Senior Financial Systems Analyst

About The Company

Utah Retirement Systems provides benefits for state and other Utah Public employees through the work of two divisions. The Retirement Office administers pension and retirement benefits. PEHP Health & Benefits specializes in medical, dental, life, and other benefits. We take pride in providing a peace of mind for thousands of Utah families. We are committed to our public mission and maintaining a positive team environment. We offer a competitive salary, and our benefits far exceed what most modern employers offer.

Job Description

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Financial Systems Analyst serves as the primary owner of the Finance Division's accounting and reporting systems responsible for their design, integrity, performance, and long-term roadmap. This highly autonomous role blends deep system stewardship with strong financial expertise to ensure the organization can rely on accurate accounting, reporting, payment processing, budgeting, and decision-support information.

The position is accountable for how financial data enters, flows through, and is reported out of all finance systems. It acts as the single point of contact between Finance and IT for all system-related matters, ensuring clear ownership, aligned priorities, and seamless coordination on functional configuration, business processes, reporting, and data governance.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES

1. Manages daily operations of Finance's core financial systems including the general ledger (GL), accounts payable, reporting modules, budgeting tools, and related sub-systems ensuring reliable performance for a seamless user experience.
2. Maintains data integrity across all system interfaces, validating end-to-end data flows from source applications into the general ledger; proactively investigates, analyzes, and resolves discrepancies or breaks.
3. Configures, maintains, and tests system settings, workflows, security rules, and reporting structures, ensuring all changes follow controlled, documented, and auditable processes.
4. Serves as the division's primary technical support resource, troubleshooting issues raised by Finance staff, analyzing root causes, documenting resolutions, and escalating to IT when needed.
5. Acts as Finance's single point of contact with IT, scoping technical requests, partnering with IT developers on system enhancements, tracking progress, validating deliverables, and ensuring solutions meet business requirements.
6. Designs, builds, and maintains management, operational, compliance, and analytical reporting, ensuring outputs are accurate, timely, and aligned with user needs and statutory requirements.
7. Safeguards system reliability, integrity, and data security, including validating system controls, monitoring performance, managing system availability, and ensuring accurate financial data processing across all modules.
8. Administers user access and security roles, ensuring appropriate segregation of duties, maintaining documentation, and supporting internal and external audit requests with control evidence and change-log histories.
9. Prioritizes projects and aligns requests with Finance's operational calendar including budgeting cycles, reporting deadlines, and month-end and year-end close and ensuring transparency of priorities and progress.
10. Assess Finance's system needs, identify functional or performance gaps, and recommend upgrades, enhancements, or software changes that improve reliability, reporting accuracy, user experience, or alignment with business requirements.
11. Maintains regular and reliable attendance.
12. Maintains strict confidentiality.
13. Performs other related duties as required.

Required Experience

Education and Experience

Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, information systems, computer science, or a closely related field; and five (5) years of progressively responsible experience supporting, administering, or analyzing financial or accounting systems (such as general ledger, accounts payable, financial reporting, or budgeting systems); or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Certified Public Accountant is strongly preferred. Certified Government Financial Manager or Certified Information Systems Auditor is preferred. Specific experience in financial and accounting systems analysis, functional design, or systems configuration is preferred. Experience participating in or supporting system programming, testing, or interface design is desirable.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

This list contains knowledge, skills, and abilities that are typically associated with the job. It is not all-inclusive and may vary from position to position:

Required technical skills include the working knowledge and ability of:

• Financial systems administration.
  • Hands-on experience configuring, maintaining, and supporting financial applications such as general ledger, accounts payable, budgeting, and financial reporting systems.
• System interfaces and data integration.
  • Understand, validate, and troubleshoot data flows between applications; skill in identifying, analyzing, and resolving discrepancies in data moving into the GL and reporting modules.
• Financial reporting tools.
  • Proficiency in creating and maintaining operational, management, and analytical reports generated from financial systems.
• Advanced spreadsheet skills.
  • Microsoft Excel including complex formulas, pivot tables, data validation, and reconciliation techniques for analysis and data verification.
• Data querying and analysis.
  • Query, extract, and analyze data (e.g., SQL or comparable tools) to validate data integrity, investigate issues, and support reporting needs.
• Troubleshooting and issue resolution.
  • Skill in methodically diagnosing functional and data-related system issues, from user errors through interface or configuration problems; ability to document steps and communicate resolutions.
• Security and access administration.
  • Defining, reviewing, and maintaining user roles and permissions; enforce segregation of duties and support audit requests with control and change-management documentation.
• Change management and documentation.
  • Manage functional configuration changes through controlled, documented processes, including test plans, change logs, and user validation steps.
• Finance terminology and process fluency.
  • Strong understanding of accounting and finance processes (GL structure, chart of accounts, AP cycle, journal entries, month-end close, budgeting, and reporting) sufficient to translate business needs into system requirements and communicate effectively with Finance staff.
• Coordination with technical/IT developers.
  • Scope functional requirements, communicate clearly with IT partners, validate technical deliverables, and ensure system changes meet Finance's needs before adoption.
• Evaluate enterprise financial systems against evolving business needs and recommend functional enhancements or upgrades when appropriate.

Enterprise Applications working knowledge and ability of:

• Administering and configuring enterprise financial management systems, including general ledger, accounts payable, budgeting, and reporting applications.
• Review, validate, and troubleshoot data interfaces and integrations across financial systems.
• Proficiency developing financial and management reports using built-in reporting tools and system-generated analytics.
• Executing functional testing, documenting results, and validating system changes prior to release.
• Administering user roles and permissions within enterprise applications, ensuring proper segregation of duties and compliance with internal controls.
• Collaborate with technical teams to communicate functional requirements, review technical deliverables, and validate that system enhancements meet business needs.

Required mathematical skills include working knowledge of:

• Calculate figures and amounts such as proportions and percentages.
• Apply concepts of basic algebra.

Must possess excellent communication skills:

• Communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
• Read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, legal documents, professional journals, technical procedures, or regulations.
• Write reports, business correspondence, software requirements, and procedure manuals.

Required financial knowledge of:

• Professional accounting standards and ethics.
• Generally accepted accounting principles established by AICPA and GASB.
• Internal control principles and methods of application.
• Laws and regulations pertaining to tax reporting.

Must have the ability to:

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with professionals, vendors, department heads, co-workers and the public.
• Have a high degree of self-motivation and experience working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
• Follow written and verbal instructions.
• Prioritize work.
• Perform within deadlines.
• Work well in a team environment as well as independently.
• Multi-task by handling a variety of duties in a timely and efficient manner.
• Follow through with assignments.
• Deal effectively with stress caused by workload and time deadlines.

The incumbent must always demonstrate judgment, high integrity, and personal values consistent with the values of URS.

Work Environment

Incumbent performs in a typical office setting with appropriate climate controls. Tasks require a variety of physical activities which do not generally involve muscular strain, but do require activities related to walking, standing, stooping, sitting, reaching, talking, hearing and seeing. Common eye, hand, and finger dexterity are required to perform essential functions.