Senior Accountant - Sponsored Programs

Medical College of Wisconsin•Wauwatosa, WI

About The Position

The Senior Accountant provides financial, accounting, and administrative support for grant and contract policies, procedures, compliance, regulatory issues, and post-award administration. The role supports grants and contracts awarded by federal, state, and nonprofit entities for MCW’s research mission and the research work performed by faculty and staff. The position prepares external financial reports and monthly invoices, reviews expenditures for compliance with agency rules, manages sponsored-project accounts, and works with department administrators and the Grants and Contracts office to resolve accounting and documentation issues. It also handles account setup, journal entries, cost transfers, grant and contract closeouts, time and effort reporting, and month-end and year-end closing and audit activities. The Senior Accountant maintains sound internal accounting controls and may lead or contribute to projects to improve department processes and procedures.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting.
Five years of experience.
Solid communication skills, including the ability to listen critically and interact with people at all levels inside and outside the organization.
Technology skills, including Excel, Word, automated accounting software, business intelligence cubes, and related report-writing tools.
Critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills, including the ability to work independently, assess information, draw conclusions, and present them effectively.
Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize, focus on assigned priorities, work independently to meet internal and external deadlines, and produce consistently high-quality work.
Ability to contribute in a team environment and provide customer service in a decentralized organization.
Ability to show initiative, exercise judgment, and adapt to change.
Ability to detect and translate speech or other communication.
Ability to occasionally distinguish colors and perceive relative distances between objects.

Responsibilities

Prepare external financial reports in accordance with agency guidelines and deadlines, including monthly invoices and financial status reports, for supervisor review and approval.
Review actual expenditures and work with department administrators to ensure expenditures comply with agency regulations, communicating directly with external agencies when necessary.
Prepare journal entries and execute cost transfers to reconcile project accounts as requested or needed.
Provide departmental assistance regarding external agency regulations.
Review budget reallocation requests to ensure they are within agency guidelines.
Review and resolve budget and cash deficits on sponsored and other extramural accounts.
Monitor grant and contract expenditures, re-budgeting, cost-sharing, and equipment justifications to ensure costs are allowable, allocable, and reasonable.
Create monthly invoices for external sponsoring agencies, review expenses to certify invoiced expenditures, and monitor open receivables and make collection inquiries on delinquent payments.
Perform account setup for sponsored grants and contracts, working with departments and the MCW Grants and Contracts office to establish accounts and maintain accurate, current documentation.
Resolve problems in coordination with the Grants and Contracts office.
Enter award and project information accurately and promptly into the Workday grants management system.
Close out assigned grants and contracts and prepare for annual audits, including reviewing and resolving project-account budget and cash deficits and ensuring compliance with federal OMB Uniform Guidance.
Perform duties related to time and effort reporting in accordance with OMB 2 CFR Part 200.
Perform assigned month-end and year-end financial statement closing and audit activities.
Maintain and implement sound internal accounting controls for assigned grants and contracts.
Complete projects assigned to enhance department processes and procedures.

Benefits

Health insurance coverage
Vision insurance
Dental insurance
Flexible Spending options
403B retirement package
Competitive vacation and paid holidays
Tuition reimbursement
Paid parental leave
Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP)
Pet insurance
On-campus fitness facility and classes
Discounts on select cell phone plans, local fitness facilities, and Milwaukee recreation and entertainment