JOB DESCRIPTION

DISTRICT FINANCE OFFICER

NATURE OF WORK

Serves as the district finance officer for the Gates County Schools.

Manages the school district’s financial affairs including budgeting, purchasing, accounting, payroll, accounts payable, internal audit, fixed assets, and treasury functions.

Establishes procedures sufficient to assure compliance with financial laws, regulations, and requirements and to assure adherence to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and standard business practices.

Advises the Board of Education and administrators regarding management of financial resources.

Engages in multi-year financial planning for the operating budget and assists in preparation of multi-year facilities plans.

Is responsible for the submission of financial reports required by federal, state, and local governmental entities.

Must be bonded as required by law.

MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

Qualify for certification as a School Finance Officer according to policy of the State Board of Education:

• At least a Bachelor’s in Business Administration or Accounting is required.
• Three years of professional experience in a business-related field is required.
• Master of Public Administration or CPA license preferred.
• Graduation from the NCASBO School Business Director Academy is preferred.
• Educational coursework must be sufficient to obtain certification as a North Carolina School Finance Officer from the Department of Public Instruction

EXPERIENCE

Prior supervisory experience over financial operations of a similar scope is preferred.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the Superintendent’s direction and with the assistance of staff, prepares annual budgets for all funds and monitors activity in those funds throughout the fiscal year in order to assure compliance with the School Budget and Fiscal Control Act and in accordance with guidance issued by the Local Government Commission and the Department of Public Instruction.

Adheres to the Chart of Accounts mandated for school district use by the Local Government Commission and the Department of Public Instruction.

Establishes and maintains an accounting system adequate to record transactions in accordance with the requirements of GAAP, the North Carolina Local Government Commission, the North Carolina State Board of Education, the North Carolina Uniform Education Reporting System (UERS) and other relevant State and federal agencies.

Establishes and maintains a payroll system that satisfies federal laws and regulations such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Internal Revenue Service Code; produces the detailed salary and absence data required by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Selects and maintains financial software for both centralized operations and individual schools sufficient to process transactions in accordance with applicable requirements.

Selects and maintains user-friendly financial reporting software for budget managers within the organization so that they may monitor the status of their accounts in real time, preventing the need for monthly financial reports.

Establishes and maintains a purchasing system that satisfies the requirements for procurement of goods and services contained in North Carolina General Statutes.

Establishes and maintains a system of controls over cash receipts, deposits, disbursements, and investments in accordance with requirements of the Office of the State Treasurer, the Office of the State Controller, and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, and in accordance with standard business practices.

Performs the pre-audit function on all disbursements as required by G.S. 115C-441.

Serves as the signatory on all checks and purchase orders.

Establishes a system of internal controls for financial operations sufficient to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that accounts are properly stated.

Establishes procedures to assure timely reconciliation of bank accounts.

Arranges for and assists with annual independent financial and compliance audits of all accounts.

Performs all duties mandated by North Carolina law for school finance officers.

Performs other duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Technology skills – Possesses demonstrated facility with spreadsheet software (EXCEL) and word processing software (WORD), familiarity with typical computer-based financial software packages, and experience with database search and retrieval both through query functions and typical web-based reporting in order to answer questions or to detect errors.

Coordinating skills – Possesses the ability to determine how to schedule the sequence of work activities of many different individuals in order to meet a deadline and the ability to determine what specific changes must be made in many different procedures performed by many different individuals to implement a new or changed requirement.

Administrative skills – Possesses the ability to determine what laws or regulations are pertinent to a particular issue and how to reconcile them when they do not align naturally with each other.

Communication skills – Possesses the ability to explain financial procedures to non-financially-minded individuals and to engender understanding and support when changes in established procedures are necessary.

Planning skills – Exercises planning skills in the annual budget process and in response to provisional requirements.

Mathematical skills – Possesses the ability to recognize what mathematical functions may be needed through EXCEL to make accurate projections or calculations/

REPORTS TO: Superintendent

FSLA STATUS: Exempt

DISCLAIMER

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to this job.