Financial Accountant

Salary/Position Classification

• $50,000 - $56,000+ dependent on experience, annual, Exempt
• 40 hours per week
• 100% Remote Work Availability: No
• Hybrid Work Availability (requires some time on campus): Yes

Purpose of Position

This position is a key member of the Controller's team and works primarily with the Sr. Financial Accountant and Director of Treasury. This position executes and helps manage the following accounting areas:

• Daily cash transactions
• Banking wires and transfers
• Manage Cashiering
• Treasury email
• Nelnet access

This position works with the Treasury Senior Accountant and Director of Treasury, performing various duties within UND Treasury. The person will be a key member responsible for managing incoming and outgoing ACH transactions, troubleshooting items daily within 12 bank accounts, 50+ merchant credit card accounts, and $500M of deposits and payments involving all PeopleSoft modules. The person will provide excellent customer service and communications skills when serving all UND departments and outside agencies such as the Bank of North Dakota and NDUS Core Technology Services. The individual will oversee the cashiering function in UND Treasury.

Duties & Responsibilities

• This position requires in-office presence several days per week and does not support fully remote work.
• Manage the daily banking details, including daily ACH deposits into all UND Bank accounts. This requires excellent Excel skills, attention to detail, and excellent customer service skills while communicating with all UND departments.
• Utilize professional judgment, analytical skills, and problem-solving techniques to identify potential causes of reconciliation errors, such as data entry mistakes, system errors, or fraudulent activity and the impact to the University.
• Responsible for the banking process for incoming and outgoing bank wires.
• Subject matter expert and troubleshooter for all transaction types posting to UND bank accounts, including checks, cash, ACH, credit cards, auto-debits, and wires.
• Identify, investigate, and resolve banking discrepancies with departments, central finance, external agencies, and banking institutions.
• Manage the Treasury departmental email, ensuring seamless communication and information flow. Maintain organized email folders and filing system.
• Responsible for the cashiering process, including providing guidance to departments related to risk mitigation by identifying potential risks, assessing the likelihood and impact, and taking steps to mitigate or avoid the risk.
• Ensure cash reconciliation and adherence to cash handling procedures upholding the highest standards of security, fraud prevention, and regulation/compliance.
• Communicate and coordinate in a timely, customer-focused manner with all stakeholders related to treasury. De-escalate internal customer complaints and ensure prompt resolution.

Required Competencies

• Demonstrated strong communication skills – including written, oral and listening: articulate ideas clearly, concisely, and persuasively, showing sensitivity to one's audience.
• Requires the ability to work effectively under pressure, manage multiple projects simultaneously, and meet established goals and objectives.
• Excellent customer-focus skills.
• Ability to solve issues independently using professional judgment.
• Takes initiative and is a dedicated self-starter and independent thinker.
• Establishes priorities and logically organizes work to accomplish goals.
• Demonstrated ability working in a cohesive team, willing to back up and support other team members and treat others with respect while confidently contributing to the team.
• Anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks.
• Ability to look for efficiencies in processes and offer value-added suggestions.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree + one year experience, OR two years of college + five years directly related experience. Fields of study: Accounting, Finance, Business Management or related.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Outlook, and in particular, advanced knowledge of data analysis functions of Excel with the ability to generate a management summary of the data.
• Successful completion of a Criminal History Background Check.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the US and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. This position does not support visa sponsorship for continued employment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in recording business transactions.
• Experience with reconciliations.
• Knowledge of PeopleSoft software.
• Experience working with data analytics and reporting software (TIBCO, Tableau, Power BI, etc.).
• Cash handling experience.
• Experience with documenting accounting processes.
• Experience identifying and implementing continuous improvement initiatives.
• Two or more years of experience with bank and cash reconciliations.
• Expertise in accounting and financial reporting standards (GASB or FASB, and GAAP).
• Thorough understanding of risk and risk mitigation associated with treasury functions.