High School Accountant

The organization's core purpose is to equip saints for life in this world and the next.

High School Accountant

West Catholic Preparatory High School

4501 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19139

Overview of High School

Founded in 1916, West Catholic Preparatory High School has enjoyed a rich history and a century-plus of educating the community spiritually, academically, and through extra-curricular programs, improving the lives of students and families in the surrounding community. The challenging academic curriculum, competitive athletics program, and engaging activities complement each other to foster courage, character, and leadership.

West Catholic Preparatory High School Mission Statement

West Catholic Preparatory High School is a Catholic community of academic excellence in an urban environment that is open to an interdenominational population. The school’s rigorous spiritual, academic, technological, and co-curricular programs develop our ethnically and religiously diverse student body into young men and women of strong moral and ethical character. West Catholic prepares each student to face the challenges of everyday life in an ever-changing global society.

West Catholic Preparatory High School Belief Statement

At West Catholic Preparatory Catholic High, we believe our education...

• Inspires a life-long commitment to service, especially to those in need.
• Is grounded in the Catholic message of gospel values.
• Is a ministry that participates in God’s saving work.
• Develops each person’s full potential-spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically.
• Inspires a life-long commitment to service, especially to those in need.
• Promotes learning in a collaborative effort between home and school.
• Fosters mutual respect among students, teachers, administrators, and all members of the school community.
• Should be made available to all students regardless of ethnicity, religious affiliation, or socioeconomic status.
• Encourages respect for and an understanding of our multicultural family.
• The challenging academic curriculum, competitive athletics program, and engaging activities complement each other to foster courage, character, and leadership.

Position Summary

This position manages financial planning, accounting and reporting, compliance with financial policies, fund management, student tuition management and local review of payroll and benefits.

The position requires collaboration with the school’s President and other members of the school staff as well as with staff of Educational Financial Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Periodic reporting on the budget, financial statements and other issues to the school’s Board is also an essential function of the position.

Responsibilities:

Financial Planning

• Functions as a key member of the President’s Leadership team providing advice on business issues, monitoring budgets, and providing long range financial planning.
• Collaborates with the board and the school administration in the financial planning necessary to meet objectives for enrollment management, development and fund-raising, personnel planning, technology planning, and facility planning.
• Develops and monitors key business metrics to assist the President and the Board to ensure that the school is on target to achieve goals and objectives.
• Proactively analyzes business operations to make recommendations to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen operations.

Budgeting

• Prepares, on a timely basis, budgets that aligns with the school’s long- term plans in conjunction with the President and the Board Finance Committee.
• Ensures that the budget follows instructions from Educational Financial Services and that estimates are reasonable and sound.
• Ensures that key stakeholders at the school are involved in the budgeting process, including the President, Principal, Department Heads, Admissions Director, Director of Institutional Advancement (DIA), Maintenance Supervisor and other personnel as needed.
• Responsible for analyzing the need for tuition assistance and properly budget for funding to ensure that enrollment goals are achieved.

Accounting, Reporting and Daily Operations

• Records, classifies, and summarizes financial transactions in the accounting system in accordance with policies and procedures and generally accepted accounting principles.
• Assists the DIA with the proper classification of pledges and gifts. Reconciles the sub-ledger for development to the general ledger and resolves differences with the Director of Institutional Advancement.
• Develops requests for proposals for key school purchases. Develops a Purchase Order system or other controls to ensure that all purchases are properly authorized.
• Promptly reports all insurance claims and collaborates with local personnel and Archdiocesan personnel to follow up on all claims.
• Reviews and codes invoices daily for recording in the accounting system, manages accounts payable and cash flow.
• Manages files and records in accordance with record retention guidelines.
• Assists with the onboarding of new employees into Archdiocesan High School payroll system, submission of stipend/seasonal payroll, and distribution of benefits enrollment materials.
• Prepares and reviews monthly and annual financial statements and supporting schedules. Provides a variance analysis with all financial statements for the President and the Board and develops an action plan to address these variances.
• Prepares the school’s annual financial report and cooperates with external auditors for the annual examination of the school’s financial records.

Financial Controls

• Understands and enforces financial policies and procedures established by the Office of Catholic Education. Recommends additional local policies needed to help operate the school and safeguard assets and ensure transparency of business operations.
• Ensures that individuals handling funds at the school level understand and implement internal controls established for funds management.
• Reports irregularities and suspected fraud to the Chief Financial Officer for Education or to another official at the archdiocese.

Funds Management

• Collects, deposits funds and records transactions in the accounting system on a timely basis.
• Monitors and reconciles all bank and investment statements to the general ledger of the accounting system monthly.
• Ensures the proper management and documentation of unrestricted, temporarily restricted, and permanently restricted funds in accordance with generally accepted accounting procedures.
• Allocates the annual budget properly to each month and ensures that cash flow is adequate to ensure smooth operations.

Student Tuition Management

• This position will be responsible for the Student Tuition Management system and will oversee a part-time tuition manager who will assist in the following responsibilities:
• Ensure that all students are in the Tuition Management System, and they have been properly billed and have received credit for any grants, scholarships, or other discounts.
• Ensure that enrollment in the Tuition Management System reconciles with enrollment in the Student Information System(s).
• Assist the school’s president in awarding need-based grants to families who have applied for tuition assistance.
• Collect cash payments from parents for entry into the Tuition Management System and prepare bank deposits for tuition and fees collected at school as required by policy.
• Coordinate, prepare and review all necessary reports to complete tuition reconciliation.
• Respond to parent questions regarding tuition, documenting responses in the Tuition Management System.
• Enforce school and system policies concerning Tuition and Fees collection.
• Follow up regularly with families who are behind in payment of tuition to collect the funds due the school.
• Prepare all necessary reports required during the annual audit of tuition records.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• BS in Accounting required.
  • MBA preferred
• CPA is a plus
• The candidate must have a minimum of one-year experience in accounting

Other Skills

• Strong interpersonal skills, ability to communicate and manage well at all levels of the organization. Must have the executive presence to maintain the confidence of the school’s board.
• Strong problem solving and creative skills and the ability to exercise sound judgment and make decisions based on accurate and timely analyses.
• High level of integrity and dependability with a strong sense of urgency and results-orientation.  Must be able to keep confidentiality when required.
• PC proficiency is essential (Windows environment) and strong working knowledge of Excel is preferred. Must be proficient in accounting software applications.

The intent of this job description is to provide the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of this position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

High School Accountant is a Full time 12-month position

Candidates interested in the position of High School Accountant should send their cover letter, resume, and salary requirement to Maureen Fisher, Educational Financial Services at Archdiocese of Philadelphia

E-Mail: mfisher@archphila.org

The deadline to apply is June 26, 2024.

PA required clearances and official transcripts will be required before employment can begin.

As a religious organization, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is also bound by Canon Law and Catholic teachings.  For this reason, there may be occasions when an employee’s failure to adhere to the truths of the Catholic faith are a factor in employment-related decisions.  In the event an employee fails to adhere to, or takes a position publicly that is contrary to, Catholic doctrine and teachings, or any policy or procedure maintained by the Archdiocese, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

Employment practices will not be influenced by an individual’s legally protected status or any other basis as may be required by local, state and/or federal law as those laws apply to the Archdiocese.

Any employee with questions or concerns about any type of discrimination in the workplace is encouraged to bring these issues to the attention of Human Resources.  Employees can raise concerns and make reports without fear of reprisal.  Anyone found to be engaging in any type of unlawful discrimination will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applications without regards to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact the Office of Catholic Education at 215-587-3700.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

In keeping with Church teachings on social justice, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity.  This policy governs all aspects of employment, including but not limited to hiring, job selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination, benefits and access to training.

As a religious organization, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is also bound by Canon Law and Catholic teachings.  For this reason, there may be occasions when an employee’s failure to adhere to the truths of the Catholic faith are a factor in employment-related decisions.  In the event an employee fails to adhere to, or takes a position publicly that is contrary to, Catholic doctrine and teachings, or any policy or procedure maintained by the Archdiocese, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

Employment practices will not be influenced by an individual’s legally protected status or any other basis as may be required by local, state and/or federal law as those laws apply to the Archdiocese. 

Any employee with questions or concerns about any type of discrimination in the workplace is encouraged to bring these issues to the attention of Human Resources.  Employees can raise concerns and make reports without fear of reprisal.  Anyone found to be engaging in any type
of unlawful discrimination will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment