Senior Accountant

Choate Rosemary Hall, an independent boarding and day school for students in grades 9 through postgraduate in Wallingford, Connecticut, is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Senior Accountant. This is a full-time, exempt position working 40 hours per week, year-round, with a regular five-weekday schedule of eight hours per day. Some evening and/or weekend work may be required during peak times. The position is hybrid and reports to the Assistant Controller in the Finance Office. The Finance Office employs multiple Senior Accountants, all carrying the same formal title and the same core responsibilities (currently two; the number may change as the Schools needs change). Every Senior Accountant is responsible for being able to perform every duty listed in this description and to step in for a colleague in any area. Day to day, work is divided so that each Senior Accountant has one or more areas of primary focus, assigned by management based on office needs, workload, and each incumbents background and strengths. Areas of focus may change over time and do not limit the scope of the position; not every Senior Accountant will perform every duty in a given month or year, but each must be prepared to do so. This structure reduces single points of failure on specialized functions and gives each position meaningful ownership and room to grow. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY AND AREAS OF PRIMARY FOCUS: All Senior Accountants share responsibility for every Essential Function listed below. Regardless of how many Senior Accountants are on staff, each must be individually capable of performing all of them, supported by cross-training and written procedures. Each Senior Accountants actual workload will vary from month to month and year to year. Areas of primary focus. Within that shared scope, the Assistant Controller, with the Controllers approval, designates one or more areas of primary focus for each Senior Accountant: (1) Core Accounting & Business Operations, (2) Financial Planning & Analysis, and (3) Endowment & Investment Accounting. The Senior Accountant with primary focus on an area serves as its lead and first point of contact, and another Senior Accountant is designated as backup. Assignments are based on office needs and management direction, are documented in the Finance Office duty assignment matrix rather than in this description, are reviewed at least annually, and may change at any time. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Shared Day-to-Day Accounting & Business Operations (all Senior Accountants) 1. Coordinate general ledger processing, including cash receipts, credit card receipts, journal entries, and various GL integrations; alternate cash-receipt posting and bank reconciliation duties by period with another Senior Accountant to preserve appropriate segregation of duties 2. Manage bank and general ledger reconciliations monthly and for year-end 3. Coordinate the closing of each fiscal period and year-end close for the Schools financial system 4. Conduct general ledger research for various projects 5. Prepare monthly reports for the Data Book 6. Share responsibility for fixed asset record-keeping, including preparing and reconciling asset and depreciation reports 7. Assist with year-end reconciliations and the annual external audit, including fixed assets 8. Coordinate the student enrollment contract process and critical dates for returning and new students 9. Coordinate credit card reporting and reconciliations, and manage the Schools external credit card company and systems 10. Responsible for Outside Events and other miscellaneous billing 11. Responsible for the weekly food service (Sage) catering report and monthly reconciliation of external food service activity 12. Maintain and support the Schools enrollment databases and enrollment reporting 13. Provide backup coverage for the Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable Administrators 14. Assist the Admissions Office with enrollment management, including the process for enrolling returning students 15. Maintain Super User status for the Schools general ledger and student billing systems 16. Participate in the Schools AI training and implementation efforts in coordination with the Controller and CFO 17. Create and maintain written procedures for this positions processes and participate in cross-training with other Finance Office staff 18. Share responsibility for CHEFA/Moodys/ABOPS survey reporting and ad hoc reports, analysis, and projects as assigned by the Controller or CFO 19. Other financial office responsibilities as assigned Financial Planning & Analysis (all Senior Accountants; primary focus assigned by management) 20. Maintain detailed budget worksheets for operating and capital equipment budgets 21. Maintain the Schools financial projection model 22. Coordinate the annual budget process with School budget managers, including training 23. Drive the Schools capital equipment budgeting process 24. Support the work of the Trustee Finance Committee and other relevant committees 25. Prepare monthly income statements and other reports comparative to budget; perform monthly analytics 26. Perform journal entries, open budgets, and upload them into the Schools financial system; reconcile uploaded budgets to the final budget approved by the Board of Trustees 27. Maintain funding data for building projects, shared with the CFO 28. Distribute weekly reports to budget managers via the Schools online financial reporting system 29. Maintain, troubleshoot, and create reports with the financial systems online reporting tool 30. Review bi-weekly payroll and process entries for the general ledger; review compensation entries for accuracy and correct GL coding 31. Responsible for accurate and timely 1099 reporting and filing 32. Perform internal audit of controls and procedures as requested Endowment & Investment Accounting (all Senior Accountants; primary focus assigned by management) 33. Perform the general ledger accounting for the Schools investments on a monthly and/or quarterly basis, and unitize the Schools endowed funds 34. Review endowment and restricted spending in accordance with donor restrictions 35. Manage accounting for the Schools broader gift and restricted-fund portfolio, including temporarily restricted funds, current unrestricted gifts, life income funds (including calculation of amortization of discount and changes in donor life expectancy), and pledges 36. Monitor underwater endowed funds and ensure compliance with UPMIFA and applicable donor restrictions or board designations 37. Serve as administrator of the Fundriver platform, including role management, database configuration, auditing, reporting, and training for team members and stakeholders 38. Serve as a key relationship partner with the Alumni and Development office, ensuring a shared understanding of donor-stated gift purposes and reconciling gift records between the Finance and Development systems on a regular basis 39. Coordinate the restricted gift notification process with Development and communicate with budget managers 40. Prepare an annual report on Endowment Spending and measure against the Operating Budget 41. Provide support during the annual audit for all endowment-related activity, analytics, and pledge reporting; assist with items related to restricted funds and philanthropy SECONDARY DUTIES 1. Assists in other areas and projects of the Financial Office as deemed necessary.