Assistant Controller

Position Title: Assistant Controller

Department: Finance Office

Advertised Pay: $86,919/ annually

Campus Location: Washburn University

Application Deadline:  Application review will begin as applications are received and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants can be assured of full consideration if submitted by December 15, 2025.

Position Summary: The Assistant Controller supports the Director of Accounting in the day-to-day accounting, financial reporting, and compliance functions of Washburn University and Washburn University Institute of Technology. This position performs professional-level accounting analysis, prepares journal entries, reconciliations, audit workpapers, and monthly and year-end close activities, and reviews grant and sponsored project financial reporting. The Assistant Controller will partner with departments across campus to ensure accurate FOAPAL usage, compliance with university policies, and adherence to applicable accounting standards.

The role serves as a subject-matter resource to Accounting staff and campus departments and acts as a point of continuity/back-up when the Director of Accounting is unavailable.
Responsibilities assigned to this position will likely expand as the Accounting Office continues to evolve and mature.

About Washburn University: Washburn University is a teaching-focused, student-centered, public institution located in the metropolitan setting of Topeka that has earned national recognition for its high-impact programs for first-generation students. Washburn has a student body of over 5,500 undergraduate, graduate, and law students, a significant and growing number of whom are first-generation and Pell-Grant eligible. The University has created educational pathways for all students to be successful and achieve their educational goals.

Washburn is dedicated to recruiting and retaining a dynamic faculty, staff, and student body and cultivating a robust learning and working environment and curriculum. We employ more than one thousand faculty and staff on our campuses throughout Topeka and strive to offer competitive wages, an excellent benefits program, and a supportive culture and a healthy work/life balance. Washburn seeks to create an environment that reflects our core values for creating positive IMPACT: inclusion, modernization, partnership, achievement, community and transformation. In 2024, Washburn was recognized as one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to Great Colleges to Work For® program.

Essential Functions:
• Assist with oversight of core general accounting activities for Washburn University and Washburn University Institute of Technology, ensuring transactions are recorded accurately, timely, and in accordance with applicable accounting standards, policies, and regulations.
• Perform complex reconciliations with primary responsibility for reconciling clearing accounts, receivable accounts, bank accounts, and other assigned balance sheet accounts; research and resolve discrepancies and prepare journal entries as needed.
• Review grant and sponsored project financial activity prepared by the grant accountant for compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, University policy, FOAPAL structure, and sponsor terms and conditions as needed; provide back-up support for grant-related accounting tasks to ensure continuity of operations.
• Prepare journal entries, monthly closing entries, recurring allocations, transfers, and internal billings to support accurate financial reporting.
• Prepare audit work papers, supporting schedules, and financial analysis to support external audit requirements; participate in year-end and month-end close processes.
• Serve as back-up to the Director of Accounting by assisting with cash monitoring activities, including reviewing bank balances and preparing supporting documentation or analysis needed for cash movement decisions.
• Monitor the Finance Office shared email inbox, respond to inquiries, route items to the appropriate accounting staff, and provide guidance and training to campus departments related to FOAPAL usage, accounting processes, policies, and documentation requirements.
• Process and file annual unclaimed property reports, prepare capital project billings, and prepare documentation and banking forms for wire transfers and other treasury transactions for Director review and approval.
• Perform additional job-related duties, special projects, or assigned tasks as appropriate.

Non-Essential Functions:
• Assist with special projects, process improvements, documentation updates, and other accounting tasks as assigned.
• Participate in training initiatives, professional development, or cross-training opportunities to support departmental continuity and knowledge sharing.
• Assist with testing and validating system updates or ERP enhancements as requested.

Required Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting and a minimum of five years of progressively responsible, relevant accounting experience.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of GAAP or GASB accounting principles, governmental/fund accounting concepts, and internal control practices applicable in a public higher education environment.
• Ability to perform complex reconciliations, interpret supporting documentation, identify discrepancies, and resolve issues independently with a high level of accuracy.
• Ability to analyze financial data, prepare journal entries, develop supporting schedules, and compile audit workpapers in accordance with professional standards.
• Ability to interpret and apply University accounting policies, chart of accounts structure (FOAPAL), and business processes, and to provide technical guidance to campus users when needed.
• Proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, complex formulas/lookups, combining data sources) and experience working within a large integrated ERP finance system.
• Attention to detail, effective time-management, follow-through, and organizational skills to manage multiple priorities and meet recurring closing deadlines.
• Ability to communicate professionally and clearly, both verbally and in writing, with internal and external stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience in a higher education or governmental accounting environment.
• Experience preparing audit workpapers and supporting schedules for external auditors.
• Experience with fund accounting and analysis across multiple funds/orgs.
• Experience using Ellucian Banner or a comparable ERP finance system.
• MBA or Certified Public Accountant (CPA) credential.

Exempt, Full-time, Mon-Fri,    
Background Check Required