LEAD SPECIALIST - SR. SPECIALIST - Accountant at Southwest Research Institute

Who We Are:

Join our team! Cost Accounting assists the Research and Development teams by providing complete and accurate project cost data so that they may receive timely funding and continue their efforts finding optimal solutions.

Objectives of this Role:

• Work with a diverse group of people to provide accounting support for various departments of the Institute.
• All members of the Cost Accounting Team are asked for their input on identifying process improvements to continue gaining efficiencies within the accounting operations.
• Have a passion for learning and should be recognized as an approachable, engaging, confident and trusted team member. They shall have a commitment to financial accuracy and a spirit of continuous improvements to eliminate inefficiencies.
• Assist the Accounting Department as well as the technical divisions with ensuring the accounting transactions are accurately recorded.
• Research and resolve accounting discrepancies timely to include communication with Institute staff. This will include the proficient use of Excel to research, update and validate data underlying spreadsheet functionality.
• Have knowledge of general business practices and procedures with an ability to maintain organization of assignments to meet tight deadlines.

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities:

• With the use of Excel, prepare monthly reconciliations for various general ledger accounts in accordance with SwRI's accounting policies. In addition, assist with the preparation of adjusting journal entries associated with their respective account reconciliations.
• Review processed transactions to ensure the account coding is accurate and in accordance with the Institute's policies. This shall include referencing the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) and US GAAP.
• Have the ability to learn and work with a wide range of software in order to perform various accounting functions.
• The main accounting software is a Deltek product, Costpoint, however, you will be interfacing with several other key applications.
• Must be detail oriented and have the ability to work with large amounts of data gathered from various systems.
• Predominantly working on individual assignments, each member of the Cost Accounting team can lend helpful tips and ideas to work towards solutions.
• Strive to identify process improvements and have good oral and written communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively with all levels of employees and various functional departments to maximize efficiency, problem solving, and outcomes.

Requirements:

• Requires a Bachelors degree in Accounting or Finance. CPA or CPA eligible candidate or Master's Degree is a plus.
• 6 years: Experience with personal computers with an ability to type and efficiently operate a 10-key. Proficiency in Microsoft Office, with advance skills in Excel. Be able to compile, generate and manage spreadsheets capturing key data related accounting transactions.
• 6 years: Prior work experience in a fast-paced environment with knowledge of general business practices and procedures with an ability to maintain organization of assignments to meet tight deadlines.
• 6 years: Must be able to exercise discretion and independent judgment. Employees may be expected to practice confidentiality.
• 6 years: Must be able to exercise diligence, and attention to detail in the completion of assigned tasks and projects. Have some experience with leading a project with multiple team members or group task.
• A valid/clear driver's license is required.