Senior Accountant, Finance and Accounting

Title: Senior Accountant, Finance and Accounting

Reports to: Director, Finance and Controller

Job Summary: The Senior Accountant provides exceptional financial leadership and informed guidance to the Finance and Accounting team and to the whole organization. The Senior Accountant leads cross-functional and cross-departmental project teams to execute various initiatives. In addition to providing leadership within the accounting team, the Senior Accountant is expected to work collaboratively and mentor junior staff. The Senior Accountant also plays a critical role in maintaining conformance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Job Duties:

• Maintain the general ledger, including preparing journal entries, reconciling receipts, and processing disbursements for multiple entities.
• Provide support to the Assistant Controller and Accounting Manager in maintaining internal controls and financial reporting in conformance with GAAP.
• Execute monthly and annual closing procedures and assist in the design of budget forms, and/or related variance analysis and reporting.
• Provide first review of journal entries prepared by junior staff.
• Responsible for preparing schedules to support the completion of the organization’s Form 990 and 990-T.
• Assist with the annual auditing process by preparing audit schedules, interacting and complying with auditor requests, and assisting with the preparation of the financial statement drafts, including associated accruals or audit journal entry adjustments.
• Assist with the preparation of financial reports and presentations for various board level committees and interpreting financial and budgetary reports for management.
• Assist in preparation of the organization’s annual budget and provide reports to facilitate leadership with organizational performance and budget variance evaluation.
• Assist members of management with monitoring the budgets within their respective departments.
• Assist with ensuring proper accounting and expenditure of funds in accordance with donor restrictions and expense policies.
• Ensure all records related to accounting activities are properly retained in accordance with document retention policies.
• Provide leadership and guidance to junior team members and interns, including enhancing their professional and career development through effective training and mentoring.
• Understand the broad strategic, financial, and operational objectives of the organization and provide advice and counsel to internal stakeholders that facilitates the accomplishment of those objectives.
• Assist with customer service support to Heritage staff, including but not limited to, training on various accounting invoice, expense, and travel systems; responding to expense and invoice inquiries; and facilitating special arrangements or rush handling requests.
• Support the Vice President, Finance and Accounting, and Director, Finance and Controller in various accounting projects as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or related field; master's degree in accounting, finance or related field preferred; CPA preferred
• Experience: 3 or more years of general accounting or non-profit tax experience, preferably in the not-for-profit industry
• Communication: Excellent writing, presentation, and public speaking skills
• Technology: Microsoft Suite; superior Excel proficiency; accounting database and software experience strongly preferred

Other Requirements

• Understand and support the Heritage mission and vision for America, and the department’s goals and objectives
• Thorough knowledge of GAAP, nonprofit accounting, and internal control principles
• Strong attention to detail and willingness to support the Finance and Accounting team in delivering high quality reporting
• Strong interpersonal skills, including being an excellent listener, problem solver, approachable, and customer service oriented
• Ability to receive and provide constructive criticism aimed at achieving high-performance standards
• Ability to work independently while also working well in a team
• High degree of professionalism (adaptability, maturity, integrity and accountability).
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks and prioritize and organize workflows to meet deadlines

Benefits and Salary:

The Heritage Foundation offers a highly competitive benefits package that includes, but is not limited to, best-in-class health care, vision, and dental insurance, employer-sponsored retirement funding, “take what you need” PTO and sick leave, 14 weeks of paid leave for new moms and 6 weeks of paid leave for new dads, among other programs.

The salary range for this role is $72,000 - $82,000 annually. This range is a good-faith estimate, and the final salary offered to a selected candidate depends on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, education, and other qualifications; internal and external market pay for comparable jobs; and level of hire based on aforementioned qualifications.