Junior Accountant

Job Description

Junior Accountant | Stony Brook University

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at Stony Brook University, located in Stony Brook, NY. Stony Brook University is a premier public university committed to academic excellence, research, and public service, providing a vibrant educational and working environment. The Junior Accountant plays a crucial role in maintaining financial integrity and compliance with SUNY policies, serving as a key resource for stakeholders regarding State transactions and guidelines. This position is essential for the accurate gathering, analysis, and reconciliation of complex financial information, directly supporting the university’s operational efficiency and mission to excel in education and research.

The TL;DR
• Role: Early Career
• Type: Full-time
• Location: In-person, Stony Brook, NY
• Team: Accounting Services
• Mission: Responsible for performing various accounting duties consistent with SUNY policies and principles, acting as a key resource for State transactions and guidelines, and analyzing complex financial information.
• Tech Stack: PeopleSoft Finance, Oracle Finance, Microsoft Office Suite, MS Excel, MS Word, SUNY FMS, MS Access

What You’ll Actually Do
• Rate Development & Maintenance: Develop conference rates for departments and maintain a comprehensive database for IFR rate-related information.
• Process Payroll Transactions & Stakeholder Management: Review PDME/Payroll and Expense transactions, collaborating with departments, VP areas, and Human Resources to resolve system errors and issues, acting as a liaison, and importing files to SUNY FMS.
• Chart of Account & Policy Maintenance: Assist with the maintenance of all Chart of Accounts (SBAM, PeopleSoft, & SUNY), including all level tables, ensure COA documents are loaded to PeopleSoft, and support the review and submission of requests to SUNY for new accounts and changes.
• Departmental Liaison: Answer departmental questions regarding reports and accounting transactions, providing essential support to university stakeholders.
• Transaction Reconciliation & Troubleshooting: Review and reconcile pass-through recharge accounts to ensure transactions are processed appropriately, and work with relevant areas to correct and prevent financial anomalies.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Bachelor’s degree (foreign equivalent or higher) in Accounting, Finance, or a related field, establishing a foundational understanding of financial principles.
• Experience: One year of professional, full-time experience specifically working with financial reconciliations, demonstrating practical application of accounting principles; alternatively, a CPA candidate who has passed all four exams may be considered. This role also requires professional experience working with a financial database management system such as PeopleSoft Finance or Oracle Finance.
• Skills: Advanced computer skills, including extensive knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, specifically MS Excel for data analysis and MS Word for documentation and reporting.
• Bonus: Experience in an accounting role, familiarity with Oracle/PeopleSoft platforms, an additional year of professional, full-time experience working with financial reconciliations, and professional experience running queries in relational databases like MS Access.