Director, Accounting & Finance

The essential duties and responsibilities of the Director of Accounting and Finance position include:

• Budgeting and Forecasting: Managing the annual revenue, expense and capital budgeting process, including providing staff with budget guidance, timeline, tools, training and hands-on assistance; promoting a budgeting culture and discipline characterized by the use of a zero-based bottom-up approach for creating and justifying annual budgets; conducting revenue and expense trend analysis and benchmarking to prepare a budget narrative and schedules that explain and substantiate the proposed budget; and facilitating the review and approval process in collaboration with the CFO, including budget presentations to the CEO, Finance Committee and Board of Directors.
• Enterprise Risk Management: Ensuring that the organization has the financial systems, policies, procedures, internal controls, segregation of duties and security access in place to safe guard assets and data; to prevent or detect fraud and conflicts of interest; to promote accurate and timely internal and external reporting and analysis; to ensure compliance with government contracts, debt covenants, and contractual obligations; and to ensure clean financial and government audits.
• Internal and External Reporting: Preparing accurate, comprehensive, timely and user-friendly financial reports and information in support of the organization’s internal and external reporting requirements, including (i) financial budgets, projections and crucial data to facilitate long-term financial planning by the Board and executive management; (ii) monthly budget vs. actual comparison reports, customized financial reports and analysis to enable management to monitor their budgets, make mid-course corrections, facilitate informed decision-making and promote programmatic and fundraising success; (iii) financial statements and footnotes required by the Board, Audit Committee, Finance Committee, the CEO, CFO, external auditors, lenders and donors to help monitor the financial health and direction of the organization; (iv) cash flow forecasts and historical trend reports to help ensure the organization’s obligations are extinguished in a timely manner while maximizing the return on the investment portfolio; (v) financial information and data required by government and regulatory agencies, including Form 990, Form 5500, A-133 single audit reports, expense reimbursement certification reports and compliance reports; and (vi) financial information that substantiates the organization’s compliance with donor designations, restrictions and conditions and government grants and contracts.  
• Financial Analytics, Advice and Counsel: Conducting in-depth financial analysis; providing expert financial perspective and opinions; proficient in spreadsheet design to facilitate complex analysis; and instrumental in helping to assess risk, analyze efficiency and inform business decisions made by executive management.
• Annual Audit: Serving as Management’s liaison to the external audit team during their preliminary and final on-site field work, ensuring that the organization has timely and accurately fulfilled all of its obligations and responsibilities as set forth in the terms of the engagement letter for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, preparation of IRS Form 990, and any other services requested (i.e., A-133 Audit), including providing the auditor with (i) a comprehensive audit binder containing a detailed trail balance and a supporting schedule and account reconciliation if applicable for each major account.; and (ii) complete, accurate and timely information and answers to questions requested in advance of and throughout the duration of the audit.
• Annual Financial Statements and Footnotes: Preparing comparative annual financial statements at the end of each fiscal year that are accurate and complete, including the statements of financial position, statements of activities, statements of functional expenses, and statements of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements for the purpose of allowing the external independent auditor to express an opinion on whether the financial statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, including ensuring that the formats of all financial statements and footnote disclosures have been appropriately updated and the statement of functional expenses reflects how employees devoted their time during the current fiscal year.
• IRS Form 990: Providing the external auditor with all of the information required to prepare the organization’s IRS Form 990, including ensuring that each question is answered accurately and substantiated, and that all schedules are complete and accurate; sharing a complete and accurate IRS Form 990 with the Board of Directors at its December meeting; and filing Form 990 with the IRS and other governmental jurisdictions by the end of December and ensuring that all required extensions have been timely filed.
• Procure to Pay Cycle: Ensuring that all financial obligations, payouts, invoices, employee expense reports and so forth are extinguished in a timely and accurate manner, including (i) confirming the payment of each financial obligation is properly authorized and processed pursuant to established policies and procedures; thoroughly substantiated and documented; accurately coded and mapped to the proper natural and functional expense account and net asset category; and timely paid to the correct oblige/payee, including payments to donor-designees, vendors, contractors, consultants, employees, landlords, financial institutions and other payees; and (ii) ensuring that the payment of goods are properly matched to authorized purchase orders and approved shipping and receiving documents; that only pre-authorized payees are entered into the Great Plain’s Vendor Master; that timely and accurate Form 1099s are prepared and disseminated to applicable vendors in accordance with IRS regulations; and that the organization’s purchase card / travel card program and employee expense report process are administered in accordance with established policies and procedures.
• Payroll, Time & Attendance and Employee Benefits: Supporting the Chief Financial Officer, Payroll department staff and the Human Resources department in the proactive management of the full-cycle payroll function, including accuracy and timeliness of employee pay, time & attendance administration, and compliance with employee retirement and other benefits impacting payroll.
• Campaign Accountability Coordination: Collaborating with the head of Campaign Accountability to ensure that all the fundraising activity, including employee workplace giving campaigns, direct mail and other non-workplace giving campaigns, special events, corporate sponsorships, planned giving, in-kind and non-cash gifts and other transactions are properly considered during the budgeting, reporting, risk mitigation, audit and cash flow forecasting work.
• Commitment to Continuous Improvement: Demonstrating an on-going commitment to continuous improvement by implementing systems, structure, policy and/or process enhancements that improve the quality of the Finance department’s products and services and/or the efficiency and/or effectiveness of a major business process used to operate the organization.
• Special Projects and Back-up: Leading and/or participating in special projects and activities as assigned; and assuming responsibility for the Finance department in the absence of the CFO.