Controller

The University of Minnesota is the state’s land-grant university and one of the most prestigious public research universities in the nation. We’re ranked by Forbes as one of the 10 best educational employers in the nation and currently have an extraordinary leadership opportunity within University Finance.

The University of Minnesota seeks a proven financial leader to provide strategic direction, leadership, and operational excellence as the University’s Controller. The Controller reports directly to the Associate Vice President and Assistant CFO. This position is responsible for the Controller’s Office budget of approximately $16 million and provides management and leadership to 8 direct reports and approximately 130 indirect reports within the Office of the Controller.

This position is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota at our Twin Cities campus, but will serve all five system campuses and support the University’s critical financial needs. The Controller will provide leadership and strategy development for system-wide financial management and controls through the Controller's Office, to include general accounting, financial reporting, accounts receivable, accounts payable, billing, procurement, asset management, payroll accounting, financial systems support, and internal/external sales. The Controller ensures the integrity of the University's annual report and financial statements, and compliance with financial policy and procedures via oversight and monitoring activities. The person in this role will work closely with senior leaders from across the colleges and 5 campuses, as well as key system offices including the Office of the Vice President for Human Resources, Office of the Vice President for Research, Office of Student Finance, and other system units, to accomplish institutional goals and increase operational efficiencies. 

Major functions reporting to the Controller include; 

• System-wide internal controls, financial policy development, processes, and procedures 
• Central accounting processes - treasury & endowment accounting, bank account reconciliations, general chart of accounts maintenance, recording and tracking of capital assets
• Accounting, financial reporting, invoicing, and collections for both sponsored projects, non sponsored accounts receivable, and internal/external sales activities 
• Purchasing, travel, purchasing cards, and accounts payable
• Oversight of a team of business analysts who provide support for the University's PeopleSoft enterprise financial system 

Job Responsibilities: 

University-wide Financial Operations & Management 

• Ensure that the current and future needs of the University’s financial functions are met in the most effective and efficient manner possible. 
• Protect University-wide assets by guiding Controller’s Office leadership in financial and operational and system decisions/ implementations; establishing, monitoring, and enforcing University-wide financial policies, procedures, and internal controls. 
• Analyze, summarize, and report financial information, activities, and trends to inform leadership on the health of the University's financial condition and operations. 
• Oversee development, implementation, and guidance of annual objectives and long-range strategies for the Controller’s Office and University-wide financial reporting and training. 

University-wide Campus outreach 

• Prepare/approve and/or present materials for Board of Regents meetings as assigned or requested.
• Consult with and advise University senior leadership, faculty, and staff on system-wide financial challenges/opportunities. 
• Work collaboratively and effectively across the University financial community to create and implement university wide solution-oriented initiatives that support the university’s mission and strategic plan and promote effective and efficient practices. 
• Coordinate and communicate relevant financial information and strategic initiatives between the Controller’s Office and other university support and academic unit leadership. 
• Contribute to University-wide initiatives by serving on planning committees, governance councils, advisory committees, hiring committees, RFP reviews, emergency management teams, etc. as requested or needed.

University-wide Data Integrity/System Support 

• Provide high-level guidance to the Business Process Owners for the Enterprise Financial System and financial reports/data. 
• Oversee the implementation of systems required to support financial responsibilities and ensure accurate, timely accounting data for query and reporting purposes.
• Set institutional policy, maintain integrations and plan future enhancements/implementations related to enterprise systems, in collaboration with other enterprise system owners (student, human resources, portal) and the Office of Institutional technology.

Serves as the strategic leader and sets the vision for the Controller’s Office and the respective financial functions. 

• Empowers the Controller’s Office leadership in managing their business processes and individual units. 
• Collaborates with other University support and academic units on strategic and financial initiatives and opportunities to ensure efficient use of current or new University resources while providing a high level of customer service.
• Develop and manage the $16 million budgets for the Controller’s Office units.

Financial Reporting & External Audit Management 

• Institutional responsibility for external financial reporting - various annual and interim financial reports (Financial Statements, Schedule of Federal Awards, Composite Financial Index, etc). 
• Oversight for annual and ad hoc compliance audits by external auditors and sponsoring entities.

Development of Financial Professionals 

• Develop talents and expertise of Controller’s Office leadership and recruit and retain a diverse staff of well-qualified and high-performing professionals. 
• Collaborate and oversee the financial training and reporting initiatives that support the financial development of university-wide finance professionals.

Required Qualifications (please document on the resume):

• BA/BS degree in Business, Accounting, Finance, or other related field OR a combination of related education and/or work experience to equal 15 years. This experience should include organizations that use PeopleSoft, SAP, Oracle, Workday, or other similarly complex enterprise systems for financial management and reporting.
• Demonstrated experience successfully supervising a large, diverse workforce. 
• Financial management experience in a large-scale, complex, decentralized organization.
• Demonstrated track record of working collaboratively to achieve goals.
• Knowledge of relevant federal and state regulations and current trends, developments, and best practices relative to the field of financial accounting, reporting, and financial operations.
• Commitment to and a track record of supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to work effectively and collaboratively across organizational lines.
• Strong influencing and persuasion skills, which are critical to being successful in a matrixed organization.

Preferred Qualifications (please document on the resume):

• CPA certification or MBA.
• Higher education finance and accounting experience.
• An understanding of the nature of externally-funded sponsored projects in a higher education institution, and the related financial controls and accounting processes critical  to effective, compliant sponsored project administration.