Accountant I

State of Maryland•Baltimore City, MD

About The Position

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) is the State’s higher education regulatory and coordinating board, responsible for establishing statewide policies for Maryland public & private colleges and universities, as well as for the for-profit career schools. MHEC also administers more than $100 million each year through financial aid programs that positively impact students as they work to achieve their higher education goals. Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) is seeking and experienced, knowledgeable and energetic individual to fill the position of Accountant I in their Budget and Administration Unit. GRADE 15 LOCATION OF POSITION 217 E. Redwood Street Baltimore, Maryland 21202 POSITION DUTIES The Maryland Higher Education Commission's Office of Budget and Administration is responsible for the overall fiscal and budgetary coordination for the agency including procurement; accounts payable/receivable; payroll; budget formulation and submission; and fiscal year end close-out. The Office is also responsible for accurately recording and processing financial transactions for all fund sources for the agency. The Accountant I position serves as the accounts payable and accounts receivable expert for the agency. The position ensures the bond re-payment program is accurately reconciled and recorded in MHEC's Bond repayment software. The Commission collects over $24 million in revenue each fiscal year and this position ensures all agency revenues are deposited timely and coded/allocated to the proper programs. The position also leads a clerical accounts receivable position within the budget division. The employee must demonstrate excellent customer service and follow up to students under the scholarship repayment program. Develop reports for external agencies and constituent groups. Serves as support to Accountant II, Accountant Lead and F AC Manager and performs other fiscal duties as assigned by the director.

Requirements

Education: A Bachelor's degree in Accounting from an accredited college or university, including or supplemented by three credit hours in auditing.
Experience: One year of experience examining, analyzing and interpreting accounting systems, records and reports by applying generally accepted accounting principles.

Nice To Haves

Experience handling Cash Receipts, Accounts Receivable, Accounts/Payable.
Experience processing in FMIS or other forms based accounting software.
Excellent communication skills.
Experience performing reconciliations, working with cash receipts and submitting accounts to the Central Collection Unit (CCU).
Experience in Excel using Pivot Tables and complex equations.

Responsibilities

Accounts Receivable: Bond Repayment Serves as lead in the administration and collection of funds for the repayment of bonded scholarships due to student default. This includes calculating repayment amounts maintaining accounts receivable detail and control ledgers in compliance with guidelines and commission policies. Posts payments to student's account via dataflow (DAT A FLOW and SOLR). Monitors and tracks student payments, responds to student inquiries and follows-up on outstanding accounts receivables at 30 day intervals. Prepares necessary correspondence and paperwork in accordance with Central Collection Unit directives. Reconcile repayments on a monthly basis. Bond repayment point of contact for OLA audits, including implementing corrective action plan and OLA audit recommendations.
Nursing Program Revenue Responsible for the collections, reconciliation and posting of over $16 million in revenue annually Provides updates to staff concerning cash flow and expenditures transactions Posts all refunds and credits on returned grant funds Provides misc. reports for management review.
Retirement refunds Responsible for the collection and posting of revenue transactions from community colleges for ineligible state pension returns.
Guaranty Student Tuition Fund Responsible for the annual collections of the Guaranty Student Tuition Fund. Ensures all transactions are properly recorded and posted to the correct financial accounts.
Accounts Payable: Responsible monitoring invoice mailbox, for the coding and entering of payment information into the Financial Management Information System (FMlS). Processes stop payments requests for undeliverable checks. Coordinates with Agency FMIS Coordinator to setup accounts and vendors with in FMIS.
General Accounting: Serves as agency back up for Accountant II, posting and accounting transactions, adjustments and inter-Agency transfers.
Perform Bank Account Reconciliations
Year End Closing/Budget Preparation: Assist the Director with the fiscal year close out process in compliance with the General Accounting Divisions' guidelines. Assist in the preparation of all necessary expenditure and revenue reports for close out. Ensure revenue transactions are properly coded and accrued and adjusted at fiscal year end.
Other duties as assigned.