Controller (MF)

The Meyer Foundation; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Meyer Foundation is seeking an analytical, hands-on Controller to join our finance and operations team in the Greater Washington, DC area. You will oversee accounting, payroll, audits, and tax preparations, while partnering with leadership to ensure strong financial controls and strategic funding decisions.

You will work closely with internal colleagues and external vendors to deliver timely financial reports, monitor investments, and support grant management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance and 5–10 years of accounting experience required.
• GAAP knowledge and private foundations compliance needed.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills are essential.
• Experience communicating financial information to non-finance staff is important.
• Nonprofit experience is a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

• Act as daily point of contact to banking partners.
• Migrate to new banking partner and implement related services.
• Process payroll and benefits; record payroll activity.
• Prepare annual financial statements and tax return.
• Monitor grants and manage annual budget preparation.
• Maintain fixed assets system and depreciation entries.
• Attend committee/Board meetings as needed.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Organization skills

Interpersonal skills

Prioritization

Detail-oriented

Communication (non-financial staff)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance

5–10 years nonprofit accounting experience

MBA / CPA / Master’s in Accounting

Nonprofit experience a plus

GAAP knowledge

Excel & Office proficiency

Experience with accounting software

Interest in racial justice

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Office Suite

Job description

The Meyer Foundation invests in solutions that build an equitable Washington region in which economically vulnerable people thrive, and envisions a just, connected, and inclusive Greater Washington* community in which systemic racism and its consequences no longer exist. Over the past 75 years, building on the legacy of its founders Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer, the Foundation has been a leader in the Washington region, making philanthropic investments with a deep focus and expertise in non-profit capacity building.

As the Foundation assesses the current socioeconomic climate of the Greater Washington region and inequities that have long persisted in many communities, it recognizes that new strategies and ideas that more directly challenge the status quo are necessary. The Foundation is identifying ways to leverage all its assets—including capacity building, communications, convening power, and collective action—to tackle the root causes of longstanding inequity—namely, structural and systemic racism. Meyer acknowledges that there are significant, interrelated challenges facing many residents in the region, and envisions solutions that go beyond the traditional bounds of philanthropy.

Meyer focuses its efforts on the core programmatic goals of achieving racial equity in housing, jobs,education, and asset-building in the Greater Washington region. The Foundation’s work to examine andconfront racism is evolving and will continue to take place at the programmatic level and throughout theorganization as each aspect of the Foundation is explored for opportunities to achieve racial equity.

The Foundation has an endowment of $220 million and in 2016, the Meyer Foundation awarded nearly $7.2M across the Greater Washington region. Looking ahead, the Foundation will explore opportunities to more intentionally address the systems, practices, and norms that perpetuate poverty and systemic racism.

Under the leadership of President and CEO Nicky Goren, the Foundation seeks team members who arecommitted to racial justice and equity and who can help advance this goal of the foundation during thistime of change.

With a full staff of 18 people, all based in the Dupont Circle office, the Foundation is working to build aclose-knit team culture. Each member of the Meyer Foundation team is committed to the work becauseof their dedication to addressing the community issues most pertinent to the Greater Washingtonregion. The Foundation upholds its commitment to the professional and personal development of eachperson on staff and to valuing work/life balance for team members.

The Meyer Foundation seeks an analytical and hands on Controller to serve as a critical member of the Foundation’s finance and operations team. Reporting to the Vice President for Finance and Operations, the Controller will work in close collaboration with the finance and operations team, internal colleagues, and external vendors building strong relationships. The Foundation’s commitment to integrating racial justice into all its work provides a compelling opportunity for the Controller to find ways to bring greater equity to the finance function.

The Controller is responsible for the accounting function of the Foundation, including: reconciling simple to complex investment accounts and bank accounts, managing banking relationships, preparing for the year-end financial statement audit and the annual tax return, processing payroll and the associated benefits, financial statement preparation, grant monitoring, annual budget preparation, and managing the fixed assets database. This position will also improve and develop internal controls, guidelines, and procedures, as necessary. The Controller is charged with ensuring these functions align with Foundation goals and values.

As a member of the Meyer Foundation team, the Controller will be expected to be actively engaged in informal and formal team building, facilitation of meetings, participate on internal committees, and actively participate in racial equity work. All members of the Meyer Foundation are encouraged to be curious and creative in their approaches, maintain an open mind, and push themselves to be an inclusive corporate citizen. Candidates should bring a sense of curiosity to the position and seek to understand the story behind and the implications of the Foundation’s accounting activities.

The Controller should be an experienced and detail-oriented finance/accounting professional with asound knowledge of GAAP, and should have a commitment to racial equity. Candidates must have the ability to fully engage in conversations about race and racism on a personal, institutional and systemiclevel to advance the Foundation’s goals related to racial equity and justice.

Competitive candidates for the Controller position will have held finance roles of increasingresponsibility to include interacting with the Board of Directors and working with Board committees. Experience in the philanthropic sector is not necessary. Additionally, candidates will need to have theability to maintain a high-level perspective on the accounting and finance processes, while conductingvery detailed work on a daily basis. A successful candidate will be curious, willing to participate in workoutside of their specific function, and open to challenge themselves and those around them.

Responsibilities for the Controller include, but are not limited to, the following:

Daily/On-going

• Act as the daily point of contact to banking partners.
• Responsible for managing the migration to the Foundation’s new banking partner and implementing the related banking services.
• Maintain focus on the detailed accounting practice, while also maintaining a “big picture” view of the accounting function.
• Develop controls for new financial processes and assist with creating or updating current procedures.
• Maintain a high level of understanding of the Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable process, including partnering with employees who are responsible for these activities.
• Ability to work autonomously; own a body of work and work with their teammates.
• Process payroll and benefits, and record payroll activity in the general ledger. Reconcile quarterly 941 payroll reports.

Monthly

• Reconcile the Foundation’s investment portfolio by reconciling investment accounts, preparing investment schedules, and recording the associated investment activity in the general ledger.
• Manage the Foundation’s cash position by reconciling cash accounts, recording required journal entries in the general ledger, resolving any discrepancies or stale dated items, and preparing cash forecasts.
• Prepare the Budget vs. Actual Expense Report to monitor the Foundation’s spending and analyze significant variances and trends.
• Monitor the Foundation’s financial performance and regulatory compliance by preparing grant target and charitable spending reports.
• Manage the fixed asset system and record depreciation related journal entries.
• Run the quarterly budget reforecasting meeting with the Senior Leadership Team.
• Attend committee and Board meetings.
• Collaborate with the Vice President for Finance and Operations to evaluate the Foundation’s risk and update the risk matrix.

Annually

• Collaborate with the Finance and Operations Team to formulate the annual budget for presentation to the Finance Committee and the Board.
• Prepare audit and tax related documents in conjunction with the year-end financial statement audit and preparation of the tax return. Respond to questions from the auditors.
• Ensure accurate and proper documentation is maintained to substantiate all year-end audit schedules, tax return schedules, and the annual budget request.
• Prepare designated schedules to assist with preparing the annual tax return.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This job has no supervisory responsibilities but receives administrative support from the team’s finance associate.

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance from a four-year college or university and five (5) to ten (10) years of accounting experience.
• Nonprofit experience is a plus but not required.
• MBA, Master’s in Accounting or CPA designation is a plus but not required.
• Willingness to be hands-on in a small collegial environment.
• Solid understanding of GAAP, accounting, financial management and related compliance requirements for private foundations.
• Keen analytical and organization skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate financial information to non- financial staff.
• Ability to prioritize multiple responsibilities effectively.
• Detailed oriented with patience and determination to explore the problem and all of its elements through to a solution.
• Experience working with accounting software.
• Experience and/or interest in working on racial justice.
• Proficient in use of computer technology primarily in Microsoft Excel and Office Suite.

Personal Characteristics and Values

• Proven ability to listen, discern challenges, and identify solutions.
• Partnership approach and ability to effectively work with different workstyles.
• An analytical thinker who can develop and apply strategy using a thoughtful and inclusive approach.
• Open-minded and committed to honest and candid conversations and self-reflection about race, racial justice, and equity.
• Transparent, humble, and collaborative leadership style with Board, staff, grantees, and other stakeholders.
• Enthusiasm for organizational change and patience during the change process.

* Greater Washington, DC region defined by the Foundation as:Washington, DC; Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, Maryland; Arlington, Fairfax, and Prince William Counties, Virginia; the Cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park, Virginia