Principal Accountant

Per Governor Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14, all state employees, including higher education must be fully vaccinated no later than October 18, 2021. Your vaccine status will be verified prior to final offer. Please reach out to the HR Office at [email protected] if you need information on a medical or religious accommodation.

Bellingham Technical College (BTC) invites applications for one full-time professional exempt position as a Principal Accountant. This is an exempt, non-represented position, is Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempt from overtime, and is at-will. This position reports to the Controller. The position is anticipated to start in November 2022.

This position is responsible for preparing basic financial reports including narrative statements supporting financial data; reconciling and maintaining account balances within the fiscal system including general and subsidiary ledger accounts; performing internal audit functions, ensuring that proper accounting techniques and controls are used and compliance with fiscal policies and procedures is maintained.  Also responsible for financial and non-financial data processing and analysis, for management reporting, budgeting and institutional decision making.

Under general supervision, responsible for developing, organizing and performing fiscal accounting duties, data extraction and analysis, financial account reconciliations, budgeting, accounting system/procedures development and implementation, internal and external reporting duties with knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), OFM regulations, fund accounting, state and federal reporting initiatives. The individual in this position is expected to establish rapport with college staff, faculty, and students to create an atmosphere of teamwork to effectively carry out the mission and objectives of the college.

BTC is committed to creating and maintaining a welcoming campus that supports diversity, promotes a sense of community, provides an effective work and learning environment, and encourages respect for individuals.  As an Equal Opportunity employer, BTC values diversity and aims to recruit employees that reflect the diverse backgrounds of our community, including ethnicity, national origin, religion, race, gender, gender identity, age, status as a veteran or disabled veteran, disability, political status, and sexual orientation. Typical Duties include:

• Prepare, reconcile, analyze, review, maintain and interpret fiscal data, general ledger entries, trial balances, bank statements and subsidiary ledgers including identification and resolution of discrepancies;
• Assist in a fiscal year closing of financial records by preparing period end closing adjustments and accrual journal entries;
• Prepare financial and non-financial analyses and reports for both internal and external purposes as necessary; ensuring all reporting requirements are met within the required timelines;
• Maintain the capital fixed asset system and the financial reporting of equipment, buildings, real estate, and lease/purchase arrangements including the management of bi-annual physical inventories, investigate, analyze, recommend solutions and/or resolve accounting problems for fixed assets;
• Maintain budget and financial information to be used in management reporting, provide budget and financial data and reports requested from government agencies and commercial organizations (e.g., the State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reports, College guidebook surveys, etc.);
• Assist and prepare grant/contract reports and reimbursement requests;
• Monitor, review and audit the accounting or fiscal aspects of contracts or grants to ensure contractual fiscal or grant compliance;
• Interpret institutional, state and federal fiscal policies;
• Coordinate and complete periodic risk assessment and internal control audits.  Make recommendations to improve systems and processes based on audits and best practice principles;
• Consolidate and reconcile the college’s annual operating and biennial capital budget allocations and related activities;
• Assist with annual financial audit;
• Lead or direct the work of clerical, temporary and student staff members;
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Essential Duties include:

• Support PeopleSoft system functions, including General Ledger, Cash Management, Bank Reconciliation, Purchasing, Budget, Grants and Contracts, Payroll, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Student Financials, 1098T and Asset Management; 
• Conduct budget and accounting data analysis and compile numerical and/or narrative information from multiple sources to provide summarized management information such as trend analyses, ratios, comparisons, variances, forecasts, and projections in the form of narrative reports, graphs, tables and charts;
• Create and upload adjusting and budget journal entries and perform general ledger reconciliations and adjustments as assigned;
• Troubleshoot system issues and disseminating information to employees in a logical and easy to understand manner; 
• Provide for common understanding of the budget, coding, monitoring and reporting process throughout the College by providing employee training and information.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in accounting, business, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university AND two recent years (within the past four years) of full-time work experience in a related field such as accounting, finance, or budgeting. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master degree and/or professional certification such as CPA or CMA;
• Experience in a higher education finance department;
• Experience with PeopleSoft and excel. 

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:
The knowledge, skills, and abilities listed below represent the characteristics and essential performance expectations of the position. Applicants do not necessarily need to enter the position with all of these knowledge, skills, and abilities. 
 

• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), OFM regulations, fund accounting, state and federal reporting initiatives;
• Ability to complete detailed work with a high degree of accuracy;
• Excellent analytical skills with ability to organize and use numerical and quantitative data and information in a clear and rational thought process to assess and understand issues, evaluate options, form accurate conclusions and recommend decisions;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills with ability to effectively convey ideas and information using language that is appropriate to both the complexity of the topic and the knowledge and understanding of the audience and/or reader;
• Outstanding customer service skills, including establishing, building and maintaining internal/external stakeholder relationships and satisfaction; 
• Strong computer skills, including spreadsheets, databases, word processing and report writing software to draft reports and prepare statistical analyses;  
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities and work under in high stress situations; 
• Dependability, accountability and the ability to maintain progress on tasks without supervision; 
• Provide training and technical assistance to others;
• Interact according to principles of ethics, integrity, and respect. Work with a variety of work and leadership styles.

Work Environment:
Typically require: operating a computer, communicating, observing and repetitive motions; Work is primarily performed in an office environment and requires standing and/or sitting and using computers for extended periods of time; Frequent need for oral, written and auditory communication; Working in an open office environment with frequent interruptions and distractions; Exercising independent judgment in gathering, arranging, and evaluating data; May exert between 10-30 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to transport, put, install, remove, or otherwise move objects.Compensation and Work Schedule:
Salary is $6,102 per month ($73,224 per year). Position also receives sick, personal and vacation leave accruals, paid state holidays, Washington State insurance and retirement benefits package, and some tuition waiver benefits.
       
Work schedule is generally Monday through Friday, during the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday.  It is anticipated this person will work about 40 hours per week; however, schedule may vary to include working more than 40 hours when needed, as well as some weekends and evening work. The position will be expected to work onsite full-time with possibility of remote work in the future. Currently, candidate must be willing to work both remote and on-site.
 
Condition of Employment:  Per Governor Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14, effective October 18, 2021, all employees at BTC must be COVID-19 vaccinated, unless an approved medical or religious exemption and a reasonable accommodation is approved.
     
Application Procedures and Deadline:
Required application materials must be completed and submitted online at http://www.btc.edu/jobs and received by 5 p.m. on Monday, September 26, 2022. Application materials received after this date and time may be considered until the position is filled. More information about Bellingham Technical College is at www.btc.edu; email the Human Resources Office at [email protected] or call 360 752-8354. BTC is not currently sponsoring H1-B Visa's.
       
Required Application Materials: (Attachment in Word or PDF file)

• Online BTC Employment Application;  
• On-line Supplemental Questions;
• Upload Current Resume.

Interviews & Testing:  Initial interviews are scheduled to be held between October 10-12, 2022. Candidates will be administered a skills test.  Finalists may be asked to return for second interviews.  
       
PLEASE NOTE:  If you are asked to come to campus for in-person interviews, BTC social distancing protocols will be in place. 
         
BTC is following CDC and Washington State Department of Health (DOH) guidance regarding social distancing. Additional BTC updates and resources.