Parish and School Operations Accountant

The mission of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is to spread the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. In the faithful pursuit of this mission, the archdiocese is seeking a Parish and School Financial Operations Accountant.
The Parish and School Financial Operations Accountant reports to the Executive Director of Parish/School Financial Operations. The primary responsibilities are the oversight of parish financial operations and internal control condition. This position has the opportunity for career progression to senior accountant, manager and director levels of responsibility.

Duties and Responsibilities
• Proactively monitor interim parish financial results in the ParishSoft accounting system to identify issues and problems; initiate interaction with Executive Director to plan for resolution of issues.
• Analyze parish financial statements and internal audit reports for issues, themes and trends
• Design new reports from the ParishSoft Accounting and FamilySuite systems for use in analysis and reporting
• Determine compliance with archdiocese requirements for parish accounting and internal control via internal audit visits and oversight of internal audits conducted by outside accounting firm.
• Summarize financial highlights, issues, and metrics into management level reporting
• Troubleshoot accounting and administrative issues at parishes via inquiry, analysis, research
• Provide consulting and assistance on accounting and administrative issues to pastors and bookkeepers
• Provide coaching and support to parish bookkeepers regarding the ParishSoft Accounting system and the archdiocese parish accounting manual.
• Suggest changes and improvements to accounting policies and procedures based upon issues identified and resolved in the parishes.
Qualifications
Required Education and Experience
• Bachelor of Science in Accounting or Finance. Five years of experience in an accounting, auditing, or financial analysis role.
• Not required, but helpful: a) CPA certification, or working towards certification, b) internal audit experience, and c) experience in parish accounting and financial operations.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Practicing Catholic with an understanding of the Mission of the Catholic Church
• Accrual accounting and internal accounting controls
• Analysis of financial statements to identify issues and trends
• Preparation of financial reporting and analysis for discussion and decision making
• Proficient in MS Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Computer aptitude to learn the parish accounting system, ParishSoft Accounting and the contribution system FamilySuite
• Organizational skills and capacity to learn and recall business and accounting issues across the 150+ individual parish entities.
• Professional poise and judgment to raise and discuss issues, as necessary, with the Executive Director and various parish personnel (Pastor, bookkeeper)
• Collaborative and friendly work style to interact with other archdiocese groups, e.g., human resources, schools' office, development.

Work Environment
This job operates in an office setting both at the archdiocese Pastoral Center and the parishes.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work
This is a full-time position. Remote work up to two days per week is possible after 90 days of employment.