Controller
: Job Details :

Thank you for your interest in working at William Paterson University.

We invite you to join William Paterson University: a wonderful community to learn, work, grow, and thrive. William Paterson University has been named to Forbes' prestigious Best Employers by State list for 2024, recognizing the institution as one of the best-ranked employers in New Jersey based on nationwide surveys. WP is one of four education institutions on the Garden State's list this year. Here is the link to the article forbes-best-in-state-employers-new-jersey-2024. William Paterson University is among more than 40 companies and organizations that will be honored with a 2024 NJBIZ Empowering Women Award for their commitment to supporting and elevating women employees.

William Paterson University employs approximately 1000 full time employees in the state who work in a variety of positions ranging from professors to administrative assistants and administrators, physical plant operations, campus police, athletics coaches, academic advisors, and more.

Spanning more than 400 wooded acres in suburban Wayne, New Jersey - just 20 miles from New York City - our campus is one of the most diverse in the nation and it ranks in the top 4 percent of colleges for social mobility. William Paterson is a strong proponent of employees growing their careers there. More than fifty percent of the University's roles are filled by promotions from within. We're not only committed to social mobility for our students, but also for our employees.

Your work as a member of our team is important to our students and to the progress of our University. What you do here matters, and we value every contribution.

Reporting to the Vice President for Finance & Administration/ CFO, the Controller manages and oversees financial operations and finance systems of the University and the WPUNJ Foundation. Directly oversees Office of Student Accounts, Accounts Payable and Foundation in addition to the functions of general accounting and financial reporting, treasury and auditing.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

* Directs and coordinates the daily operations and management of the Office of the Controller in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), federal and state tax code, and regulatory/compliance requirements for higher education and not-for-profit organizations.

* Oversees the daily operations and management of Accounts Payable and Office of Student Accounts departments.

* Coordinates and oversees the presentation of financial statements and related analyses to the University's Board of Trustees and Finance, Audit, and Institutional Development (FAID) Committee of the Board of Trustees, including the auditors' presentations.

* Provides senior leadership team with relevant, timely and accurate financial data necessary for budgetary and financial decisions.

* Oversees, orchestrates, and works with external bond counsel, financial advisors and underwriters for the issuance of tax-exempt bonds and other debt, along with the servicing and funding of said bonds and debt.

* Ensures compliance with requirements of all borrowings, including debt service projections for budgeting, cash and financial reporting.

* Develops, oversees and maintains appropriate internal controls and conducts process reviews as needed to ensure appropriate internal control measures are in place for compliance with Federal, State and Local regulatory requirements and to ensure safekeeping, accuracy, and appropriate processing of all balance sheet assets and all balance sheet liabilities.

* Ensures reconciliations for all significant accounts and owns the accounting ledger.

* Ensures that appropriate controls are in place and adhered to for all cash disbursement and cash receipt processes.

* Manages external audits and related engagements.

* Ensures that the University's financial statements are prepared within statutory deadlines and in accordance with GAAP, including applicable Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) statements.

* Develops and implements enhancements and improvements to guide financial policies, procedures, controls, systems and practices to general, Foundation, plant, student accounts, accounts payable, and treasury functions.

* Interacts proactively and effectively with other University departments to ensure productive communication and working relationships within your unit, the Division and the University.

* Establishes a schedule of external reporting and compliance requirements, along with the work plans to fulfill those requirements. This role must develop a firm understanding of the requirements, then establish the procedures for reporting at a level that can be reasonably delegated and supervised. Example of reporting: IPEDS, Moody's and Fitch.

* Forecasts short and long term cash requirements as a basis for cash management.

* Plans and oversees movement of funds between operating accounts and investments to ensure adequate liquidity.

* Guides investment portfolio management, including maintaining the relationship with the University's portfolio managers and monitoring performance against the University's Cash and Investment policy.

* Explores, recommends and implements technological solutions to manual processes or other unresolved processing issues as a means to reduce errors, dramatically increase efficiencies, improve customer satisfaction and enact better controls.

* Ensures that day to day processes and work flow are in compliance with GAAP and industry standards; identifies and selects alternative reporting if options exist.

* Hires, trains, develops, motivates, disciplines and evaluates staff within defined areas of responsibility.

* Participates actively on division-wide and/or University-wide committees and task forces, and represents the University at sector-wide or state-wide meetings, conferences and events.

* Prepares special analyses, as needed in the course of problem solving or as requested by the Vice President.

* Performs other duties as assigned that are appropriate for the position.

Education and Experience

* Bachelor's Degree in Business from an accredited college or university.

* MBA or Graduate degree in Accounting or related field preferred.

* Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification preferred.

* Eight (8) years of progressively responsible experience in financial management area with four (4) years of senior level administrative experience in the areas of finance and accounting at a college or university and/or a non-profit organization.

* Direct experience with audits in the higher education environment and/or higher education financial management are desired.

Competencies/Skills Required

* Strong working knowledge of automated accounting systems required with experience with Workday preferred.

* Extensive knowledge of financial software and related applications and integrations is desired.

* Firm working knowledge of Microsoft Suite tools.

* Must possess a high proficiency in Excel, with knowledge of advanced Excel functionalities.

* Working knowledge of functionalities within Adobe pdf software is desired.

* Sound administrative skills and well-developed management skills are required.

* Ability to thrive in high stress environment, with multiple deadlines and responsibilities.

* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with proven ability to work collaboratively with faculty, students, staff, and other administrators.

* Excellent analytical, organizational and supervisory skills, with ability to provide oversight and coaching to all levels of staff.

Other Information

This description indicates the general nature and level of work performed by employees in the above job. It is not intended to be a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to the job.

Invitation to apply

Interested candidates will be prompted to: Complete an application and submit a cover letter

Submission of all documents listed is required for consideration.

General questions related to this application process, please contact ...@wpunj.edu

Total Rewards:

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EEO Statement

William Paterson University is dedicated to providing equal opportunities and equal access to all individuals regardless of race or ethnicity, sex/gender (including pregnancy), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, civil union status, familial status, religion, national origin or citizenship, military service status, or any other category protected by law. William Paterson University does not discriminate on the basis of any category stated above or as prohibited by applicable law. Individuals from historically underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

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