Senior Financial Specialist - Vancouver, Canada - The University of British Columbia

Description

Job Summary

UBC Sauder School of Business is one of the world's leading business faculties. The school consistently ranks among the top 100 in the world and is recognized internationally for excellence in research and learning, an outstanding faculty and unmatched global partnerships. A collaborative and respectful culture within which all members of our community can thrive is a key principle in our strategic plan, and one that underpins our educational mission.

We acknowledge that UBC Sauder at the Vancouver Point Grey campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam. We acknowledge that UBC Sauder at UBC Robson Square is situated on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh.

The Senior Financial Specialist is responsible for providing financial processing support of an advanced and complex nature for the UBC Sauder School of Business. The Senior Financial Specialist is responsible for all accounts payable and accounts receivable duties, monitoring and identifying budgetary discrepancies and assisting with financial reporting, as well as providing Workday training to student employees, new employees and faculty members as part of the onboarding process. The incumbent is also responsible for the financial integrity of the in-house registration system by providing financial helpdesk support and instructions to three separate business units at UBC Sauder. The Senior Financial Specialist is expected to make recommendations to improve the efficiencies and effectiveness of processes for continuous improvement at UBC Sauder.

This role is primarily based at the Henry Angus building at the UBC Point Grey Campus, with a requirement to work from the Robson Square campus weekly.

Organizational Status
Reports to the Associate Director, Finance but is expected to perform routine duties independently with minimal supervision. The incumbent interacts with all business units at UBC Sauder that have registration and finance-related positions and is the first contact at the Finance and Procurement Office at UBC Sauder. Works closely with the Senior Financial Specialist to ensure there is adequate coverage in the office.

Work Performed

Training and Coordination

• Coordinates and provides training and support for new employees, student employees and faculty members on finance-related policies and procedures in Workday as part of the onboarding process.
• Oversees the preparation of electronic requisitions for expenditures and purchases.
• Reviews financial-related work of others within UBC Sauder business units, checking accuracy and compliance with policies and procedures
• Provides instructions over the phone to registration employees on registration system processes.

Financial Tasks

• Processes financial documents electronically in Workday.
• Reconciles operating, specific purpose funds, tri-council research accounts (approx. total excessive of $200M) by conducting complex and detailed analysis into discrepancies. Must understand the business operations of the account and strong working knowledge of Workday and UBC accounting procedures. This process includes following up with the appropriate units on campus to resolve the issues; refers any unresolved issues to the Associate Director, Finance, as appropriate.
• Works with the Associate Director to prepare budget-related data which can include reconciling any errors, exceptions or variances on budgetary-related systems.
• Monitors and follows up on deficit accounts and provides guidance to account holders on resolutions. Supports over 24 business units within UBC Sauder with an approx. total of over 100+ program accounts. This requires exercise judgement and knowledge of the University granting agencies and accounting policies and procedures.
• This position will have the following Workday security roles: Cost Center Financial Payroll Analyst, Student Expense Report Initiator, Cost Center Accountant, and EIB Accountant. The Cost Center Accountant, and EIB Accountant roles reside with the Finance Coordinator positions at UBC Sauder Finance & Procurement Office.
  • Cost Center Financial Payroll Analyst - performs financial reporting functions for assigned cost centers with a view to payroll data. Examples include manager financial reporting and metrics and spend analytics.
  • Student Expense Report Initiator – initiates expense reports in the Workday Expense module for student expense reimbursement.
  • Cost Center Accountant - decentralized responsibility for creating accounting journals and accounting/payroll adjustments.
  • EIB Accounting –initiates EIB (excel) accounting journals in Workday.
• Prepares and distributes financial reports, ledgers, Statement of Accounts (Form 300s) and summaries as requested.
• Prepares documents for all accounts receivables invoices. Duties consist of invoicing internal and external clients, tracking and depositing payments into Workday per UBC regulations, and initiate follow-up action as required.
• Monitors and prepares accounting journal for internal billing accounts including cell phone charges, photocopier, office lease payments and other related transactions.
• Works with UBC Sauder business units to prepare accrual accounting journals on a quarterly and annual basis.
• Uploads monthly journal templates to ensure revenues are recorded on the general ledgers.
• Reviews requests for payment to consultants and non-residents for services rendered and calculates non-resident withholding tax and self-assessed GST payments.

Student Registration System Tasks

• Maintains the financial integrity of the Student Registration systems at UBC Sauder. Reviews financial transactions by using the payment and credit card reports and consulting with the business units. Investigates problems by using an ad-hoc query tool to determine the issues. Conduct regular reconciliation activities on all clearing accounts.
• Reconciles registration cash posting transaction report with daily cash reports by identifying missing or different posting amounts of detailed transactions listed on either report. Prepares registration entry to record items listed on daily cash report with no corresponding registration entry, this requires investigation of source and purpose of receipt. Process adjusting entry for mismatched transaction amounts
• Prepares revenue upload from the registration system to Workday by executing and downloading query reports, adjusts entries as required, confirms the correctness of entry with business units before posting.
• Implements preventive procedures which include developing standard processing procedures for identified business transactions, redesigning input forms to reduce errors, and proposing system changes.
• Reviews current tax legislation for changes in tuition deduction eligibility and preparation rules. Informs business units of any changes and responds to enquiries for the status of tax receipt processing and explanation of eligibility.
• Responsible for all tuition refunds issues. Tasks include: processing cheque and credit card refunds in respective UBC financial systems and responding to inquiries on the status of refunds.
• Liaises with UBC PCI Compliance Office an annual UBC Sauder PCI Compliant Audit. Needs to exercise judgement on how to properly process refunds within UBC Sauder and provide training to business units involved with using POS devices and the potential risks to UBC Sauder.
• Performs other duties as required within the qualifications of the role.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

The incumbent must be competent in all system processes to provide efficient and effective support. The incumbent must be knowledgeable in registration system administration procedures, security and master/detail records to understand processing results.

Failure to perform these duties in an accurate, timely and comprehensive manner can have serious consequences for management. Improper keying of payment requisitions can provide misleading expenditure/revenue records and severely hamper the preparations of budget projections. Failure to invoice clients and to follow up regularly can have serious consequences for the operating accounts. Refund errors result in payments to an incorrect entity which may be uncollectable or delay refund payment to the participant.

Supervision Received
Works independently under the general supervision of the Associate Director of Finance.

Supervision Given
Supervises two to three Work Learn Students within the Finance & Procurement Office. Provides training to employees on financial processes across the business units at UBC Sauder. Provides phone or face-to-face instructions to the non-credit registration system users.

Minimum Qualifications
High school graduation, plus Diploma in Accounting or Payroll CPA Level 2, plus four years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and related experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one's own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one's own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to effectively perform accounts payable and accounts receivable-related duties.
• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritize work, multitask, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work both independently and within a team environment and to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to accurately balance cash and resolve discrepancies.
• Ability to accurately prepare bank deposits.
• Ability to analyze and reconcile accounts.
• Must have good knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and Outlook.
• Ability to describe finance and accounting issues to a lay person.
• Personal attributes of an ideal UBC Sauder team member: high level of honesty and integrity, robust work ethic and accountability, demonstrated initiative, adaptability in a rapidly changing landscape, a creative and curious problem-solver, commitment to engendering a harmonious work environment and strong emotional intelligence. Strong interpersonal skills and a calm professional manner.