Accounting Systems Associate

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

Reports to: Chief Financial Officer

Full-time | 12-month position | Exempt 

Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Position Summary:

The Business Office at St. George’s Episcopal School is responsible for providing timely, accurate, and useful financial information to the school’s administration, stakeholders and families. The Accounting Systems Associate works closely with the Chief Financial Officer to ensure the integrity, accuracy, and efficiency of the school’s accounting processes, payroll, billing systems for tuition payments, internal controls, financial records, and reporting tools. Throughout a monthly cycle, the Accounting Systems Associate will work closely with the CFO and Dean of Faculty & Staff to execute the essential duties and responsibilities of the role. This position requires a highly organized, detail-oriented, and data-savvy professional who can manage recurring financial operations while also strengthening systems, workflows, spreadsheets, and cross-departmental processes. The ideal candidate will bring strong accounting knowledge, excellent spreadsheet and data skills, a service-oriented approach to families and colleagues, and the ability to improve systems while executing daily responsibilities with accuracy, timeliness, and care.

Requirements:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Perform a variety of business functions that assist in the daily operations of the Business Office.

• Manage semi-monthly payroll for a staff of ~150.
• Monitor non-exempt time cards in partnership with direct supervisors to identify and correct errors or discrepancies prior to pay cycles.
• Process expense reimbursements weekly via Paylocity; run supplemental payments / adjustments as necessary.
• Organize office systems, including but not limited to designing filing systems, monitoring clerical functions, proposing operational improvements related to financial record-keeping.
• In partnership with the CFO and Dean of Faculty and Staff, assists in administering open enrollment, benefit administration and related payroll account reconciliations.
• Maintain and update off-cycle financial records and benefit changes in the HRIS (Paylocity) in partnership with the CFO and Dean of Faculty and Staff.
• Perform various tasks assisting in the month-end close-out process including General Ledger (GL) account reconciliations and bank account reconciliation. Account reconciliation responsibilities include:
  • Analyze data and identify discrepancies (various GL accounts/ quarterly)
  • Reconcile the school operating account in quickbooks (monthly)
  • Reconcile employee benefits (as needed/bi-annually)
  • Book payroll in the GL, including retirement remittances, health savings account remittances, payroll deductions and FACTS-related employee deductions (semi-monthly)
  • Submit correcting entries and adjustments to CFO (monthly)
• In partnership with the CFO, prepare documentation needed for annual school audits, including but not limited to the 403(b) audit, endowment audits, required services submission and other financial reviews.
• Maintain confidentiality and accuracy in all employee-related financial and payroll matters.
• Respond to internal and external communications within 48 business hours; if immediate resolution is not possible, acknowledge the communication and provide a realistic timeline for response. 
• Proactively connect with faculty, staff, directors, families, and vendors if communication and/or clarification is needed before scheduled payments; inform the CFO of any relevant and important financial communication.
• Meet weekly with the CFO and prepare an agenda with updates, task lists, questions, issues/errors, changes to processes and systems, etc.; should the CFO be unavailable during your scheduled meeting time, ensure you find another meeting to maintain the weekly communication rhythm.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the CFO to ensure successful operations of the Business Office.

Perform general accounting functions including processing accounts payable and accounts receivable.

• Accounts Payable responsibilities include:
  • Prepare credit card billing statements for payment, matching back-up documentation (receipts and packing slips) and following up with cardholders as needed.
  • Keep vendor records up to date in the accounting system, ensuring proper documentation is on file for new vendors such as W-9 and COI if applicable.
  • Ensure invoices are entered per GL account and class coding to the correct accounts in ledger. 
  • Cut AP checks, uploading to Positive Pay and distribution to payees.
  • Maintain orderly financial records post transaction, filling check vouchers/disbursements and ensuring physical vendor files are well maintained and organized.
• Accounts Receivable responsibilities include tuition billing via FACTS and Active Network:
  • Prepare tuition and incidental billing in FACTS tuition management system.
    • Prepare internal FACTS control spreadsheets, reconciling with Admissions throughout the year to ensure tuition rates, discounts, enrollment deposits, late resignation fees, schedule changes, financial aid, withdrawals and other billing data are accurately reflected.
    • Prepare and process incidental billing, including After Care, Resource Services, Speech Services, overnight trips, technology charges, athletic fees, and other charges as needed.
  • With customer service at the forefront, communicate with families regarding tuition and FACTS-related issues, including but not limited to answering questions about tuition payments and FACTS accounts, notifying about late payments, communicating missing information, and making updates that occur mid-year.
  • Apply in-house customer payments to accounts as needed, process deposits weekly and make trips to the bank as needed.
  • Assist in monitoring AR aging and send follow-up communications to delinquent account holders monthly; provide CFO with AR aging report monthly with applicable notes.
  • Meet regularly with the Admissions Team and Financial Aid Committee to cross-check data and ensure FACTS is accurate and in alignment with Finalsite data, especially during enrollment and re-enrollment season.
  • Meet regularly with the Auxiliary Programs Director and Director of Resource Services to ensure accuracy with recurring incidental billing; for one-off incidentals, connect with the respective Director to confirm details before applying charges.
  • Set up annual tuition accounts no later than May 25th to support June payment drafts.
  • Manage billing for summer programming in Active Network in partnership with the Auxiliary Programs Director, supporting the set up, registration process, billing and delinquent reports.

Qualification Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or related business field, experience in a professional accounting environment
• Extensive experience running payroll
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Excel and Word
• Proficiency in Google Workspace applications including but not limited to Gmail, Calendar and Drive (Docs, Sheets and Slides) 
• Ability to use an online student information system, various digital educational platforms and safety and communication applications on a Chromebook, iPad and/or a smartphone
• Familiarity with using copiers, printers and presentation screens 
• Ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality
• Strong attention to detail; ability to organize, maintain and analyze data
• Knowledge or experience with general ledger and accounting software
• Knowledge or experience with payroll and/ or benefits administration
• Ability to work independently but also as a member of a team
• Ability to adopt new technologies with flexibility, current systems include FACTS tuition management, ACTIVE network, Paylocity and QuickBooks Desktop
• A sense of integrity, ethics and ability to carry out responsibilities in accordance with the school’s policies and procedures
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills

Working Conditions / Physical Demands:

• Must be physically able to operate computers and office equipment.
• Occasional bending, reaching, squatting, kneeling and twisting; constant walking, speaking and listening; close visual attention to the computer.
• Occasional lifting up to 50lbs.

About St. George’s Episcopal School

St. George’s Episcopal School is a coeducational, independent school serving approximately 400 students from Nursery through eighth grade in a family-like atmosphere with a highly trained and dedicated faculty. We grow curious minds into confident learners through expert academic attention and an unmatched sense of belonging. Our version of personalized learning, our nurturing environment and our low student-to-teacher ratios ensure that we challenge and support every child. This is why our graduates develop into lifelong learners and consequently find acceptance and success in the finest high schools in New Orleans. Learn more at

St. George’s aims to employ a collaborative, creative, joyful and diverse faculty and staff. We hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other category protected by applicable law. We are committed to an inclusive school culture and to recruiting and hiring faculty of diverse backgrounds and experience.