Accounts Receivable/Accounts Payable Coordinator

Ethical Culture Fieldston School•New York, NY

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The Accounts Receivable/Accounts Payable Coordinator will play an integral part supporting both student accounts and vendor payment functions in the Finance Office. The Coordinator will be someone who is detail oriented, highly organized and is able to provide outstanding customer service to ECFS families, staff, students and vendors. This role will dedicate approximately 70% of the time to accounts receivable and 30% to accounts payable. This is an onsite role and not performed remotely. Ethical Culture Fieldston School retains its right to modify job duties in accordance with changing operational needs.

Requirements

A Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related area.
Strong understanding of accounting principles and of accounts receivable and accounts payable processes, including internal controls over cash receipts and disbursements.
Two or more years of experience in accounts receivable, accounts payable, or student accounts, preferably in an independent school or nonprofit setting.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate with families about sensitive financial matters with the utmost professionalism.
Intermediate Excel skills (e.g. Pivot tables, VLOOKUP/IF function formulas) required.
A high degree of organization, resourcefulness, and attention to detail.
The ability to collaborate and build strong relationships with faculty, administrators, and the overall community.
A strong ability to multitask and shift priorities without compromising on the quality of work.
The ability to identify issues quickly and problem solve accordingly, and to remain calm in stressful situations that may arise.
The ability to handle confidential materials with discretion while maintaining a high level of integrity.
A willingness to learn and embrace new ideas and procedures and a consistent initiative to help streamline processes and improve efficiencies.
A positive attitude and the ability to listen effectively and be receptive to feedback.
The ability to work collaboratively in group settings, as well as independently, to meet project goals and team needs.
Proficiency in utilizing and learning new technologies ( i.e. , Google Workspace tools).
Reliability, punctuality, and consistent attendance.
The ability to cultivate a welcoming culture in which all members of our community feel valued and appreciated.

Nice To Haves

Experience using Blackbaud Billing Management and/or Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT (including the accounts payable module) strongly preferred.
Advanced Excel skills (e.g. Macros, advanced lookup formulas) preferred.

Responsibilities

Supporting the enrollment process by maintaining detailed schedules of pending families, following up as needed, and ensuring deposit payments are coded correctly.
Assisting with generating student billing in Blackbaud Billing Management, including setting up payment plans on student accounts as needed.
Managing tuition collection by monitoring past due accounts, maintaining detailed aging schedules, and communicating with families by phone and email regarding balances, payment plans, and account questions; escalating at-risk accounts to the Assistant Director of Student Accounts.
Entering payments from various sources, including Lockbox, in-house payments, electronic payments, and employee payroll deductions.
Posting ancillary billing and related financial aid, such as late fees, tuition adjustments, tutor billing, transportation, supplies, laptops, and textbooks.
Managing billing for after-school programs, summer camps, and other programs; applying financial aid discounts as needed; and coordinating with Auxiliary Programs and other departments to ensure billing policies are followed.
Processing family refunds and account credits in coordination with accounts payable.
Performing regular reconciliations of student account data across Blackbaud Billing Management (student accounts), Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT (G/L), bank accounts, and third-party systems used to manage auxiliary programs; preparing journal entries in accordance with the monthly closing schedule.
Communicate and coordinate with Blackbaud Support to troubleshoot and resolve system issues as they arise.
Assisting with the preparation of tuition insurance claims.
Liaising with the Admissions department and other school divisions as needed.
Reviewing vendor invoices for accuracy, proper approvals, and correct G/L coding, and entering them into the AP Workflow system (PaperSave) in a timely manner.
Matching invoices to purchase orders and receiving documentation where applicable, and resolving discrepancies with vendors and departments.
Reviewing employee expense reimbursements for receipts, coding, and policy compliance.
Assisting with the review and reconciliation, as needed, of transactions processed in the School’s other procurement systems (e.g. Amazon, Concur, etc.).
Collecting vendor W-9 forms, verifying vendor and banking information, and supporting internal controls to prevent duplicate or fraudulent payments.
Responding to vendor and internal department inquiries regarding payment status and resolving account issues.
Supporting year-end 1099 preparation and filing, and providing tax-exempt documentation to vendors as needed.
Maintaining organized, audit-ready accounts payable records in accordance with the School’s record retention practices.
Assisting with preparation of annual audit schedules, including: Outstanding AR and subsequent cash collections, Tuition and financial aid billing, Subsequent disbursements and unrecorded liabilities, Accrued expenses and vendor-related schedules.
Providing administrative support to the Finance department with a variety of tasks and projects, including but not limited to organizing and maintaining the department’s Google Drive, mail delivery, and scanning paperwork.
Fostering positive relationships with team members and various stakeholders.
Motivating and inspiring the team and coworkers to achieve goals.
Performing other related projects and duties as needed and assigned.