Staff Accountant

Classification Title: Staff Accountant

Salary: $63,109.00 Annually

Department: Finance

Pay Grade: ADM3

Reports To: Controller

FLSA Status: Exempt

Unit: Administrative

Opening Date: 3/6/2025

Closing Date: 3/27/2025 11:59 p.m.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF JOB

Performs accounting duties in maintaining portfolios in the College’s financial records specific to the general ledger and year-end audit.

Essential Functions

SPECIFIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Generates monthly, quarterly, and year-end financial reports for internal and external stakeholders.
• Prepares monthly bank reconciliations, identifies unrecorded transactions or irregularities, and notifies the appropriate administrative staff of any discrepancies.
• Reconciles the General Ledger and prepares adjusting journal entries as needed.
• Works closely with the payroll department to update the general ledger with current payroll data, reconciles the payroll bank account, analyzes variances, and corrects discrepancies.
• Works closely with the Student Accounts department to reconcile disbursements and transfers to Nelnet, ensuring accuracy and compliance with College policies.
• Maintains and updates the College’s monthly employment position list.
• Manages the upload of financial data from third-party systems into Colleague and the reconciliation.
• Monitors and analyzes the College’s utilities, bank charges, and other financial data as required.
• Investigates outstanding payroll, accounts payable, and student refund checks in compliance with government regulations and coordinates follow-up reporting.
• Identifies financial trends and analyzes underlying transactions to support financial decision making.
• Prepares standard and non-standard recurring month-end journal entries for review and approval by the Controller. These include entries related to: investment activities; fixed assets; depreciation; expensing prepaid items; recognizing deferred revenue and other accruals; releasing temporarily restricted net assets; and other required adjustments.
• Assists with compiling documentation for external audits and supports the preparation of annual financial statements, including report schedules and lead sheets.
• Supports Accounts Payable with New Jersey escheatment procedures for payroll, accounts payable, and student accounts, ensuring compliance with all applicable regulations.
• Maintains the College’s financial records across all general ledger funds, including operating, capital, agency, and grant funds.
• Assists with preparing financial information for third-party entities.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Associate degree;
• Three (3) years of experience in finance;
• Knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); and
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree;
• Strong analytical, organization, and interpersonal communication skills;
• Strong accounting understanding and knowledge;
• Self-motivation;
• Experience in higher education; and
• Knowledge of Ellucian Colleague.
  
  

Physical Requirements

The work is light work which requires exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently or constantly to move objects. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:

• Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized.
• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.
• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.
• Hearing 1: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound.
• Mental Acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes.
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Repetitive Motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers.
• Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely.
• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Talking 1: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Visual Acuity 1: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading.
• Visual Acuity 2: Including color, depth perception, and field vision.
• Visual Acuity 3: Visual Acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned or to make general observations of facilities or structures.
• Visual Acuity 4: Have visual acuity to operate motor vehicles and/or heavy equipment.
• Visual Acuity 5: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, operation of machines; using measurement devices; and/or assembly or fabrication parts at distances close to the eyes.
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
  
  

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

SCHEDULE : Monday – Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

RETIREMENT : Pension Eligible

NJ First Act

Any Middlesex College employee hired after September 1, 2011 will have to meet the New Jersey residency law requirement.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Middlesex College is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, gender, marital status, familial status, religion, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, liability for service in the armed forces of the United States, or disability.

Affirmative Action and Compliance Statement

Middlesex College is firmly committed to a policy of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. The College will implement this policy to assure that the educational programs, activities, services, benefits and employment opportunities offered by the College are available to all persons regardless of sex, race, creed, national origin, ancestry, nationality, color, marital status, civil union or domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity, age, handicap (and/or disability), service in the armed forces, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, refusal to submit to genetic tests, or refusal to make available results of genetic tests, in accordance with State and Federal laws. All employees and students are expected to accept these principles and to reflect their spirit in everyday relationships with fellow employees and students. Inquiries regarding compliance may be directed to the Affirmative Action Officer, Middlesex College, Chambers Hall, 2600 Woodbridge Avenue, Edison, New Jersey 08818-3050.