Chief Finance Officer

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The primary responsibility of the school finance officer is to perform a large variety of professional duties involving interaction with schools in providing leadership and supervision to the school district in all facets of financial management to ensure proper accountability for all funds administered by the school district. The Chief Finance Officer prepares annual budgets for all funds and monitors activity of 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. Establishes procedures sufficient to assure compliance with financial laws, regulations, and requirements to assure adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and standard business practices.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Maintain an accounting system in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and governmental accounting standards. Familiarity with LINQ v6, Microsoft Products, Cook spreadsheets, NCDPI applications, etc.
• Manages the school district’s financial affairs including budgeting, purchasing, accounting, payroll, accounts payable, internal audit, fixed assets, and treasury functions.
• Provide a secure physical and operational infrastructure to safeguard electronic data for the business operations of the school system.
• Maintain a school payroll accounting system in accordance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
• Prepare financial reports annually and at other times as requested by the superintendent and local board.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual reports as required by other federal, state and local agencies.
• Maintain an adequate system of internal controls including property and inventory accounting.
• Maintain a sound system of cash management, including signing and issuing all checks, drafts and warrants; receiving and depositing all monies; and investing all idle cash.
• Maintains and selects accounting systems and software for both centralized operations and in the individual schools to process transactions in accordance with applicable requirements.
• Maintains and established 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 NC Department of Public Instruction, and in accordance with standard business practices.
• Maintain a system of contracting and purchasing procedures, including the issuance of the pre-audit certificate.
• Coordinate the preparation of the annual budget and any amendments as appropriate.
• Maintain a financial management system for child nutrition and other special funds’ operations.
• Carry out all assigned responsibilities in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and applicable rules and regulations.
• Comply with the requirements of the Uniform Education Reporting System including the standards and procedures adopted by the State Board of Education for providing timely, accurate and compete fiscal and personnel information.
• The finance officer shall also perform such other duties as may be assigned to the position by law, by the superintendent, and by rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and the Local Government Commission.
• All other duties as required by the Superintendent.

TEAM LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

• Build the team culture to foster excellence and collaboration and to deliver high-quality customer service to achieve all goals and objectives.

• Assess team and individual skills and identify development needs; provide feedback and support to improve practice, build capacity, and maximize talent.

• Gain the trust and respect of all staff, cultivating personal accountability among staff for excellent service, efficient budget processes, and commitment to student achievement.

• Meet monthly with the Finance team and school bookkeepers to ensure correct implementation of fiscal policies and procedures.

• Meet monthly or quarterly with Principals to discuss fiscal policies and procedures.

• Supervises and Oversees: The professional, technical, and clerical personnel in the following departments: Purchasing, Payroll, Accounts Payable, Accounting, Child Nutrition Services, Transportation, and Facilities

INFLUENCE AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

• Communicate effectively, tailoring messages for the audience, context, and mode of communication.

• Prepare the Superintendent's Senior Team, and board members for effective decision-making conversations, anticipating and organizing key questions and data that support productive discussions to direct key fiscal priorities.

• Communicate and work collaboratively with the Human Resources team for efficiency. 

MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance or Accounting from an accredited four-year college or university, with at least 15 semester hours of Accounting course work.
• 5 years of professional experience in a business related field. Experience in school finance preferred.
• CPA license is preferred, or currently earning a CPA license.
• Graduation from the NCASBO School Business Director Academy is preferred.
• Educational coursework must be sufficient to obtain certification as a NC School Finance Officer from the Department of Instructions.
• Must be bonded as required by law.