Financial Accountant: College of Arts & Sciences, Financial Support Services - UTK

University of Tennessee•Knoxville, TN

1d•$59,000 - $63,000•Onsite

About The Position

As part of the CAS Administration Financial Support team, this position is responsible for providing specialized post-award accounting support to departments within the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). The primary focus of this position is accounting for research grants and contracts (federal, state, and private agencies), as well as support for departmental accounts as needed.

Requirements

Education: Bachelor’s degree (High School diploma or GED with experience)
Experience: 1 year of financial experience with a Bachelor’s degree (5 years of financial experience with a high school diploma or GED)
Knowledge of general accounting practices, university fiscal and human resource policies and procedures.
Knowledge of sponsored project policies and procedures/research administration.
Good written and oral communication skills with individuals both internal and external to the university.
Strong skills in spreadsheet creation and maintenance.
Good problem-solving skills.
Good organizational skills.
Ability to interpret financial data and explain to non-financial personnel.
Ability to adapt to changing policies, procedures and organizational demands.
Ability to work well with a diverse group of individuals.
Ability to multi-task and set priorities.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Nice To Haves

Experience: Experience with a Higher Education Environment
Experience in grant and contracts post-award accounting
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: Experience with a large platform ERP, such as Oracle Cloud

Responsibilities

SPONSORED PROJECTS/RECHARGE CENTER ACCOUNTING SUPPORT: The Financial Accountant will work with the Financial Support Services team to provide guidance and support on budgeting/finance matters relevant to sponsored projects, ensuring compliance with University policies and sponsor requirements using the Grants & Agreements (HGA) proposal/award information database for information on project-specific budget constraints.
Support will include critical periodic and final expenditure accounting reports to supported areas, as well as guidance to Department Heads, faculty/researchers, and support staff regarding fund commitments, applicability and allowability of expenses, and funding availability.
The Financial Accountant will provide financial projections in order to inform financial decisions related to sponsored projects, and will provide guidance to PIs on matters related award action requirements, such as budget revisions, extensions, and schedules of final charges.
This individual will meet with PIs as needed to discuss ledgers, award requirements/status, and respond to any questions or concerns regarding sponsored project status.
The Financial Accountant will submit invoices for payment and track them for sponsored project sub-contracts and vendor contracts.
Additionally, the Financial Accountant will review recharge center charges for accurate account and activity code numbers before entry, providing corrections as needed.
DEPARTMENTAL ACCOUNTING SUPPORT FOR ASSIGNED DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES (CAS) The Financial Accountant will assist with submitting non-labor cost transfers and labor distribution change requests as needed to ensure proper charging of expenses.
They will monitor department commitments and recovery of expenses to ensure that related transactions are processed within the correct fiscal year.
This individual will verify departmental procurement card (p-card) activity for acceptable support documentation and policy compliance.
The Financial Accountant will create and maintain spreadsheets to monitor departmental expenses, record commitments, and provide annual budget projections for salary, benefits, operating expenses, student fees, etc., providing information to the Department Head and/or Business Manager as needed in order to inform decisions on reconciling budget variances.
In order to support the financial management of departments and to meet requirement for financial compliance, the Financial Accountant will reconcile monthly ledgers, ensure proper support documentation for ledger transactions, and submit ledgers for approval, ensuring timely completion of the process.
OTHER The Financial Accountant will communicate needed labor distribution changes for managed accounts to the Senior General Ledger Accountant and submit changes as needed during times of heavy labor distribution workload.
They will also engage in discussions related to the improvement of workflow and requests for support from the departments within CAS, making effective recommendations for improvements.
This individual will act as a subject matter expert on matters related to financial policies and procedures and will provide assistance as needed to cover essential financial services to CAS units for absentee employees and during position vacancies.