Senior Accountant

Bowdoinham Country Store; Brunswick, Northern (ME, KY); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Life & disability insurance

PTO 20 days

Parental leave

Facility access

Job summary

Bowdoin College is seeking a Senior Accountant to manage capital and non-capital project accounting, asset capitalization and depreciation, and related reporting. You will set up capital projects in Workday, manage security access, and prepare audit-ready schedules.

The role requires collaboration with campus stakeholders, review of journal entries, and coordination of bond-related activities and budget controls. Strong Excel and Workday experience are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting required or equivalent.
• MBA, CPA or CMA preferred.
• Experience in higher education accounting is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Provide stewardship for capital and non-capital project accounting, including setup in ERP and funding tracking.
• Oversee fixed asset ledger, depreciation, and related audit schedules.
• Coordinate internal and external reporting and assist annual financial statement audit.
• Review and approve journal entries and address budget override issues.

Skills

Capital projects

Fixed assets

Workday

Budgeting

Excel

Internal controls

Audit support

Reporting

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting

MBA or CPA/CMA preferred

Tools

Workday Financials

Excel (Advanced)

BI tools

Job description

The Senior Accountant has custodial responsibility for capital and non-capital project accounting, including project setup in the ERP system, security access management, funding allocations, and capitalization determinations. This role oversees key plant and project finance processes such as the monthly Plant Funding Analysis, reserve fund reporting, bond requisitions and related funding entries, and fixed asset accounting (capitalization and depreciation). The Senior Accountant prepares audit-ready schedules and documentation and serves as a primary resource in support of the annual financial statement audit. The position produces and coordinates required internal and external reports, surveys, and filings. In partnership with campus stakeholders, the Senior Accountant reviews and approves journal entries and budget override requests, resolves budget-check issues, and provides guidance on general accounting and compliance questions.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Provide stewardship for capital project accounting, including setting up capital project worktags in Workday and assigning appropriate security access for project managers and financial analysts. Maintain the monthly Plant Funding Analysis tracking each project’s budget, expenditures, funding sources, and funding status. Prepare monthly journal entries to fund project costs from gifts, reserves, and bond proceeds.
• Manage the fixed asset ledger, including reviewing eligible expenditures, preparing capitalization and depreciation entries, and producing related audit schedules. Develop ad hoc analyses and reports as needed (e.g., depreciation projections and average age of plant).
• Oversee non-capital project accounting, including establishing new projects and assigning security access for project managers and financial analysts. Build and maintain revenue-based budget rules and monitor/resolve budget override requests. Reconcile budget availability issues between Workday reporting and actual project balances, and resolve budget-check holds impacting overdue expense reports.
• Prepare and coordinate required internal/external reporting and surveys, including the annual Welfare Benefit Plan income statement and related tax return data, Business Interruption worksheets, and institutional survey support. Prepare the monthly Reserve Funds Report.
• Collaborate with the Vice President for Finance on bond-related activity, including reviewing proposed bond funding, compiling bond requisition support, and processing associated funding entries.
• Review and approve journal entries submitted by campus partners, providing guidance on general accounting practices and collaborating to troubleshoot and resolve accounting and compliance issues.

The hiring range for this position is expected to be: $85,000 – 95,000 annually.

BENEFITS AND PERKS

• A variety of health insurance plans (Medical, Vision, Dental)
• Generous Retirement Plan – 401(a) and 403(b)
• Life and Disability Insurance
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per calendar year, 12 days of personal/sick time
• Paid Parental Leave (Available after one year of service)
• Household access to many of the College’s facilities including the gym and pool

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting ; MBA , CPA , or CMA is preferred.

• Capital and project accounting experience, including project setup, budget-to-actual tracking, funding source management, and project-level reporting.
• Fixed asset accounting proficiency, including capitalization review, depreciation entries, asset ledger maintenance, and audit schedules/rollforwards.
• Experience working with multiple funding sources/fund types (e.g., gifts, reserves, debt/bond proceeds) and ensuring appropriate funding and compliance.
• ERP /financial systems expertise with ability to configure and maintain project/worktag structures, troubleshoot budget checks, and support role-based security; Workday Financials strongly preferred.
• Strong reporting and analytical capability, including building repeatable monthly reports and delivering ad hoc analyses (e.g., depreciation forecasts, average age of plant).
• External reporting and survey support experience (e.g., IPEDS , NCAA , benefit plan/tax reporting, insurance/business interruption reporting, or comparable regulatory/third-party reporting).
• Exposure to debt/bond accounting—tracking bond-funded activity, compiling requisition/supporting detail, and processing related funding entries (direct experience preferred).
• Internal controls and audit readiness mindset, with strong documentation practices and comfort operating in a compliance-oriented environment.
• Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, structured templates; large dataset management); familiarity with reporting/BI tools is a plus.
• Ability to review and approve partner-submitted transactions, provide clear guidance, and resolve issues with a collaborative, service-oriented approach.
• Strong communication, prioritization, and judgment, including translating accounting requirements for non-finance stakeholders and escalating risks appropriately

Experience Requirements and/or Equivalents: The ideal candidate brings 4–7 years of progressive accounting experience, strong analytical and Excel skills, and demonstrated ability to manage complex funding sources and cross-functional relationships; Workday Financials and higher education experience are strongly preferred. Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications in this posting to be considered for hire.

Standard Work Days and Hours

Standard administrative hours are 8:30am – 5:00pm. This is a full-time position working 40 hours/52 weeks, (1.00 FTE ). Exempt positions require the time commitment necessary to complete the essential duties of the position.

Onsite - This is an on-site role, and candidates must be able to work in person on Bowdoin College Campus in Brunswick, Maine.

We regret that Bowdoin College is unable to provide visa sponsorship for staff positions.

Employment at Bowdoin College is contingent upon satisfactory completion of applicable background checks including but not limited to: criminal records, educational verifications, driving records (when job-related), and/or credit history (when job related).

About Bowdoin

Bowdoin embraces diversity in all forms, and the College is home to talented students, faculty and staff—with a variety of racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; religious beliefs; and gender identities, among other factors. We encourage applications from candidates committed to the support of an inclusive campus community and those who will enrich and contribute to the College’s multifaceted diversity. We value a community in which individuals of all backgrounds are warmly welcomed and encouraged to succeed. Founded in 1794, Bowdoin has maintained its commitment to the liberal arts for well over 200 years. Bowdoin’s reputation as a preeminent liberal arts college rests on the excellence of its faculty, students, and staff; intimate size; strong sense of community; and connections to the people, history, and natural beauty of Maine. Bowdoin’s campus is situated in a beautiful natural setting. Located in Brunswick, Maine, a town of approximately 20,000, the College is a short drive from the Maine coast, twenty-five miles from Portland and 120 miles from Boston.

Bowdoin College complies with applicable provisions of federal and state laws that prohibit unlawful discrimination in employment, admission, or access to its educational or extracurricular programs, activities, or facilities based on race, color, ethnicity, ancestry and national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, age, marital status, place of birth, genetic predisposition, veteran status, or against qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities on the basis of disability, or any other legally protected statuses.