United States of America: Staff Accountant-Washington, DC
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 12 Aug 2013
The Organization
Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is an international non-profit organization that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. With an annual budget of $35M, headquarters in Washington, DC and a European corporate office in Brussels, Belgium, SFCG’s mission is to transform how individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict – away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. SFCG seeks to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on their commonalities. With a total of approximately 600 staff worldwide, SFCG implements projects from 53 offices in 30 countries, including in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
Summary of Position
Search for Common Ground (SFCG) seeks a Staff Accountant to assist the Finance Department with general ledger reconciliation and account maintenance, as well as financial reporting and audit support. Responsibilities include preparing monthly bank reconciliations, providing analysis, reconciliation and maintenance of subsidiary data for fixed assets, payables, receivables and payroll, and producing journal entries as may be appropriate. Reporting to the Accounting Manager, s/he ensures accounting procedures conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and as well as to company policy and donor regulations surrounding grants and contracts financial management. The ideal candidate will have experience in financial operations in the nonprofit INGO sector, and excels at account analysis and consolidated financial statement preparation.
Responsibilities
• Monthly reconciliation of all petty cash and bank accounts held by DC headquarters and Brussels-based office.
• Monthly reconciliation of balance sheets accounts, ensuring prepaid and accrual accounts are maintained appropriately. Prepare journal entries as needed for maintaining accuracy of the financial statements.
• Maintenance of fixed asset inventory schedules and recording of related depreciation and amortization.
• Record monthly fringe benefit and indirect cost allocations in preparation for the monthly closing.
• Support the Accounting Manager with the revenue recognition process.
• Maintenance of intercompany transactions, including preparation of SFCG US monthly invoices to SFCG Belgium country offices for management fees.
• Alert the appropriate staff to past due employee advances which require reconciliation.
• Initiate improvement and simplification of accounting processes and procedures.
• Complete necessary schedules and gather supporting documentation for the annual audit process, as well as for any adhoc project reviews.
• Upload the departmental expense budgets annually and/or as revised, and assist with reviewing budget variances.
• Maintain the bank account details for all global/country offices, and prepare data for the annual foreign bank and financial accounts annual FBAR report.
• Liaise with the Charitable Registration service provider and coordinate filings to ensure that the organization is properly registered in all applicable states.
• Effectively and timely communicate accounting policies and procedures as needed in response to staff inquiries.
• Ensure appropriate record retention and maintenance of all electronic and paper records under job responsibility in a neat and orderly manner.
• Maintain documents on the Finance SharePoint portal, and give permissions for country office staff to view appropriate SharePoint reports as appropriate.
As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.
Minimum Qualifications
Essential
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance.
• A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in accounting operations, with two (2) years or more in a nonprofit organization managing grants and contracts awarded by the USG and other funders.
• Proven knowledge of automated accounting systems and reporting tools customized to a fund accounting environment using batch processing.
• Strong spreadsheet and analytical skills; proficiency in Excel and other Microsoft Office products required.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a strong and effective communicator internally and externally.
• Excellent written and oral English communication skills to effectively interact with staff regarding detailed financial information, and business-related inquiries into financial matters in a highly diverse multicultural environment.
• Demonstrated commitment to teamwork in a fast-paced work environment.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented with ability to meet deadlines, both prescribed and self-imposed.
• Ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks.
• Adaptable and flexible
Desired
• Experience with Great Plains accounting software.
• Familiarity with OMB Circulars, including Cost Principles and Audit Guidelines.
• Fluency in French or another language
Salary: Commensurate with experience and education, with excellent benefits
How to apply:
To Apply: Please send a cover letter and current resume to employment@sfcg.org or fax to +1 (202) 572-6287 with the subject heading: Staff Accountant - DC. Please be sure to include salary requirements (in currency figures) or current salary, projected start date, and to mention where you found this posting. We are looking to fill this position immediately, but with the right candidate. No phone calls please. Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. Please see our web site www.sfcg.org for full details of our work.
