with the Controller, two Associate Controllers as well as their staff, managing day to day workflow and operations of key accounting and reporting functions.
Wesleyan has currently undertaken an implementation of Workday HCM and Financial Modules. This positions primary responsibility is managing a variety of task that would allow the key members of the Controllers Office to focus on the Workday Project. As the Workday project get implemented the specific responsibilities will evolve.
Specific responsibilities include:
GENERAL ACCOUNTING
  • Assist in the preparation of the University’s Audited Financial Statements and coordination of annual financial audit as well the annual grant audits, including working closely with University’s external and internal auditors.
  • Liaison with the Investments Office, posting investment activity to the financial system, reconciling monthly cash flows and preparing year end audit reports.
  • Manage posting and approval of journal entries and vouchers.
  • Review of reconciliations of various bank, clearing and other balance sheet accounts.
  • Oversight of various aspects of tax compliance, including property taxes, Non-Resident Alien (NRA) compliance, sales and use tax, and the University’s federal tax returns.
  • Approving salary redistributions, commitment accounting changes and new positions in Careers under grants, gifts and endowments.
  • Managing the budgeting, approval, accounting, and distribution of capital and major maintenance funds.



PAYROLL
  • In conjunction with the Payroll Manager, manage the accounting and processing for all payroll-related activity.


GRANTS ADMINISTRATION
  • Overseeing all post-award responsibilities for externally sponsored research funded from Federal, State and Private sources from proposal through close out. This includes proposal review, award set up, security, budget management, financial reporting, no-cost extension requests and close out reporting.
  • Managing post-award cash management. On a monthly basis this includes invoicing, federal drawdowns, and review of outstanding receivables.
  • Maintaining and reviewing all federal financial aid accounts including federal work study, SEOG, Pell and Direct Loans. Drawdown reimbursements monthly.

GIFT ADMINISTRATION
  • Collaborating with the Advancement office on receipt and reconciliation of gifts and pledges. Creating new smartkeys when new purpose ids are established.
  • Updating the pledge receivable spreadsheet, documentation and calculations for the annual audit.
  • Reconciling endowment gifts with the Endowment Subsidiary System (ESS).
  • Updating ESS market values monthly and calculating and loading the annual spending guideline for the endowment pool.
  • Managing deferred gift functions including processing monthly journal entries to record activity and reconciling additions and terminations with Advancement.

Funding for this position has been approved for 2 years. Further continuation is contingent upon continued funding.
This position is a remote position. All positions may require on campus meetings.
Remote work is only considered for residents of MA, VT, NH, ME, CT, RI, or NY. (Relocation assistance to CT may be available for those who qualify).
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field with a minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible accounting experience or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
Prior experience with audits.
Knowledge of fiscal controls related to safeguarding of institutional funds
Skill in examining and re-engineering operations and procedures, formulating policy, and developing and implementing new strategies and procedures.
Knowledge of financial/business analysis techniques.
Ability to analyze and interpret financial data and prepare financial reports.
Experience with enterprise financial systems used in financial and/or accounting applications.
Strong experience with Microsoft Excel including pivot tables and formula building.
Demonstrated ability to work independently, research problems, think out of the box and provide solutions.
Knowledge of not for profit tax structures.
The ability to translate financial information for others with very limited experience and/or training in understanding and using financial information.
Strong critical thinking and analytical skills.
Excellent communication skills.
Demonstrated commitment to work within a diverse environment and interact openly with individuals of different backgrounds.
Preferred Qualifications
CPA or MBA with equivalent accounting experience preferred.
Ten years of accounting experience strongly preferred.
Familiarity with PeopleSoft.
Experience with higher education accounting and/or governmental financial reporting.
Experience training others.
Experience supervising others
Special Instructions to Applicants
Position is open until filled. For full consideration please apply by October 28th when first review of applications will begin
Additional Information
All offers to external applicants are contingent on the candidate’s completion of a pre-employment background check screening to the satisfaction of Wesleyan University.
Benefits
Wesleyan offers a broad range of employee benefits and development opportunities, including comprehensive group insurance plans, wellness programs and incentives, generous paid time off and retirement plans. We also offer flexible work schedules, employee and dependent tuition programs, as well as access to Wesleyan’s BLS & GLS programs for those who qualify (tuition is waived for up to 2 courses a term; some fees and taxes may apply).
Detailed information on the benefits of working at Wesleyan is located at: https://wesleyan.edu/hr/careers/prospective-resources.html .
Quick Link https://careers.wesleyan.edu/postings/10082

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