FINANCE SPEC II

Orange County Public Schools•Orlando, FL

About The Position

Under general supervision, the Finance Spec II performs district-based duties involving the management, reconciliation, investment, and reporting of accounts and budgeted funds. The role works at a complex accounting level, producing and reviewing financial reports and documents in accordance with local, state, and federal guidelines. The position serves as a technical and procedural expert for district personnel and as a liaison between the district and outside financial entities and vendors. Duties relate to accounting and/or accounts payable. The role coordinates and supports accounts payable operations, including invoice and direct-pay processing, travel reimbursements, vendor and employee payment issue resolution, account reconciliation, reporting, compliance, and system testing. It provides technical assistance to district staff, vendors, and management, researches and resolves complex payment matters, and escalates issues when appropriate. The position also supports process improvements and keeps current with relevant accounting requirements and technology. Work is primarily performed at a computer or workstation and may involve extended keyboard use. Tasks require light physical effort, sometimes including lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling objects weighing 5–10 pounds. The district provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.

Requirements

Associate’s degree from an accredited institution, with coursework emphasis in business, accounts payable finance, accounting, or a related area; or an equivalent combination of related education, training, and/or experience.
Three years of previous experience and/or training involving business, bookkeeping, and/or accounts payable finance or accounting, including data analysis.
Specific experience using Microsoft Excel, including spreadsheets, sorting data, and applying formulas.
Ability to review, classify, categorize, prioritize, and analyze data and information, and apply established standards.
Ability to provide guidance, assistance, and interpretation of procedures and standards to others.
Ability to operate equipment, machinery, tools, and materials used to perform essential functions.
Ability to use reference, descriptive, and advisory data and information.
Ability to perform basic arithmetic, calculate decimals and percentages, and potentially use fractions and interpret graphs.
Ability to interpret written, oral, diagrammatic, and schedule-form instructions and exercise independent judgment to adapt methods and standards.
Ability to exercise judgment, decisiveness, and creativity when evaluating information against measurable or verifiable criteria.
Ability to exert light physical effort and occasionally lift, carry, push, or pull objects weighing 5–10 pounds; tasks may involve extended periods at a keyboard or workstation.
Some tasks require visual perception and discrimination, and some require oral communication ability.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of the Department of Education Red Book is preferred.

Responsibilities

Responds to internal and external customers in a timely, accurate, courteous, and empathetic manner, representing OCPS positively.
Coordinates daily, weekly, monthly, and year-end accounts payable activities to facilitate timely and efficient vendor payments.
Supports daily accounts payable processes, including invoice processing, research, and resolution of payment and remittance issues.
Reviews, validates, and processes receipts and expenditures through automated methods according to established procedures.
Processes vendor or department invoice spreadsheets using Winshuttle, including manipulating data, applying formulas, and handling purchase-order and non-purchase-order items.
Reviews and processes incoming direct pays using manual entry and validation; communicates errors to end-users and provides customized references as needed.
Analyzes, validates, and processes employee travel reimbursement expense reports, applying relevant knowledge of funding, workflows, payment research, and district policies and procedures.
Returns incomplete expense reports with clearly communicated corrective actions.
Provides backup support to the Senior Finance Payroll Specialist for travel and vendor payable troubleshooting and compliance matters.
Handles vendor and travel payable issues and escalates issues requiring resolution through online testing.
Prepares incoming mail for processing, logs paper mail, and communicates district Accounts Payable procedures to vendors.
Monitors Accounts Payable email inboxes, routes invoices and other correspondence, and researches and resolves complex matters.
Maintains department voicemail, returns calls, answers incoming calls, and helps resolve vendor and end-user issues.
Checks supporting documentation for utility, IT, and Food & Nutrition Services spreadsheets and verifies payments against processed items.
Analyzes possible duplicate payments, revises references for non-duplicates, assists with statement review and communication, and reverses and clears actual duplicates.
Advises district staff on applicable procedures for recording goods receipts and direct pays accurately.
Performs secondary review of Winshuttle spreadsheets for completeness, investigates discrepancies, requests credits, processes submissions, and returns errors to submitters.
Provides technical assistance to end-users, vendors, and management on vendor payables, travel payables, testing, and reporting.
Uses critical thinking and judgment to research payment problems and determine appropriate resolutions within guidelines; serves as a resource and escalates issues when needed.
Reconciles vendor liability accounts overseen by Accounts Payable.
Creates, analyzes, troubleshoots, and prepares Accounts Payable activity reports from the OCPS ERP system as needed.
Liaises among district personnel, vendors, and upper management to support accurate departmental results.
Assists with annual support-pack testing and performs testing, analysis, and documentation for Accounts Payable system upgrades and process improvements.
Keeps the immediate supervisor and department head informed of critical issues and incidents.
Generates and analyzes critical Accounts Payable reports to verify completeness and identify problems for correction.
Performs cross-check validation and construction payment processing, and records document numbers in document management systems.
Cross-checks and validates vendor information for compliance with vendor records and applicable local, state, and federal requirements.
Keeps current on accounting trends, regulatory changes, and OCPS technology through training, workshops, webinars, and conferences as needed.
Maintains knowledge of accounting principles for governmental funds and relevant ERP processes, laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations.
Uses a computer and word-processing, database, and other software programs to enter, retrieve, review, or modify data.
Maintains timely and accurate information as part of job responsibilities and performs related duties as directed.
Monitors check-pickup email requests associated with Goods Receipts, communicates completion to relevant parties, and promptly notifies requestors of Goods Receipt issues.
Attends to in-person check pickups and follows the check-pickup process.