Associate Vice President of Finance and Accounting

VISION: Transform the university through the power of generosity.

MISSION: Unite donor passions with university priorities to elevate the impact of Oklahoma State University.

PRIMARY PURPOSE: The Associate Vice President of Finance and Accounting is responsible for overseeing the financial operations of the organization, ensuring compliance with IRS regulations and organizational policies, and providing strategic direction to enhance the organization's financial performance. This role involves direct supervision of the finance, accounting and investment/endowment fiscal management with a team of 11 Finance and Accounting Staff.

Key Areas Of Focus

Fiscal Reporting and Compliance 50%

• Provide leadership and direction to the Assistant Vice President of Finance and Directors of Accounting.
• Foster a collaborative and high-performing team environment; provide clear direction and motivation; conduct performance evaluations and provide professional development opportunities.
• Provide leadership and direction to produce all financial reporting, including quarterly or periodic reports and all related activities.
• Working closely with Gift Management and other OSUF administrative units, ensure compliance with GAAP, GAAS, IRS, and FASB requirements in a higher education, foundation, nonprofit environment.
• Provide leadership and direction for the preparation of all federal and state tax returns for all OSUF related entities.
• Provide leadership and direction for the annual, campaign and multi-year operational budget preparation.
• Ensure timely and accurate financial statements and reports that are appropriate for the end users both internal and external and in accordance with GAAP.
  
  

Financial Policies, Procedures, and Protocols: 30%

• Design, develop and oversee the implementation of all fiscal policies, procedures and protocols updates and additions.
• Working closely with Gift Management and other OSUF administrative units, ensure collaboration, efficiency, effectiveness and appropriate impact with the development and implementation of policies, procedures, and protocols for new fiscal projects and initiatives.
• Establishing, updating, and maintaining internal controls, as well as coordinating internal audits.
• Provide general oversight of fiscal operations relating to the OSUF organization and its related entities to ensure consistency of policies, procedures, and protocols.
• Manage financial projects, including system and process improvements
  
  

Endowment and Investment Fiscal Management and Strategic Analysis: 20%

• Collaborate and oversee the relationship with MEMCO, the supporting organization of the OSUF, who oversees daily management of OSUF endowed and non-endowed assets totally $1.7B.
• Provide guidance and oversight on endowment accounting and management, short-term investment analysis, portfolio analysis and risk assessment.
• Collaborate with senior financial leadership to develop and implement strategic plans for endowment, investment and cash management oversight and analysis.
• Identify opportunities for process improvements and implement best practices.
• Provide financial analysis and insights to support decision-making processes.
  
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, Finance, or a related field;
• CPA required and in good standing.
• Minimum of 12 years of experience in accounting and financial management, preferably in a non-profit organization.
• Minimum of 5 years of progressive management experience within a financial environment.
• Strong knowledge of GAAP, IRS regulations, and financial reporting requirements.
• Experience with fiscal management of large, complex investment and/or endowment portfolios.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and organizational skills.
• Experience with financial accounting systems, ERP systems, donor database management systems and other financial or endowment systems.
• Expertise in preparing and analyzing financial statements, ensuring compliance with GAAP, and providing insights for decision-making
  
  

Organizational Competencies-

• Effective Communication: Able to present effectively to large groups of individuals; is clear, articulate and direct in sharing and providing feedback; develops communication plans to ensure effective transparency and involvement throughout the organization; able to present complex issues appropriately for a target audience; maintains communication with all staff and stakeholders
• Execution & Initiative: Drives a high performance culture, having the ability to differentiate performance and demonstrate managerial courage; maintains focus on organizational priorities and sets challenging performance goals for units; invest personal energy and time in building buy-in among key influencers in advance of critical decisions; seeks to ensure that strategic initiatives are effectively executed and communicated to relevant audiences within the organization; encourages an environment in which results surpass activity and teamwork surpasses results; able to remain focused on only mission-related initiatives
• Teamwork/Interpersonal Skills: Builds cohesive teams of people across OSUF based on strong personal trust and relationships; motivates the organization to increase employee engagement levels; constantly assesses and builds team morale; seeks out relationships with experts as a means of obtaining information about best practices and skills vital to departmental and organizational success; maximizes personal networks in different parts of the organization, campus & community partners, and effectively uses contacts to achieve unit results
• Problem Solving/Judgment: Oversees the development of guidelines, principles and approaches; appropriately applies risk management practices, including the escalation of risk issues, and recognizes and undertakes opportunities for others to learn from inevitable mistakes, and incorporates experience in future decisions; able to anticipate problems/challenges and required strategy for a situation; makes connections among previously unrelated ideas and looks beyond the first right answer
• Adaptability/Flexibility: Plays an active role in implementing change; encourages others to challenge the status quo; able to quickly adapt and lead during changing circumstances; foresees potential breakdown in the establishment/development of change and proactively recommends modifications to maintain standards of deliverables; anticipates specific reasons underlying resistance to change and proactively implements approaches to address potential concerns; remains active, visible and engaged throughout all stages of change management
• Courage & Conviction: Takes responsibility for departmental outcomes regardless of success and learns from all results; creates a departmental environment where failure is seen as an opportunity for learning
• Donor Centered: Uses donor and university feedback to improve service and feed into the business planning; builds performance-based business relationships by identifying and meeting donor needs rather than simply relying on social or affiliated relationships
  
  

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Must use a computer terminal and view a computer screen for extended periods of time. Must talk in person or by phone (frequently and sometimes for extended periods) to people on campus and across the country. Must constantly use visual acuity to check printed and designed materials of various types. Must be able to navigate within the OSU Foundation. Typical office working conditions.