Senior Accountant

Join the mission of saving homeless pets at PAWS Chicago, one of America's largest and most respected no-kill shelter communities. In the last 25 years, PAWS Chicago has performed nearly 300,000 free and low-cost spay/neuter surgeries, which has helped reduce the killing of homeless pets in Chicago by more than 92%. But there's still more work to be done at our high-volume spay/neuter clinic, and PAWS Chicago wants you to join the team!

This position is responsible for the management and daily operations of the financial and payroll functions and will include:

Daily Operations

• Review and maintain documentation for promises to give (PTG), grants and other temporarily restricted gifts and ensure proper classification in Intacct
• Transmit bi-weekly payroll for exempt and non-exempt employees
• Coordinate weekly with human resources to determine payroll items for the week.
• Post payroll entries and ensure payroll funding availability
• Work closely with development team to ensure proper classification of donations and cash received
• Review payables coding and pay weekly bills

• Deposit cash for organization in person to bank
• Record in-kind donations

Primary Responsibilities

• Reconciliations of balance sheet accounts including but not limited to the following
  • All bank accounts
  • Credit cards
  • PTG
  • Restricted receivables
  • Accounts payable
  • Prepaids
  • Fixed assets
  • Expense accruals
• Schedules and journal entries
  • Merchandise inventory
  • Deferred revenue
  • Event revenue reconciliation
  • Net Asset activity permanently restricted, board designated, and temporarily restricted additions and releases
  • Payroll entries
• Ensure timely filing of the IL ST-1 sales and use tax return
• Make recommendations for changes as needed and ensure that company policies and procedures are followed and establishes the proper techniques to discover and prevent fraud
• Manage the monthly financial close process, including ensuring all costs incurred are properly recorded

Reporting Responsibilities

• Provide Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) for monthly reporting
• Initial month end report creation from Intacct
• Grant compliance report generation
• Initial variance report for budget to actuals and forecasting results

Annually

• Assist in financial audit preparation and provide support to auditors
• Assist in filing annual Form 990
• Assist in workers' compensation audit
• Review year end payroll reports, W-2 and W-3

Other

• Ad-hoc reports and analysis as needed
• Uphold financial integrity and maintain adherence to GAAP

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance
• Certified Payroll Professional a plus

Knowledge and Skills

• 3+ years of payroll and general ledger experience
• Financial accounting for a nonprofit organization
• Excellent written and communication skills
• Identification of process improvement opportunities
• Effective problem solving and analytical skills
• Excellent organizational skills
• Goal oriented
• Can handle multiple responsibilities simultaneously

Experience with the following software is preferred:

• Sage Intacct Accounting Software
• Paycom payroll and HR system
• Microsoft Office 2010 including a strong understanding of Excel pivot tables

PAWS Chicago Values-in-Action

1. Respect: for each and every life.
2. Community: of people and organizations committed to helping homeless pets.
3. Innovation: to constantly improve best practices and seek out new ideas and strategies to save more lives. To be a Learning Center that evolves and grows.
4. Pro-activity: to solve difficult problems and to be prepared to offer emergency and crisis support.
5. Transparency: that informs the public about the fate of homeless animals.
6. Education: that raises awareness about the realities that homeless animals face in the community and across the nations, providing a forum for people to get involved in effecting change. Promotes and support reasonable pet ownership.
7. Sustainability: through financial management practices that maximize the impact and reach of our resources and endure that PAWS Chicago will always be a resource for homeless animals.
8. Compassion: towards all people and animals.