Accounting Technician III

University of Colorado Boulder; Boulder (CO); Hybrid; USD 51,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition assistance for you and your de

ECO Pass for local transit

Medical, dental, and retirement plans

Job summary

The University of Colorado Boulder is hiring an Accounting Technician III to support Student Life Finance and Business Services. The role focuses on cash handling, ledger reconciliation, and journal entries, while serving as a primary contact for students and campus partners.

The position operates in a hybrid setting, with on-campus and remote work portions. Qualified candidates will have 3+ years of experience in customer service or financial environments, proficiency in Excel, and familiarity

Qualifications

• Three years of experience in customer service/front-line hospitality or in a financial environment.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent; education may substitute for experience on a year-for-year basis.
• Proficiency in Excel.
• Knowledge of FERPA and its application in daily work.
• Experience with cash handling and financial management systems.

Responsibilities

• Process cash receipts and refunds via in-person, phone, and online methods.
• Record and verify payments across financial subsystems and reconcile to the general ledger.
• Create journal entries and distribute fees to correct speedtypes and accounts.
• Support month-end close and reporting with accurate documentation and reconciliations.
• Provide excellent customer service as the primary contact for students, parents, and campus partners.
• Maintain compliance with campus records retention policies and internal controls.

Skills

Customer service

Excel

Communication

Attention to detail

Time management

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

PeopleSoft

StarRez

Job description

Job Summary

The Department of Student Life Finance is encouraging applications for the Accounting Technician III role! This role collects, verifies, and records cash receipts on behalf of division units in accordance with campus and division accounting standards, policies, and procedures. This position is part of a team that is the on-campus presence for Student Life Finance and Business Services. In particular, the role serves as the primary customer service contact for students, parents, campus constituents, and external contacts through in-person, phone, and email communications. The purpose of this role is to provide accounting support to units within the Division of Student Life (SL) by ensuring proper recording in the PeopleSoft (PS) Financial System and reconciling the general ledger with multiple financial subsystems of record and payment platforms used across the division.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

The Division of Student Life consists of 36 departments that provide student support and services dedicated to helping students become successful, curious, competent individuals during their time at CU Boulder.

Student Life Finance and Business Services

Student Life Finance and Business Services serves as a centralized service center for the Division of Student Life, providing comprehensive support across financial management, procurement, travel, billing and invoicing, cash management, and reconciliation. The team partners closely with departments to understand their operational needs and to provide informed guidance on sound financial and accounting practices. Services include budget planning, financial management best practices, reporting and analysis, billing, and invoicing, accounting functions, and revenue reconciliation as well as procurement and travel support.

Team members assist departments with acquiring and expanding goods and services, coordinating, and advising on group and individual travel, and ensuring timely and accurate substantiation of expenses. They also support departments in interpreting and implementing state and university financial policies and procedures, serving as liaisons to CU system and campus partners. Throughout this work, the team aligns processes with campus and system guidelines while advocating for the unique operational needs of the Division of Student Life.

Responsibilities

Cash Management

• Process payments and refunds through in-person, phone, and online methods.
• Verify daily that payments received via online portals are posted accurately in financial subsystems
• Properly identify and record cash, checks, wire and ACH transfers, bank deposits, and online and in-office credit card transactions in financial subsystems promptly.
• Retrieve, verify and log cash receipts from various locations on central campus on a weekly basis or as needed.
• Ensure compliant deposit of all cash and checks, either by delivery to Office of Cash Management or via desktop deposit batch in office.
• Resolve account issues by troubleshooting, updating subsystems, and communicating with the payer or the account holder.
• Identify irregularities in units' shift reports and determine proper recording of overages/shortages, ensuring campus guidelines are followed.
• Collaborate with departments to meet key financial due dates.
• Maintain divisional change funds, including cash disbursements, regular reconciliation of change fund balances and distribution records, and replenishment check requests.
• Process and maintain documentation that records chain of custody for cash transactions, resolves reconciliation findings, and supports external and internal audits.
• Complete project work to support divisional goals and cash operations as needed.

Accounting Support & Documentation

• Create journal entries to record payments, recognize revenue, and distribute fees to the accurate speedtypes and accounts with appropriate line descriptions.
• Use available resources to review transactions, maintain consistency, and meet monthly and annual financial close deadlines.
• Investigate discrepancies between subsystems and the General Ledger to support accurate financial reporting.
• Identify issues through accounting reconciliations, particularly balance sheet and revenue accounts.
• Exercise judgment in determining when to resolve issues.
• Stay current with operational changes that impact account reconciliations, procedures, or other accounting processes.
• Regularly review and make recommendations for additions, revisions, and updates to the Cash Management Processing Guides.
• Manage compliance with campus Records Retention & Disposition policy.
• Support fiscal year-end operations through preparing documentation, researching account balances, and creating accrual and adjusting journal entries as needed.
• Exercise critical analysis of operations and communicate to leadership when policies and procedures contradict an environment conducive to DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives and student success

Customer Service

• Primary respondent to shared SL Finance email inbox and phone line.
• Offer hospitality as a first point of contact to students, parents and other visitors while ensuring privacy of student data per FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act).
• Maintain productive and professional relationships with other departments/internal contacts.

Other Duties

• Promote ethical and sustainable business practices by identifying development opportunities or process improvements.
• Engage in professional training opportunities, individually and with other SL Units
• Participate in New Student Welcome, Move‑In, and other campus events to support Student Life and student success.

What You Should Know

• This position is in a hybrid work opportunity, working 4 days on-campus and 1 day remote.
• This individual can expect to be on campus Monday-Friday during the initial training period, with a transition to work from home one day a week once established.
• The work schedule for this position is Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm.

What We Can Offer

The salary range for this position is $50,845 - $52,000 annually.

Benefits

At the University of Colorado Boulder , we are committed to supporting the holistic health and well-being of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuition assistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for local transit. As one of Boulder County’s largest employers, CU Boulder offers an inspiring academic community and access to world-class outdoor recreation. In fact, CU Boulder has been named one of Forbes' America's Best Large Employers , ranking #4 among large employers in Colorado and #28 among universities nationwide. Explore additional perks and programs through the CU Advantage program.

Be Statements

Be effective. Be flexible. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• Three years of experience:
  • Demonstrating customer service, or
  • In a front-line hospitality role, or
  • Working in a financial environment
• Appropriate education will substitute for the required experience on a year‑for‑year basis.

What You Will Need

• Strong customer service skills.
• Proficiency in Excel.
• Highly detail-oriented and organized.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience communicating complex subjects to customers from a diverse set of backgrounds.
• Commitment to inclusion, and equity.

What We Would Like You To Have

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• Prior experience in cash handling.
• Prior experience in higher education, public administration or related field.
• Prior experience in a financial environment working with financial management software such as PeopleSoft and/or student management software i.e. StarRez.
• Prior experience of PCI Standards.
• Knowledge of FERPA and application in daily work.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to prioritize tasks.
• Demonstrated ability to learn multiple payment systems and adapt to new processes.