Senior Accountant

University of Colorado•Aurora, CO

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Office of Grants & Contracts is seeking a detail‑driven, analytical, and collaborative Senior Accountant to support complex federal financial accounting, reconciliation, and accounts receivable functions. This role plays a critical part in ensuring compliance with federal requirements, maintaining accurate financial records, and supporting the university’s sponsored project portfolio. If you thrive in a fast‑paced environment, enjoy solving intricate accounting puzzles, and want to contribute to impactful research and education initiatives, this position offers a meaningful and challenging opportunity.

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree in business administration, business, finance, accounting, or a directly related field from an accredited institution. Substitution: A combination of education and related technical/miliary/paraprofessional experience may be substituted for the bachelor’s degree on a year-for-year basis.
At least two (2) years of professional level accounting, billing, accounts receivable, or accounts payable experience.
Ability to communicate effectively, both in writing and orally.
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with employees at all levels throughout the institution.
Outstanding customer service skills.
Ability to manage multiple tasks and work independently with minimal supervision.
Knowledge of basic accounting principles.
Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite applications (Excel, Access, and Word).
Excellent time and workflow management skills.
Ability to work positively as part of a team
Detailed working knowledge of higher education billing and receivables systems.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience working in a Higher Education Institution or State of Colorado Agency.
Experience working with University of Colorado systems, reporting, finance, and PeopleSoft System.
Experience reviewing financial statements and financial transactions.

Responsibilities

Manage federal Letter of Credit (LOC) draws for projects funded by HHS (primarily NIH), the Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation.
Process LOC invoicing through PeopleSoft and validate draw amounts by reconciling federal system data with internal queries.
Upload or enter draw data into federal systems to ensure timely deposits to OGC clearing accounts.
Reconcile billable draws to cash balances in collaboration with Post Award Managers.
Complete quarterly LOC reconciliations, ensuring alignment between federal authorizations and university records.
Run exception queries for Fixed Rate contracts, analyze discrepancies, and correct accounting errors within the GL and AR modules in PeopleSoft.
Process returns for LOC projects through federal systems or manual payment processes, including required correspondence.
Execute monthly and ad‑hoc financial aid draws for the Department of Education and coordinate with the Financial Aid Office on updates, reconciliations, and balance inquiries.
Perform monthly reconciliations of OGC clearing projects, including undistributed receipts and items pending identification.
Support fiscal year‑end activities, including reviewing clearing account balances, preparing reclass entries, and determining manual revenue recognition needs for federal financial aid projects.
Assist with additional year‑end revenue entries as needed.
Collaborate with the AR team to resolve issues identified through OGC clearing reconciliations.
Review and approve journal entries submitted by OGC AR Specialists.
Monitor clearing accounts for historical or unresolved items, ensuring timely return of unidentified payments.
Serve as a backup to the AR team, including: Researching and identifying incoming funds, logging payment details, and applying payments in PeopleSoft.
Reviewing payment postings for accuracy and coordinating corrections based on clearing account findings.
Responding to customer service inquiries from departments, campuses, and sponsors regarding payment activity.
Preparing journal entries to transfer funds related to non‑sponsored projects or other campuses.