Senior Financial Specialist

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.

Job Summary

UBC Sauder School of Business is one of the worlds leading business faculties. The school consistently ranks among the top 100 in the world and is recognized internationally for excellence in research and learning, an outstanding faculty and unmatched global partnerships. A collaborative and respectful culture within which all members of our community can thrive is a key principle in our strategic plan, and one that underpins our educational mission.

We acknowledge that UBC Sauder at the Vancouver Point Grey campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam. We acknowledge that UBC Sauder at UBC Robson Square is situated on the traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh.

The Senior Financial Specialist is responsible for providing financial processing support of an advanced and complex nature for the UBC Sauder School of Business. The Senior Financial Specialist is responsible for all accounts payable and accounts receivable duties, monitoring and identifying budgetary discrepancies and assisting with financial reporting, as well as providing Workday training to student employees, new employees and faculty members as part of the onboarding process.

The Senior Financial Specialist is also responsible for the financial integrity of the in-house registration system by providing financial helpdesk support and instructions to three separate business units at UBC Sauder.

The Senior Financial Specialist is expected to make recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processes for continuous improvement at UBC Sauder.

This role is primarily based at the UBC Point Grey Campus.

Organizational Status
Reports to the Associate Director, Finance, but is expected to perform routine duties independently with minimal supervision. Interacts with all business units at UBC Sauder that have registration and finance-related positions and is the first contact within UBC Sauders Finance Strategy and Support unit.

Work Performed

Training and Coordination

• Coordinates and provides training and support for new employees, student employees and faculty members on finance-related policies and procedures in Workday as part of the onboarding process.
• Oversees the preparation of electronic requisitions for expenditures and purchases.
• Reviews financial-related work of others within UBC Sauder business units, checking accuracy and compliance with policies and procedures
• Provides instructions over the phone to registration employees on registration system processes.

Financial Tasks

• Processes financial documents electronically in Workday.
• Reconciles operating, specific purpose funds, tri-council research accounts (approx. total excess of $200M) by conducting complex and detailed analysis into discrepancies. Resolves issues, escalating to the Associate Director, Finance, as needed. This requires understanding of the business operations of the account and strong working knowledge of Workday and UBC accounting procedures.
• Works with the Associate Director to prepare budget-related data, which can include reconciling any errors, exceptions or variances on budgetary-related systems.
• Supports UBC Sauder units with an approximate total of over 100+ program accounts. Monitors and follows up on deficit accounts and provides guidance to account holders on resolutions. Exercises judgment and applies knowledge of the University granting agencies and accounting policies and procedures.
• Prepares and distributes financial reports, ledgers, statement of accounts (Form 300s) and summaries as requested.
• Prepares documents for all accounts receivable invoices. Duties consist of invoicing internal and external clients, tracking and depositing payments into Workday per UBC regulations, and initiating follow-up action as required.
• Monitors and prepares accounting journal for internal billing accounts, including cell phone charges, photocopier, office lease payments and other related transactions.
• Works with UBC Sauder units to prepare accrual accounting journals on a quarterly and annual basis.
• Uploads monthly journal templates to ensure revenues are recorded on the general ledgers.
• Reviews requests for payment to consultants and non-residents for services rendered and calculates non-resident withholding tax and self-assessed GST payments.

Student Registration System Tasks

• Maintains the financial integrity of the student registration systems at UBC Sauder. Reviews financial transactions by using the payment and credit card reports and consulting with the business units. Investigates problems using an ad-hoc query tool to determine the issues. Conducts monthly reconciliation activities on all clearing accounts.
• Reconciles registration cash posting transaction report with daily cash reports. Prepares registration entry to record items listed on the daily cash report with no corresponding registration entry, investigating the source and purpose of the receipt. Processes adjusting entry for mismatched transaction amounts.
• Prepares revenue upload from the registration system to Workday by executing and downloading query reports, adjusting entries as required and confirming the correctness of entry with business units before posting.
• Implements preventive procedures, which include developing standard processing procedures for identified business transactions, redesigning input forms to reduce errors, and proposing system changes.
• Reviews current tax legislation for changes in tuition deduction eligibility and preparation rules. Informs business units of any changes and responds to enquiries for the status of tax receipt processing and explanation of eligibility.
• Responsible for all tuition refund issues. Tasks include: processing cheque and credit card refunds in the respective UBC financial systems and responding to inquiries on the status of refunds.
• Liaises with the UBC PCI Compliance Office on an annual UBC Sauder PCI Compliance Audit. Exercises judgement on how to properly process refunds within UBC Sauder and provides training to business units involved with using POS devices and the potential risks to UBC Sauder.
• Performs other duties as required within the qualifications of the role.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

This role requires competency in all system processes to provide efficient and effective support. This role requires knowledge in registration system administration procedures, security and master/detail records to understand processing results.

Failure to perform these duties in an accurate, timely and comprehensive manner can have serious consequences for management. Improper keying of payment requisitions can provide misleading expenditure/revenue records and severely hamper the preparation of budget projections. Failure to invoice clients and to follow up regularly can have serious consequences for the operating accounts. Refund errors result in payments to an incorrect entity, which may be uncollectable or delay refund payment to the participant.

Supervision Received
Works independently under the general supervision of the Associate Director, Finance.

Supervision Given
Supervises student employees within the Finance Strategy and Support unit. Provides training to UBC Sauder employees on financial processes. Provides instructions to the non-credit registration system users on financial-related transactions.

Minimum Qualifications
High school graduation, plus Diploma in Accounting or Payroll CPA Level 2, plus four years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and related experience.

- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with ones own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing ones own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Ability to effectively perform accounts payable and accounts receivable-related duties.
• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritize work, multitask, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work both independently and within a team environment and to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
• Ability to accurately balance cash and resolve discrepancies.
• Ability to accurately prepare bank deposits.
• Ability to analyze and reconcile accounts.
• Must have good knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and Outlook.
• Ability to describe finance and accounting issues to a layperson.
• Strong interpersonal skills and a calm professional manner.
• High level of honesty and integrity, robust work ethic and accountability.
• Demonstrated initiative, creativity and problem-solving skills.
• Adaptability in a rapidly changing landscape.
• Strong emotional intelligence.