Budget & Financial Accountant

Universities of Wisconsin•Madison, WI

2d•$65,000 - $75,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Budget and Financial Accountant (official title: Accountant II) organizes and facilitates the division’s annual budget process, quarterly forecasting, financial reporting, and financial management. The role requires a comprehensive understanding of the department’s accounting structures, educational services, and programming. The position supports the Office of Online & Professional Learning Resources (OPLR), which serves the Universities of Wisconsin Administration and all 13 UW universities in online and continuing education, teaching, learning, and workforce skills training and resources. OPLR partners with UW universities to develop and deliver online semester- and competency-based degrees and credit and non-credit credentials for adult and professional learners. This is a full-time, salaried, exempt academic staff position. The office is located at 780 Regent Street in Madison, Wisconsin. Telecommuting or hybrid arrangements may be available, with an expectation of at least two in-office days per month; additional in-office attendance may be requested based on business needs. Residency in or relocation to Wisconsin is required. Starting annual salary is $65,000–$75,000, commensurate with education, related experience, and qualifications.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
At least one year of experience in a financial or business-related environment.
Experience with MS Office Suite, including MS Word, Excel, and Outlook.
Demonstrated skills and experience providing excellent service to others.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to research and resolve issues in a timely manner.
Ability to work independently, be self-motivated, and learn and pursue process improvements.
Ability to work in an environment of change and occasional ambiguity.
Organizational and time-management skills, including the ability to evaluate, prioritize, and handle multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
Residency in or relocation to Wisconsin is required.
Applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field.
Experience using enterprise-wide financial systems, such as Workday, Adaptive budget system, and ShopUW+.
Knowledge and understanding of generally accepted governmental accounting and auditing principles, and state and university financial policies, procedures, and practices.

Responsibilities

Organize and facilitate divisional annual budget processes, communicate guidelines and processes, and prepare and maintain revenue, expense, and pay plan budget models.
Consolidate, summarize, collect, and reconcile budget data; compare it with current-year budgets and prior-year actual results; analyze and explain variances; and maintain divisional budget records.
Provide financial planning and analysis support to internal departments and program managers, and enter, review, and reconcile budget data in the Adaptive budget system.
Organize timely and accurate monthly financial reporting for revenue and expense monitoring; prepare and update budget-versus-actual models; consolidate monthly financial data; and compile and report budget-versus-actual revenues.
Provide financial analysis to divisional business units and program managers, including interpreting financial results and explaining the division’s accounting and budget structures.
Organize and facilitate quarterly financial forecasting, consolidate and summarize operational and financial data, and analyze and explain forecast variances.
Reconcile collaborative and competency-based program revenue data with student enrollment data.
Collaborate with UW partner campuses to reconcile and initiate transfers of collaborative and competency-based program revenues.
Work with business units and program managers to understand financial needs for educational services, campus partnerships, and programs, and help ensure goals are met in accordance with state and university policies and within budget.
Organize information from multiple sources to establish data banks for budgeting, forecasting, operational analysis, and program financial models.
Remain compliant with state and university financial policies and practices; coordinate and execute applicable changes to improve financial operations.
Communicate financial concepts and practices throughout the division and train new program managers and other applicable new hires on financial operations.
Work with the Director of Finance & Business Services on unique budget, forecast, and reporting requirements, process changes, and special projects.
Represent the division on institutional committees as requested.
Lead financial-related projects as requested by the OPLR leadership team.