Finance and Accounting Specialist

Huntsville Botanical Garden • Huntsville, AL

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Finance and Accounting Specialist provides operational and administrative support to the Finance team by assisting with accounts payable and accounts receivable processing, maintaining accurate financial records, and supporting departmental workflows. This role works closely with the Accounts Payable Coordinator and the Revenue & Grants Accountant to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of financial transactions and supporting documentation. The Finance and Accounting Specialist helps manage high-volume transaction processing during peak periods, supports reconciliation efforts, maintains vendor and customer records, and assists with financial reporting preparation. In addition, this role contributes to continuous improvement efforts by identifying process bottlenecks, analyzing discrepancies, and helping implement workflow improvements that strengthen financial controls and operational efficiency across the organization.

Requirements

• 2 years of accounting, bookkeeping, or financial operations experience or education, or an equivalent combination thereof.
• Experience with accounting software such as QuickBooks or similar systems.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office products, particularly Excel.
• Demonstrated ability to work with financial data, maintain organized records, and support transactional accounting processes.

Nice To Haves

• Previous professional work in a non-profit environment working with fund accounting and restricted funds is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Assist with the intake, validation, and processing of deposit requests and revenue receipts in the accounting system in accordance with established procedures.
• Review source documentation for accuracy and completeness, confirming proper coding and routing discrepancies to the appropriate accountant for review.
• Reconcile accounts receivable sub-ledger activity with general ledger and bank transactions.
• Follow up with departments to obtain required documentation supporting deposits and revenue transactions.
• Investigate discrepancies in receipts or transaction matching and recommend corrective actions when needed.
• Monitor and manage the accounts payable intake queue, including invoice submissions, payment requests, and supporting documentation.
• Review incoming invoices for completeness, accuracy, and appropriate account coding prior to entry into the accounting system.
• Enter invoices and payment requests into the general ledger pursuant to established internal processes.
• Maintain vendor master records, including verification of W-9 forms, ACH information, contracts, certificate of insurance and other supporting documentation.
• Monitor the finance department inbox for vendor inquiries and coordinate responses related to payment status or invoice processing.
• Assist with bank, credit card, and general ledger reconciliation activities by gathering supporting documentation and validating transaction activity.
• Support the preparation of financial summaries and operational reports including budget-to-actual and forecast reporting.
• Assist the Finance team in monitoring budget and forecast cycles by maintaining supporting schedules and tracking departmental submissions.
• Maintain accurate customer and vendor master records to ensure reliable financial reporting and transaction processing in accordance with organizational policies.
• Assist the Finance team with documentation requests related to internal and external audits.
• Maintain awareness of relevant financial policies, procedures, and compliance standards.
• Identify recurring discrepancies, processing delays, or operational bottlenecks within finance workflows and recommend process improvements.
• Assist with documenting finance procedures and maintaining workflow documentation to ensure consistency and scalability.
• Support planning and execution of finance and operations process improvements, technology implementations, or system upgrades.
• Collaborate with internal departments to improve documentation quality and strengthen financial controls related to transactions and perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• The Huntsville Botanical Garden supports a culture of inclusion that attracts, inspires, and engages people to achieve success. The Garden is committed to hire and develop employees based on job-related qualifications irrespective of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or veteran status. To increase diversity in professions related to the public garden realm, we encourage applications from underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed