4045 Grants and Contracts Accountant

CLASSIFICATION Exempt

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Senior Grants and Contracts Accountant

MAJOR ADMINISTRATOR Director of Accounting

GENERAL FUNCTION

The primary duty of the Grants and Contracts Accountant is to perform professional accounting and administrative work necessary to maintain the University’s grants, contracts, and designated funds. The Grants and Contracts Accountant reports the expenditures that have been made on specific grants and contracts to various agencies, such as the Department of Education, works independently in interpreting the policies and procedures of the various grants and contracts, and exercises independent judgment in planning and implementing work procedures and methods. The Grants and Contracts Accountant is responsible for training presentations and/or the time/effort reporting process. Work is reviewed by internal, independent, and agency auditors.

MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education: A Bachelor's degree in Accounting or a related field is required; a CPA or Master’s degree in an appropriate field is preferred.

Experience: At least three years prior experience in accounting is required.

Skills: High aptitude in accountancy and a good understanding of computers and their functions in accounting. The ability to understand, interpret, and apply accounting principles as well as rules and regulations in grant proposals that apply to financial information is required.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Prepares the financial reports needed for grants and contracts by compiling, researching, and analyzing data regarding the expenditures of the grants and contracts.

2. Assists the grant writers in the preparation of the grant and the administration of the grant monies by interpreting the policies and procedures of the University and the granting agencies.

3. Helps to ensure efficient administrative processes by working closely with Payroll, Budget, and project staff to streamline time/effort processes, maintaining time/effort records for the University, and preparing the time/effort financial reports required.

4. Ensures efficient administrative processes by monitoring the expenditures of federal programs such as Pell and the National Science Foundation grants.

5. Improves cash flow by assuring timely billing, including federal draw downs, of grant and contract receivables.

6. Supports compliance efforts by delivering training presentations to principal investigators and other administrative staff.

7. Monitors externally sponsored grants and contracts by reviewing the daily and monthly activities within these accounts and making accounting corrections as appropriate.

8. Approves (or confirms the appropriateness of) expenditures of externally sponsored grants and contracts in accordance with federal, state, institutional, or other agency guidelines.

9. Prepares audit work papers for internal, external, and agency auditors by researching and analyzing financial activity of externally sponsored grants and contracts.

10. Remains competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development courses, and attending training and/or courses required by the Senior Grants and Contracts Accountant.

11. Contributes to the overall success of the Office of Financial Services by performing all other duties and responsibilities as assigned, maintaining high levels of accuracy, maintaining a professional demeanor and appropriate levels of confidentiality, and providing excellent customer service.

SUPERVISION

The Grants and Contracts Accountant is supervised by the Senior Grants and Contracts Accountant and may supervise accounting professionals, clerical staff, students, and temporary employees.

HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICE REVISED AUGUST 2007

Factor 1: Professional Knowledge, Skill, and Technical Mastery

Level 4 - 2300 Points: Knowledge of the principles, concepts, practices, methods and techniques of an administrative, managerial, or professional field such as accounting or auditing, financial management, business administration, human resources, engineering, social sciences, communications, education, law, or medicine. Knowledge permits the employee to complete assignments by applying established methods to recurring types of projects/problems susceptible to well-documented precedents or to schedule, plan, and carry out precedented projects. Alternatively, knowledge at this level might also permit the employee to carry out precedented projects requiring considerable experience in specific areas within higher education. Knowledge at this level is typically acquired through a combination of formal education and/or training and experience that includes a requirement for a college degree in a specific technical or professional specialty along with significant related work experience. Alternatively, equivalent knowledge requirements at this level include a non-technical or general Bachelor's degree requirement with substantial work experience or a non-specific Master's degree requirement with substantial work experience. Knowledge requirements generally also include a significant amount of related work experience and may include administrative or supervisory experience.

Factor 2: Supervisory Responsibility

Level 2 - 130 Points: Regular, but limited, supervision, training, or directing the work assignments of (a) small numbers of student, part-time or temporary workers, or (b) one or more permanent, full-time employees. The nature of supervision is largely confined to scheduling work and assigning tasks. Supervision at this level typically does not include a full range of supervisory responsibilities, and supervisory duties typically do not consume a large portion of the work day.

Factor 3: Interactions with Others

Level 4 - 500 Points: Interactions with others are somewhat unstructured. The purpose may be to influence or motivate others, to obtain information, or to control situations and resolve problems. Interactions may be with individuals or groups of co-workers, students, or the general public, may be moderately unstructured, and may involve persons who hold differing goals and objectives. Individuals at this level often act as a liaison between groups with a focus on solving particular unstructured problems. Interactions at this level require considerable interpersonal skill and the ability to resolve conflict.

Factor 4: Job Controls and Guidelines

Level 3 - 500 Points: The employee operates under general supervision expressed in terms of program goals and objectives, priorities, and deadlines. Administrative supervision is given through statements of overall program or project objectives and available resources. Administrative guidelines are relatively comprehensive and the employee need only to fill in gaps in interpretation and adapt established methods to perform recurring activities. In unforeseen situations, the employee must interpret inadequate or incomplete guidelines, develop plans, and initiate new methods to complete assignments based on those interpretations. Assignments are normally related in function, but the work requires many different processes and methods applied to an established administrative or professional field. Problems are typically the result of unusual circumstances, variations in approach, or incomplete or conflicting data. The employee must interpret and refine methods to complete assignments. Characteristic jobs at this level may involve directing single-purpose programs or performing complex, but precedented, technical or professional work.

Factor 5: Managerial Responsibility

Level 3 - 850 Points: Work involves providing significant support services to others both within and outside of the department that substantially influences decision-making processes. Work activities are complex and others rely on the accuracy and reliability of the information, analysis, or advice to make decisions. Work activities have a direct, but shared, impact on further processes or services, affect the overall efficiency and image of the department, and may have material impact on costs or service quality within the cost center. Incumbents may be responsible for identifying areas of need and for developing proposals that request funding to fulfill those needs.