Senior Accountant

Bible League International•Crete, IL

13d

About The Position

Bible League International equips the under-resourced Church to make disciples, transforming lives through God’s Word! Our team is excited about God’s calling on our ministry and serves Him in His mission for the world, with commitment and joy. We hope you will consider His leading in using your God-given gifts and abilities to help fulfill the Great Commission in serving at Bible League International! The Senior Accountant ensures accuracy, integrity, and timely completion of key accounting activities while providing day-to-day guidance for the Accounting Generalist and Accounts Payable Specialist. This role exercises independent professional judgment within established policies, procedures, and internal controls and serves as the first point of escalation for routine questions. The role contributes to month-end and year-end close activities, coordinates audit requests, and promotes consistency and timeliness through clear procedures, guidance, and follow-up. It also helps advance the responsible use of approved AI tools and emerging technology to improve efficiency, analysis, and process consistency across accounting functions. The Senior Accountant operates within established systems and control frameworks, while broader responsibility for accounting policy, global accounting strategy, and overall staffing or organizational structure resides with the Director of Global Accounting.

Requirements

Must be a Christian, having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Must also agree with our statement of faith and conduct his/herself in a Christ-like manner.
Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance required.
Requires 5–7 years of progressively responsible accounting experience, including at least 3 years supervising accounting staff.
Strong understanding of GAAP and nonprofit accounting preferred.
Experience with reconciliations, account ownership, and audit support.
Proficiency in ERP systems and Microsoft Excel, with the ability to learn and responsibly use approved AI tools and accounting technology.
Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills.
Takes responsibility for accounting work and follows through on commitments.
Ensures accuracy and completeness in all deliverables.
Manages competing priorities and meets deadlines.
Analyzes issues and recommends practical solutions.
Exercises sound judgment within the role’s authority and escalates broader matters appropriately.
Provides clear, timely updates and guidance to stakeholders.
Guides direct reports effectively in day-to-day work.
Upholds financial controls and ethical standards.
Be at work regularly, avoiding tardiness.
Completion of duties in a prompt, efficient, and accurate manner.
Work cooperatively with other people.

Nice To Haves

Strong understanding of GAAP and nonprofit accounting preferred.

Responsibilities

Maintain ownership of key balance sheet and income statement accounts, with responsibility for accuracy and completeness.
Prepare journal entries for assigned accounting activity.
Research and resolve discrepancies and reconciling items.
Review and maintain fixed asset accounting activity, including capitalization, depreciation, disposals, reconciliations, and supporting documentation.
Oversee accounting for Charitable Gift Annuities, covering related journal entries, reconciliations, liability activity, and supporting documentation.
Perform final review of general journal entries prepared by the Cash Operations Manager and escalate items requiring additional information or approval.
Support day-to-day activities and provide guidance on priorities to direct reports.
Evaluate work for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with procedures and communicate any training needs or performance concerns to the Director of Global Accounting.
Function as the first point of escalation for routine accounting questions.
Promote consistent application of established procedures and internal controls.
Serve as backup for the Cash Operations Manager during extended absences to ensure critical processes continue without disruption.
Lead month-end and year-end close activities for key accounting areas.
Coordinate close-related tasks performed by direct reports.
Escalate policy questions or cross-functional impacts.
Monitor fiscal year-end prepaid expenses and prepare related expense relief entries at the start of the new fiscal year.
Train and onboard department team members on accounting procedures and systems.
Provide ongoing technical guidance and feedback.
Encourage cross-training to maintain continuity of operations.
Serve as primary audit contact for assigned accounts and processes.
Prepare audit schedules and supporting documentation.
Respond to auditor inquiries related to account activity, reconciliations, and backup schedules.
Review and coordinate annual 1099 preparation and related records.
Assist with implementing improvements resulting from audit feedback.
Identify and recommend practical uses of approved AI tools and emerging technology to improve accounting efficiency, accuracy, analysis, and process consistency.
Recommend process enhancements to the Director of Global Accounting.
Support implementation of approved changes and reinforce updated procedures with staff.
Coordinate priorities and deadlines for direct reports within departmental priorities.
Follow up with direct reports when corrections are needed or when policy or procedural requirements require reinforcement.
Make routine accounting decisions within established policies, procedures, internal controls, and the role’s authority.
Escalate matters involving policy interpretation, control changes, system impacts, cross-functional decisions, or staffing concerns.