Accounting Manager

Looking for a position which allows more flexibility than a corporate job? Do you enjoy free lunch and Friday's off in the summer? Then the Accounting Manager position at Nichols School might be the perfect career move for you. We are seeking a highly skilled Accounting Manager to join the Business Department. Our educational philosophy is grounded in equity of process and outcomes, and inspired by our mission to train minds, bodies and hearts for the work of life.

This role is an integral part of the Business Office and is responsible for coordinating and assisting in the preparation of financial reports; income statements, balance sheets, and analyses of historical and future income and expenses, in addition to other special reports as needed. 

Nichols School is an equal opportunity employer and all applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. We are committed to growing a more diverse school community and cultivating a climate where every employee, student and family can safely and authentically be themselves.

Nichols School offers a competitive benefit package including medical, dental, group term life, retirement, tuition remission, summer hours and ample time off. 

DUTIES:

• Provide support to and interact with all departments in the school;
• Preparing various monthly, quarterly and yearly journal entries;
• Preparing monthly financial statements, including variance analyses;
• Supervising student billing, accounts payable and general accounting operations;
• Reviewing account reconciliations on a monthly basis;
• Recording fixed asset activity and corresponding entries to calculate depreciation;
• Assisting the CFO in the preparation and monitoring of departmental budgets and forecasts working with other administrators and department heads concerning budget performance;
• Communicating accounting policies to employees and ensure compliance with such policies;
• Provides budget analysis and expenditure reporting as required for internal management of the School and by grantors of special categorical funding;
• Performs daily input into computer systems and provides financial reports on a regular basis;

REPORTING

• Prepare, review and submit quarterly sales tax returns;
• Taking lead position on Form 990 preparation;
• Prepare and submit the NYS Beds Report;
• Prepare and submit documents for any new funding that arises;
• Communicate, coordinate and submit all needed documents to the Buffalo Board of Education to ensure receipt of and compliance with Title Funding;
• Prepare and submit documents annually for Mandated Services Funding and MST grant;
• Collaborate with the Development office to reconcile outstanding pledge receivables and current capital campaigns and projects;

 INVESTMENTS

• Maintain and record endowment activity;
• Communicate with investment managers to ensure timely and accurate recording of monthly investment activity;
• Communicate with broker to sell donated stock as needed;
• Calculate annual draw from endowment funds and provide these figures to the Admissions and Development offices as requested;
• Perform quarterly cash transfers of endowment gifts to investment managers and record all corresponding entries;
• Input all investment activity to Fundriver to create various reports used to analyze the endowment fund balances;

CASH

• Supervising all incoming cash receipts and deposits;
• Maintaining daily cash balances and review reports from bank daily;
• Providing weekly cash reports to CFO;
• Monitors cash liquidity and invests cash as appropriate;
• Maintain relationships with bank personnel;

AUDIT

• Taking lead position on preparation of schedules and work papers for annual audit;
• Maintaining permanent office files for all audit schedules prepared by school;
• Communicate with auditors and coordinate annual audit, 990 preparation and filing of NYS CHAR500;
• Maintain relationships with auditors;
• Attend and participate in all audit committee relationships;

OTHER

• Other miscellaneous tasks as may be assigned in support of the CFO.

 SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Four-year degree in accounting from an accredited college or university is required; Master’s Degree in Business Management or related field or CPA strongly preferred;
• At least 6 years’ experience in accounting, financial analysis, and budget formulation
• 2 + years in public accounting environment or equivalent experience preferred
• Requires superior oral and written communications skills;
• Ability to communicate effectively and interact with all personality types and levels of management;
• Ability to analyze and organize financial data;
• Knowledge of financial/business analysis techniques;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community;
• Highly proficient in Microsoft products such as Work, Excel, Power Point;
• Capacity to work effectively as part of an institutional leadership and management team;
• Must be able to maintain strict confidentiality;