Accounting Manager

The University of Virginia seeks a Accounting Manager that will be responsible for ensuring the integrity of the University's general ledger. This position supports the financial accounting department by leading a team of accounting professionals and working closely with various departments to support financial reporting and analysis. This team is responsible for executing daily accounting transactions and reconciliations and contributes to our stated goals of optimizing the use of Workday, validating our accounting records, and ensuring the integrity of our financial data.

Key Responsibilities:

Reconciliation & Financial Integrity

• Assist in the development and maintenance of relevant accounting reconciliations and procedures, including documentation of processes and general ledger integrity checks.
• Reconcile assigned balance sheet ledgers, ensuring accuracy and compliance with regulatory standards.
• Assist in maintaining a comprehensive knowledge base for troubleshooting and resolving accounting and/or technical issues efficiently with a focus on identifying the root cause(s).
• Support the design and implementation of advanced custom reporting tools, in collaboration with reporting teams.
• Contribute to the utilization of data extraction tools and queries for in-depth analysis of trends, providing insights for strategic decision-making.
• Manage inter-company accounting processes, ensuring accurate financial transactions and reconciliations between different entities within the organization.

• Collaborate with the Workday support team and other supporting areas to reconcile payroll data with general ledger entries, addressing discrepancies promptly and adhering to accounting principles.
• Work closely with the Workday support team to verify and optimize posting rules for complex payroll costing calculations, including retroactive adjustments, and special pay elements, utilizing advanced Workday Costing functionality, and aligning Account Posting rules with general ledger requirements.
• Collaborate with stakeholders in creating real-time dashboards for monitoring financial metrics.
• Establish and document standard operating procedures (SOPs), workflows, and internal controls tied to system-based processes.
• Conduct training, support, and troubleshooting for end users or departmental partners related to accounting transactions in Workday.
• Develop reports, dashboards, or analytics to monitor financial health, status, and anomalies.

• Review existing accounting processes and controls; recommend and lead process improvements, automation, or redesign.
• Partner with other functional areas (payroll, budget, procurement, OSP) to streamline handoffs, reduce redundancies, and ensure clean data flow.
• Act as a liaison between accounting, finance, operations, and systems/support teams to ensure alignment.
• Respond to ad hoc requests from senior leadership or external stakeholders for analyses or reconciliations.
• Collaborate with finance teams across entities to resolve discrepancies and maintain integrity in inter-company financial reporting.

• Lead, coach, and mentor accounting staff, fostering a collaborative, high-performing, and customer-focused team environment.
• Provide ongoing feedback, guidance, and professional development opportunities to support team member growth and strengthen technical accounting competencies.
• Establish clear performance expectations, conduct regular performance discussions, and support team members in achieving individual and departmental goals.
• Identify development needs and create opportunities for cross-training, knowledge sharing, and succession planning to ensure continuity of operations.
• Assign, prioritize, and monitor workload distribution to ensure timely completion of deliverables while balancing operational needs and team capacity.
• Promote employee engagement and a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, innovation, and learning within the team.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and retention efforts, including participation in hiring, training, and integrating new team members.
• Encourage process ownership and empower team members to identify opportunities for operational efficiencies and improvements.

• Perform other related accounting or financial duties as assigned by Accounting Leadership.

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of hands-on experience in payroll accounting, preferably in a large-scale environment.
• Demonstrated experience mentoring and leading a team of professional team members.
• Proficiency in Workday Financials or similar payroll accounting systems desired.
• Demonstrated understanding of GAAP and general accounting principles.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and attention to detail.
• CPA licensure is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to identify and resolve reconciliation discrepancies and recommend process improvements.
• Experience providing guidance or mentoring to other accounting staff or serving as a lead analyst on projects.
• Strong technical skills: advanced Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, etc.), familiarity with accounting software, and financial reporting tools.
• Significant work with complex reconciliations, cross-fund transfers, and financial analysis.
• Experience with reconciling complex accounts, journal entries, and month-end close.
• Strong communication skills - able to explain accounting/system issues to non-accounting stakeholders.
• Ability to prioritize, work independently, and manage multiple deadlines in a dynamic environment.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team.

• Resume
• Cover letter