Research Accountant I

About the role

As our next Research Accountant I, you will be responsible for the expense management of research grants and contracts in the Office of Research Administration (ORA). This position is key to the research team and serves as a resource to faculty and administrators regarding the financial administration of sponsored research awards.

Responsibilities

• Create new research accounts and amend existing accounts in the School’s financial system and ORA’s enterprise project tracking system.
• Utilize information obtained from the legal agreement, proposal documents and other project related documents.
• Decide appropriate financial codes to input into the School’s financial system to accurately administer and monitor awards in accordance with federal regulations, sponsor terms and conditions, and School policy.
• Become familiar with Sponsor agreement format, financial terms and conditions to be able to perform setup appropriately.
• Monitor, review and reconcile award budgets, balances and expenses.
• This includes deficit monitoring and expense review both pre-expenditure and post-expenditure.
• Identify, investigate and resolve discrepancies or errors found within research accounts.
• Aid the Property Manager in the Controller’s Office to ensure all equipment is titled, accounted and tagged properly within School systems and per regulations.
• Develop and/or update ad-hoc reports using data from the School’s systems or other database applications for tracking, diagnostic and financial analysis of sponsored activity.
• Become familiar with Uniform Guidance regulation to be able to perform financial monitoring appropriately.
• Prepare and accurately submit required financial reports within sponsoring agency timeframes.
• Analyze the financial statements, supporting documentation and other necessary information for each research account to ensure accurate financial reports are submitted.
• Prepare and accurately submit required non-financial reports within sponsoring agency timeframes.
• Utilize School systems to extract data needed for required reporting.
• Navigate sponsor reporting systems to submit required reports.
• Determine and perform all closeout actions required by sponsoring agency and School policy and procedures.
• Maintain a detailed tracking of closeout activities.
• Track all outstanding accounts receivable actions to successfully coordinate the process of financial closeout between the grant sub-ledger and the school’s General Ledger.
• Perform final expense review and account reconciliation.
• Provide guidance, advice, and training in policy, procedures, and regulations related to research administration to faculty, department administrators, college fiscal officers and other administrative departments.
• Participate in office wide process evaluation and reengineering efforts.
• Critically evaluate process and procedures with a goal of efficiency and optimal resource utilization.
• Make recommendations for improvements to management and lead improvement efforts if approved.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, business administration or the equivalent in experience.
• Two or more years of accounting experience.
• Working knowledge of federal and other pertinent external research regulations.
• Experience using spreadsheets, databases, presentation software, and enterprise financial systems.
• Demonstrated customer service skills, the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a broad community and ability to meet multiple deadlines.
• Analyzation and problem-solving skills including the ability to use independent judgment.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.

Qualifications

• Currently authorized to work in the United States.
• Successful completion of a background investigation is required for this position.

Skills

• Ability to work independently and prioritize tasks.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Knowledge of financial systems and regulations.

Benefits

• Flexible health and dental care options.
• Generous sick/vacation time: 13 paid holidays per year – including a week-long winter break for entire campus.
• Comprehensive retirement plan on first day of employment, with generous employer contribution.
• Tuition benefits (6 credits per year for employees, 50 percent discount for dependents).
• RTD Ecopass.
• Access to the state of the art Recreation Center (fitness classes and training, swimming pool and more) and equipment rentals through the Outdoor Rec Center.
• On-campus daycare center.

Pay

$64,000 - $70,000

Schedule

Hybrid schedule; the successful candidate must commute to campus in Golden, Colorado on a regular basis.