Accountant 1

Eastern Oregon University is currently hiring for an Accountant 1 to work in its Accounts Payable department.
This position is a Full-Time, 1.
0 FTE, 12-Month position with incredible State of Oregon employee and family dependents healthcare benefits, vacation and holiday paid time off, paid personal holidays, generous pension retirement benefits, tuition discount, and more.
The incumbent reports directly to the EOU Controller and works a friendly and collegial team environment with other administrative and finance professionals.
This Accountant 1 assists the University Controller and AVP Finance and Administration in the administration and management of the institution’s travel program , and general accounts payable operations which involves performing administrative research, analysis, and evaluation of policies and procedures surrounding travel, vendors, purchasing, etc.
The Accountant 1 reviews campus procurement for compliance and works directly with departments in making sure they are knowledgeable with EOU and Federal/State policies and procedures.
The Accountant 1 provides travel and general accounts payable functions for tile campus; reconciles and process all campus travel; maintains accurate accounting and vendor records; reviews and verifies invoices for accuracy to ensure audit trail requirements are being met; assists with audit of procurement cards to ensure proper usage; processes weekly checks and ACH payments.
The Accountant 1 utilizes in depth knowledge of FIS computer software and provides assistance to campus users.
The Accountant 1 interprets and enforces laws, rules, policies, and procedures surrounding travel, purchasing, vendors, and other general accounts payable rules.
Often times, these rules must be interpreted and applied to scenarios that are specific and non-routine.
The Accountant 1 also provides general program support for Finance and Administration and gives guidance regarding any updates to travel program operations as requested by the University Controller and/or AVP Finance and Administration.
Financial Operations provides the business and accounting services for the institution, its employees and students, as outlined in various manuals and the EOU Mission Statement.
The Accountant 1 is responsible for ensuring compliance with all financial requirements at EOU.
This includes oversight for funds from federal, state, and other entities.
Responsibilities Travel Coordinator Responsible for establishing and maintaining procedures and other controls surrounding the travel program at EOU.
This includes; utilizing knowledge of campus policies and Federal and State regulations, this position processes all the University related travel.
This includes issuing travel advances and auditing travel and moving reimbursement requests to ensure that appropriate budget authority signatures have been obtained and that proper documentation and spending limits are in accordance with applicable policies, and entering them for payment; creates and prepares travel related documents to present to campus and answer any travel questions from campus personnel; resolves any discrepancies, researches variances and requests corrections on travel documents.
This position is also responsible for updating all travel forms as Federal and State per diem rates and campus policies change, establishing and coordinating statewide or campus wide travel contracts or rate agreements (rental cards, hotels, etc.
), notifying campus of such changes; and providing travel training to personnel involved in travel reimbursement preparation.
This position also creates and maintains various travel expense reports for monthly reporting to the University Controller and/or AVP Finance and Administration, and annual reporting to the State and other various off-campus entities.
Procurement and Corporate Cards Works with the Procurement Card Program Administrator on all aspects of the Corporate/Procurement Card Program, including reconciling the monthly Banner charges to the US Bank statement and entering the invoice for payment.
Other tasks include auditing departmental card purchases monthly to ensure they are in compliance with EOU policies, that the budget authorities have given approval, that purchases have been re-classed correctly, and then following up on any discrepancies and entering a journal voucher when necessary.
This position also manages campus departmental cards, which includes changing card limits, canceling cards, issuing new cards and working with US Bank on any purchasing issues or fraudulent charges; training new card Custodians on proper use of the Banner Procurement Card Module; with other Accounts Payable staff, auditing each department’s card annually to ensure that cards are being properly stored; running annual usage and expense reporting for the Director of Business Affairs, or as requested by individual departments.
Accounts Payable Duties Utilizing knowledge of campus policies and the EOU Fiscal Policy Manual, this position audits vendor documents to ensure proper funding and accounting codes are used, based on GMP accounting principles and EOU policy; reviews due dates to ensure timely payment; confers with departments when coding or expenditures are incorrect or unallowable; balances and enters bulk invoices for campus departments into FIS to ensure they are accurately paid; maintains user access to the Office Depot and Amazon websites for campus supply orders.
This position also verifies that contracts and POs have been executed when required and that procurement policies are being applied consistently; trains new office staff regarding invoice processing and Banner usage; maintains Accounts Payable webpages via WordPress; processes ACH direct deposit daily, prints checks weekly for vendors and individuals to facilitate prompt and accurate payment.
In charge of creating, facilitating, and maintaining online Accounts Payable procedures via Laserfiche to create a completely electronic, efficient, and resource-conscious resource for EOU employees to submit AP-related documents.
Other Miscellaneous Duties Using in-depth knowledge of FIS computer software, this position performs higher level accounting functions which include: providing assistance to campus Banner users; researching problems and initiating proper actions to correct errors; preparing appropriate journal vouchers and other entries as required; working with campus departments, vendors and auditors to track expenses , payments and credits through the FIS system; reviewing and clearing monthly open-unapproved invoice e report to close budget period; reviewing monthly vendor statements for any discrepancies between vendor records and EOU records, reconciling outstanding items and making adjustments as needed.
Provides back-up with the personal service agreements , procurement card reconciliations, and other general Accounts Payable functions, when needed.
Reviewing a nd clearing monthly open-unapproved invoice report to close budget period.
Approve purchase orders when needed; review monthly vendor statements and reconcile outstanding items; provide back-up to the Director of Business Affairs, as needed.
If needed , assist with FIS and purchasing training to new campus users.
Assign and review tasks and work for the Accounts Payable student employee.
Minimum Qualifications - Bachelor’s degree with CPA or PA certificate; OR - Bachelor’s degree with 30 quarter (20 semester) hours of college-level Accounting, OR - 30 quarter (20 semester) hours of Accounting courses and three years of Accounting experience.
* -Must satisfactorily complete EOU criminal and credential background check.
Having a criminal history is not an automatic bar to employment.
-In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.
Eastern Oregon University will not sponsor applicants for employment visas.
*Accounting experience must include at least 3 of the following: - Preparing transactions to be recorded in records of original entry; - Preparing journal entries, posting from journals to general ledger, or preparing original general ledger entries; - Summarizing data from a ledger to a trial balance; - Closing accounts at the end of an accounting period; - Applying PC spreadsheet, database, and word processing software; - Processing data using a computer.
Preferred Qualifications - 1+ year(s) experience in professional setting.
- Banner Experience.
Special Instructions to Applicants Applicant must provide: 1) Letter of application (which should include why this position is attractive to the applicant, how it meets the applicant’s professional goals, and what attracts the applicant to EOU); 2) Resume/Curriculum vitae; 3) Submit names, emails, and phone numbers for at least three references in the reference section of the application.
Candidates are encouraged to review the values and principles of Eastern Oregon University.
Only complete files of qualified applicants will be reviewed.
Eastern Oregon University – Oregon’s Rural University! – is a respected public, higher education institution of academic excellence.
Brilliant faculty and staff thrive and together fulfill their career ambitions to serve students from all walks of life.
EOU is a beautiful, quaint campus nestled in a remarkably scenic, high elevation valley populated by wonderful, community-minded citizens that have balanced work-life flexibility.
Take a virtual tour of Eastern Oregon University.
EOU offers a very attractive package of employee benefits including: • Paid holidays (11 days/year), paid vacation (8 hours/month) and paid sick time-off (8 hours/month) • Individual and Family Healthcare Insurance (95%+ employer paid medical, dental, vision) • Generous Oregon Public Employee Retirement System benefits • Employer paid life insurance • Discounted tuition benefits for employees and eligible dependents • Discounted athletics facilities membership • For more details, see Prospective Employees at https://www.
eou.
edu/hr/prospective-employees/.
Eastern Oregon University is an EEO Employer and welcomes applications from women, members of historically underrepresented minority groups, US Veterans, and persons with disabilities.
EOU is committed to providing equal opportunity in its recruitment, admissions, educational programs, activities and employment without illegal discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, marital status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any status as protected by state or federal law.
Salary $3,741 Monthly (nonexempt)