Analyst, Finance and Grants, Finance Department (MF)

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation seeks an Analyst in Finance and Grants to support grant accounting, cash management, and financial reporting.

The role emphasizes accuracy, process improvement, and collaboration with the Grants Management Team and Legal Department. Responsibilities include processing grant payments, reconciliations, transfers, and tax reporting, while ensuring adherence to Foundation policies and internal controls.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or business management; CPA or MBA a plus but not required.
• At least three to four years of finance related experience.
• Knowledge of grant accounting and regulations relating to expenditure responsibility.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Acrobat; ability to write queries and ad hoc reports.

Responsibilities

• Process grant payments and approvals in a timely manner.
• Manage weekly grant and wire payments and resolve banking issues.
• Perform account reconciliations for grant-related general ledger accounts.
• Process grant transfers, returns and rescissions; record complex grant transactions.
• Monitor grant budgets, funding sources and tax reporting.
• Collaborate with Grants Management Team and Legal on workflow, control procedures, and reporting.

Skills

Communication skills

Financial analysis

Technology proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or business management

Tools

Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)

Adobe Acrobat

Job description

Analyst, Finance and Grants, Finance Department (MF)

Posted on October 13, 2020

About Us

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is placing a few big bets that truly significant progress is possible on some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including over-incarceration , global climate change , nuclear risk , and significantly increasing financial capital for the social sector . In addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program , the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsible and responsive democracy, as well as the strength and vitality of our headquarters city, Chicago .

MacArthur is one of the nation's largest independent foundations. Organizations supported by the Foundation work in about 50 countries. In addition to Chicago, MacArthur has offices in India , Mexico , and Nigeria .

Department

The Office of Finance is responsible for all accounting, banking, payroll, budget, internal control, tax, audit and financial reporting for the Foundation. The Office is also responsible for maintaining the financial enterprise systems and end user support and training on those systems. The Analyst, Finance and Grants is an integral and active part of the Financial Planning and Analysis team within the Office of Finance, whose responsibilities include the general accounting function specific to grants, cash management and other areas, and supporting established financial policies and procedures in the conduct of everyday operations, with comprehensive knowledge of Foundation policies and procedures regarding all aspects of accounting and finance. In addition to supporting the financial planning and analysis functions within the Office of Finance, the Analyst, Finance and Grants drives continuous process improvement by looking for new and different ways to do things better and consistently striving for greater efficiency, including identifying and incorporating new technology as appropriate.

Job Description

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Process grant payments and approvals in a timely manner; verify that payments are correct, properly authorized and coded; confirm that non-resident alien vendors and income are correctly identified; promptly resolve outstanding issues or request additional input.
• Manage weekly upload of grant and trade wire payments via retail banking application, including resolution of payment issues with bank, re-issuance of wires, and resolution of wire payment instruction issues.
• Responsible for account reconciliations for all grant-related general ledger accounts, including analysis of grant payable data integrity and adjustments as necessary to accommodate for proper reporting on financial statements, audit committee book, tax return, and budget schedules.
• Process grant transfers, returns and rescissions; research and correctly record complex grant transactions; reconcile grant accounting applications; present grant transactions in the financial statements, the tax returns, and for all grant related analysis and reporting.
• Manage all aspects of expedited grants accounting (X-Grants), including processing approvals, payments, grant returns, amendments, and administrative fees; reconciling quarterly balances with the administrator, Institute of International Education; investigating and resolving any issues that arise with the administrator, Foundation program staff, and grantees; and collaborating with the Grants Management Team and the Legal Department on workflow, control procedures, and proper tax reporting of expedited grants.
• Monitor stale payments, out of corpus requirements, and blacklisted organizations throughout the year and report these items on the annual tax return
• Participate in the Foundation’s grant budget process, including monitoring budget to actual results and future legal commitments, monitoring funding sources on an ongoing basis, processing funding source transfer requests including from central Unallocated and between programs, and working with staff to create or restructure funding sources and program codes.
• Partner with programs to monitor grant payout for the calendar year.
• Review expenditure responsibility (ER) reports, escal...issues as necessary; prepare all ER reporting, including tax and audit schedules; clearly communicate complex grant and ER policies and regulations to employees and grantees.
• Collaborate with Legal Department and Grants Management Team to update expenditure reporting procedures, checklists, and workflow within the grants management system.
• Responsible for all grant accounting and analysis for grants and matching gifts as required for financial statement, tax return and budget reporting.
• Manage the Foundation’s property, casualty and professional liability insurance program, including preparing materials for the annual renewal. Manage broker partnership; serve as primary contact on all issues, including claims and Certificate of Insurance (COI) requests.
• Manage all aspects of Foundation matching gift program; system administrator for the Cybergrant matching gift software system; responsible for orienting new staff and the continued development of the system; ensure Foundation policies are correctly implemented in the system, and responsible for assessing and approving all new matching gift vendors and matching gift requests.
• Responsible for various cash management duties including preparation and recording of cash deposits and associated miscellaneous receivables transactions related to cash transactions.
• Responsible for monthly account reconciliation for cash bank accounts excluding payroll bank account.
• Process operational expense reclasses in accordance with budget to actual monitoring by budget administrators in order to ensure appropriate coding for budget, financial statement and tax return reporting.
• Responsible for accounting functions for MacArthur Park including financial statement creation, monthly reconciliations, and providing information for tax reporting purposes.
• Assist with general accounting functions for Lever for Change as needed, including backup coverage for cash management, processing settlement runs, recording cash transactions and monitoring cash flow.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or business management; CPA or MBA a plus but not required; at least three to four years of finance related experience
• Knowledge of current and emerging technology; uses technology and systems effectively to support daily activities; looks for new ways to apply technology to promote efficiency and improve quality
• Demonstrated expert knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word and PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat; ability to write queries and ad hoc reports
• Solid understanding of transaction analysis and recording of financial transactions with supporting documentation
• Knowledge of grant accounting and expert knowledge of regulations relating to expenditure responsibility
• Understand and apply the principals of an appropriate control environment; comply with policies and procedures to minimize errors and prevent fraud
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; comfortable speaking and presenting to large groups and translating financial and accounting data into “layman” terms
• Openly shares information and actively listens to others
• Able to work in harmony with all levels of the organization