Director of Accounting

Northern Kentucky University; Cold Spring (KY); In loco; USD 110.000 - 160.000; Tempo pieno

Descrizione del lavoro

Northern Kentucky University seeks a collaborative and strategic Director of Accounting to lead University Accounting, including general accounting, accounts payable, treasury, capital asset accounting, and the annual financial statement audit. This role reports to the Associate Vice President for Financial Services and supervises accounting staff to ensure accurate, timely financial reporting.

This position requires GAAP and GASB expertise, plus experience coordinating external audits and

Competenze

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum seven (7) years of progressively responsible accounting or financial reporting experience.
• Minimum five (5) years of supervisory or management experience.
• Experience preparing audited financial statements and coordinating external audits.
• Strong knowledge of GAAP and GASB accounting standards.

Mansioni

• Lead and supervise University Accounting staff, including assigning work, setting priorities, evaluating performance, and supporting professional development.
• Ensure the integrity and accuracy of the general ledger, accounting records, and financial transactions.
• Maintain the chart of accounts and ledger structure, including fund-basis reporting and the approval of new accounts, in coordination with Budget and Workday system owners.
• Review and approve journal entries, account reconciliations, and other accounting transactions in accordance with University policy, GAAP, and GASB.
• Oversee accounts payable, ensuring timely and accurate payments and compliance with University policies and vendor requirements.
• Oversee capital asset accounting, including capitalization, depreciation, inventory, and the reporting of leases and subscription-based IT arrangements (GASB 87 and 96).
• Oversee treasury operations, excluding student account services, including cash management, bank relationships, bank and cash reconciliations, debt service and bond covenant compliance, and investment accounting.
• Lead the University’s annual financial statement audit and serve as primary liaison with the external auditors, including audit schedules and responses to requests.
• Prepare the University’s annual financial statements, notes, and related disclosures.
• Manage monthly, quarterly, and year-end close, including closing entries, reconciliations, and accruals.
• Monitor new GASB pronouncements, assess their institutional impact, and implement required changes.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate accounting policies, procedures, and internal controls, including segregation of duties, and lead remediation of audit findings.
• Provide variance analysis and forward-looking financial insight to the Associate Vice President and University leadership.
• Work with the Budget Office on actual-to-budget comparisons and forecasting.
• Workday Stabilization & Optimization: Serve as the accounting process owner for Workday Financials; identify and resolve post-implementation issues; optimize configuration, workflows, and integrations; test reports and upgrades; coordinate data elements; collaborate with IT and HR/Payroll.

Conoscenze

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Regulatory knowledge

Formazione

Bachelor's degree in Accounting

Master's degree preferred

Strumenti

Power BI

Workday Financials

Descrizione del lavoro

Position Title:

Director of Accounting

Position Type:

Regular

About the Role:

Northern Kentucky University seeks a collaborative and strategicaccounting leader to serve as Director of Accounting. Reporting tothe Associate Vice President for Financial Services, the Directorleads the University Accounting department, including generalaccounting, accounts payable, treasury (excluding student accountservices), capital asset accounting, and the annual financialstatement audit.

The Director ensures the accuracy, integrity, and timeliness of theUniversity’s financial records and reporting, in compliance withGenerally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), GovernmentalAccounting Standards Board (GASB) standards, and applicable federaland state regulations. Following the University’s recentimplementation of Workday Financials, a central part of this role is stabilizing and optimizing the system so that accountingprocesses, controls, and reporting are efficient and reliable.

The Director supervises accounting staff, works closely with theDirectors of Grants Accounting and Foundation Accounting, andserves as a key advisor and backup to the Associate Vice Presidentfor Financial Services.

Primary Responsibilities

Accounting Operations &Leadership

• Lead and supervise University Accounting staff, includingassigning work, setting priorities, evaluating performance, andsupporting professional development.
• Ensure the integrity and accuracy of the general ledger,accounting records, and financial transactions.
• Maintain the chart of accounts and ledger structure, includingfund-basis reporting and the approval of new accounts, incoordination with Budget and Workday system owners.
• Review and approve journal entries, account reconciliations,and other accounting transactions in accordance with Universitypolicy, GAAP, and GASB.
• Oversee accounts payable, ensuring timely and accurate paymentsand compliance with University policies and vendorrequirements.
• Oversee capital asset accounting, including capitalization,depreciation, inventory, and the reporting of leases andsubscription-based IT arrangements (GASB 87 and 96).
• Oversee treasury operations, excluding student accountservices, including cash management, bank relationships, bank andcash reconciliations, debt service and bond covenant compliance,and investment accounting.

Financial Reporting & Audit

• Lead the University’s annual financial statement audit andserve as primary liaison with the external auditors, includingaudit schedules and responses to requests.
• Prepare the University’s annual financial statements, notes,and related disclosures.
• Manage monthly, quarterly, and year-end close, includingclosing entries, reconciliations, and accruals.
• Monitor new GASB pronouncements, assess their institutionalimpact, and implement required changes.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate accounting policies,procedures, and internal controls, including segregation of duties,and lead remediation of audit findings.
• Provide variance analysis and forward-looking financial insightto the Associate Vice President and University leadership.
• Work with the Budget Office on actual-to-budget comparisons andforecasting.

Workday Stabilization & Optimization

• Serve as the accounting process owner for Workday Financials,working with Information Technology, Procurement, Budget, and HumanResources.
• Identify and resolve post-implementation issues in the ledger,accounts payable, banking and settlement, asset accounting, andclose processes.
• Optimize configuration, business processes, approval workflows,and integrations to strengthen controls and reduce manualwork.
• Help define and review Workday security roles to maintainsegregation of duties.
• Test Workday reports, dashboards, upgrades, integrations, andnew releases, and lead accounting staff in testing andadoption.
• Document and coordinate requests for new financial dataelements, such as new worktags, departments, or spendcategories.
• Coordinate with Human Resources and Payroll on data accuracyand standardized processes between the HCM and financialsystems.
• Partner on financial reporting and data needs, includingreports, dashboards, Power BI, and period-end reporting.
• Develop procedures, training, and documentation to build staffproficiency in the system.

Collaboration & External Reporting

• Work closely with the Directors of Grants Accounting andFoundation Accounting to ensure consistent accounting treatment,timely closes, coordinated audit support, and accurateconsolidation of affiliated entities.
• Coordinate preparation and submission of external reports ownedby Accounting, including the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report(ACFR), IPEDS finance, Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE)reporting, and Management Information Reports (MIR), plus otherrequired state, federal, and regulatory filings.
• Partner with Student Financial Services, Financial Aid, Budget,Procurement, and other departments on processes that touch thegeneral ledger.

Strategic Support

• Provide accounting expertise and guidance to Universityleadership.
• Lead or participate in special projects and strategicinitiatives as assigned.
• Serve as backup to the Associate Vice President for Financial Services.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting (Master’s degreepreferred).
• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsibleaccounting or financial reporting experience.
• Minimum of five (5) years of supervisory or managementexperience.
• Experience preparing audited financial statements andcoordinating external audits.
• Strong knowledge of GAAP and GASB accounting standards.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) strongly preferred.
• Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or BusinessAdministration.
• Experience in higher education, governmental, or nonprofitaccounting.
• Experience managing or supporting Workday Financials or asimilar ERP, ideally in post-implementation stabilization oroptimization.
• Experience with accounts payable, treasury, and capital assetaccounting.
• Experience preparing regulatory and compliance reports inhigher education.
• Change management or project management training orexperience.
• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or other data visualizationtools.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of accounting principles, financialreporting, internal controls, and treasury operations.
• Strong understanding of GAAP, GASB, and governmental accountingpractices.
• Ability to lead process improvement and change management in anERP environment.
• Ability to translate business needs into system requirementsand work effectively with IT and functional teams.
• Exceptional analytical, organizational, and problem-solvingskills, with the ability to manage competing priorities anddeadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships acrossdepartments, including peer directors for grants and foundationaccounting.
• Demonstrated leadership and team development skills.
• High level of accuracy, attention to detail, and commitment tocompliance.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise soundprofessional judgment.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and working knowledgeof Microsoft Office applications.