Job Description Summary

The Director of Accounting Operations & Compliance is an integral part of Furman University’s Finance & Administration division and is responsible for the financial compliance systems such as identifying the impacts to the University of tax regulations and other statutory requirements and ensuring internal control policies, procedures, and practices are compliant and industry best practices. The Director of Accounting Operations & Compliance is involved in a variety of accounting, tax, quality control, and ERP system processes and provides direct oversight of the University’s payroll processing, tax compliance, procurement, and grant accounting functions.

Responsibilities:

Supervises University’s payroll function, including multistate and international payroll tax compliance.

Supervises University’s grant accounting function, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and/or sponsor requirements

Provides business analysis, recommends new processes and systems, and implements solutions to support faculty, staff, and student success

Understands, develops, and communicates tax compliance policies and procedures as well as identifies tax planning opportunities and recommends tax policies and requirements

Manages University’s compliance with Federal and State tax requirements by monitoring legislative tax developments and creates, maintains, and enforces adherence to tax policies and requirements

Leads process documentation efforts within the financial services department, including assessment of existing procedures and controls, to identify and implement process improvements that reduce errors, ensure compliance, and improve efficiency.

Performs periodic quality control testing of select transactions to ensure accuracy and adherence to University policy, statutory and regulatory requirements, and applicable accounting standards.

Partners with colleagues from various functional areas to test and implement bi-annual Workday ERP system upgrades, identify and resolve system-related process weaknesses, and promote effective utilization of Workday tools and resources across campus.

Designs and updates University finance-related policies and procedures.

Designs and provides training opportunities for all faculty and staff in finance-related topics, including the facilitation of training sessions and development of training materials

Oversees accounting portion of the University’s annual retirement plan audit, including preparation of census reconciliation, remittance schedule, and other supporting schedules.

Supports University’s annual audit process by updating internal control procedures, preparing supporting schedules, and corresponding with auditors as needed.

Supports annual tax return process by preparing supporting schedules and corresponding with tax accountants as needed.

Supervision:

• Provides support and direction to two direct reports and one indirect report, including planning for their professional development and completing annual performance reviews to help them understand job performance expectations and how their work contributes to the success of the division and overall University.
• Reviews work of various team members to ensure accuracy and adherence to University policy, statutory and regulatory requirements, and applicable accounting standards.

Professional Development:

• Pursues professional development to keep pace with demands for services and information, including maintaining up-to-date information about the department and university.

Performance Review:

• Completes performance review process with supervisor/direct reports to understand job performance expectations and how they fit into the department and university goals.

Other Duties:

• Performs other duties as assigned. The intent of this job classification description is to provide a representative summary of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions in this classification and shall not be construed as a declaration of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be requested to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically present in this description.

Relationships:

• Daily contact with members of the financial services department and immediate supervisor to plan, coordinate, problem-solve, present information, and make suggestions related to mutual goals.
• Frequent contact with Academic Affairs, Athletics, Human Resources, Development, Information Technology Services, and other departments to plan, coordinate, and problem-solve present information and suggestions.
• Regular contact with outside organizations to exchange factual information and explanations of rules, regulations, practices, or functions
• Occasional contact with University’s President and senior leadership team to present information and discuss mutual goal

Responsibility for Final Decisions:

• Direct supervision of two employees Payroll Manager and Senior Accountant
• Reviews work to ensure compliance with procedures and deadlines
• Tasks involve multiple procedures with interrelated processes or steps. Work involves choosing the appropriate option or procedure to follow and applying established rules and procedures
• Errors may cause inaccuracies in reports, records or data resulting in dissemination of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Work is performed independently except where the interpretation of law, policy, rule, complex procedure or request for exception is required

Reports To: Controller

Work Conditions:

• Work is performed under usual office conditions with long periods of working at a desk and in front of a computer screen.
• Work involves deadlines, interruptions and handling multiple tasks.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree with seven or more years’ experience in Accounting
• Commitment to the value of diversity in the workplace
• Supervisory experience
• Experience with financial systems and advance knowledge of Microsoft Excel
• Ability to effectively communicate, orally and in writing, complex financial information to individuals with varied levels of financial expertise
• Strong problem solving and critical thinking skills
• Strong customer service skills
• Ability to use independent judgment in planning and controlling non-routine activities and providing timely follow-up when needed
• Strong reputation of integrity, honesty, and confidentiality
• High level of accuracy and strong attention to detail

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) strongly preferred
• Experience within a university environment
• Passion for innovation and continuous improvement
• Experience performing internal or external audits
• Experience building collaborative relationships to achieve common goals