Accounting Technician - Procurement

Chico State Enterprises (CSE) provides specialized business services to support Chico State’s innovative research programs, community partnerships, entrepreneurial projects, and other education-related activities. Funded by public and private grants, contracts, and gifts, CSE is a rapidly expanding organization with annual revenues of $111 million supporting 2,000 full- and part-time faculty, student, and staff employees.

This is a hybrid work environment eligible for partial telecommuting, located at 25 Main Street, Suite 103, Chico, CA. Candidate must be a California resident. Chico State Enterprises is not a sponsoring agency for staff and management positions (i.e., H-1B Visas).

About the role

We are seeking a highly collaborative individual with strong interpersonal skills to join the dynamic finance and accounting team. The accounting technician will support some of Chico State’s most exciting research, educational, and philanthropic initiatives, facilitating accounting functions and business services for programs led by Chico State faculty and project directors. Under the general supervision of the procurement services manager, this role performs technical accounting, administrative, and compliance-related duties supporting the organization’s procurement card (P-Card) program and related purchasing and accounts payable functions.

Responsibilities

• P-Card Program Administration
  • Process requests for the issuance, modification, suspension, and cancellation of P-Cards.
  • Review card applications and verify required approvals and training have been completed.
  • Maintain cardholder records, transaction and monthly credit limits, merchant-category restrictions, and approving-official assignments.
  • Serve as the primary contact for cardholders, approving officials, internal departments, and the issuing bank.
  • Assist with declined transactions, lost or stolen cards, suspected fraudulent activity, disputed charges, and account-access issues.
  • Maintain complete and accurate P-Card records in accordance with applicable record-retention requirements.
• Transaction Review and Compliance
  • Review monthly P-Card packets, statements, receipts, business-purpose explanations, account coding, and approvals for accuracy, completeness, and compliance.
  • Verify that purchases are allowable under CSE procurement, travel, hospitality, information-technology, sponsored-project, and other applicable policies.
  • Identify prohibited purchases, split transactions, missing documentation, sales-tax issues, personal expenditures, and other exceptions.
  • Communicate documentation deficiencies and obtain corrections or additional information from cardholders and approving officials.
  • Document repeated or significant violations and refer compliance concerns to management for review and corrective action.
  • Escalate suspected fraud, misuse, conflicts of interest, or other serious concerns to management.
• Training and Customer Support
  • Provide P-Card training and guidance to cardholders and approving officials.
  • Explain allowable purchases, documentation standards, reconciliation requirements, submission deadlines, and appropriate procurement methods.
  • Develop and update training materials, forms, desk procedures, frequently asked questions, and program communications.
  • Provide responsive and professional assistance to employees, project directors, campus partners, and vendors.
• Reconciliation, Reporting, and Audit Support
  • Reconcile P-Card activity with bank statements, accounting records, and cardholder submissions.
  • Monitor outstanding documentation, unreconciled transactions, credits, disputes, and past-due submissions.
  • Prepare reports concerning spending activity, policy exceptions, card limits, inactive accounts, and compliance trends.
  • Identify and recommend improvements to P-Card processes, procedures, training, and monitoring practices.
• Working Relationships

  The accounting technician works closely with cardholders, approving officials, project directors, procurement services, accounts payable, finance and accounting, sponsored-program personnel, information-technology staff, and representatives of the issuing bank.

Requirements

• Education or experience providing the knowledge and abilities required to perform technical accounting and financial-recordkeeping duties.
• Experience with accounting, accounts payable, procurement, purchasing cards, or financial administration.
• Working knowledge of financial recordkeeping, transaction reconciliation, and documentation requirements.
• Ability to review financial transactions, identify discrepancies, and apply policies and procedures consistently.
• Ability to maintain accurate records and manage multiple deadlines.
• Strong organizational, written communication, customer-service, and follow-up skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and standard office and financial systems.
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience administering or supporting a procurement-card or corporate-card program.
• Experience working for a California State University auxiliary organization, higher-education institution, nonprofit organization, or sponsored-program environment.
• Knowledge of CSU and auxiliary procurement, travel, hospitality, and information-technology purchasing requirements.
• Experience reviewing expenditures charged to grants and contracts.
• Experience using an issuing bank’s online card-management platform and an enterprise financial system.
• Experience preparing procedures and delivering employee training.

Compliance Requirements

Satisfactory completion of a background check (including a criminal records check) is required for employment. Chico State Enterprises will make a conditional offer of employment, which may be rescinded if the background check reveals disqualifying information, and/or it is discovered that the candidate knowingly withheld or falsified information. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the continued employment of a current Chico State Enterprises employee who was conditionally offered the position.

Pay

$21.57 - $26.50 per hour

Benefits

• Employer-paid life insurance ($50,000) and long-term disability for employees working 30 hours or more per week.
• Options for health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
• Paid holidays, including 1 personal holiday.
• Vacation accrual (initially 10 days/year).
• Sick leave (up to 12 days/year).
• Employer contributions to a 403(b) retirement plan (up to 8%).