Associate Vice President for Finance

Posting Details

Position Information

Position Title

Associate Vice President for Finance

Position Type

Administrator

Job Number

SA2442122

Full or Part Time

Full Time

Employee Status

Regular

Posting Date

06/02/0022

Position Summary Information

Job Description Summary

Reporting to the new Vice President of Finance, the Associate Vice President of Finance will provide support to the daily operations of the Financial Services Office. In addition, this key executive will assist by providing direction, training and supervision of staff. The Associate Vice President of Finance will provide assistance to the university’s budget planning and development, ensuring all policies, processes and systems are in implemented and executed. The Associate Vice President of Finance will work closely with senior administrators in Financial Services to support and carry out Chapman’s financial goals, using various financial models to analyze and forecast budget control.

Responsibilities

The successful Associate Vice President for Finance candidate will:

• Participate in the development of timely and useful financial models and reports including income and expenditures, trend analyses, forecasting, resource reallocation scenarios, and performance analytics.
• Prepare and present complex annual financial reports, statements and/or projections.
• Provide operational direction and staff oversight in the Financial Services Office.
• In collaboration with senior administrators in Financial Services, assist the Vice President in carrying out goals of the Financial Services Office and University’s financial goals.
• Strategically collaborate with the Audit Committee and Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees.
• Conduct research across a broad spectrum of financial, investment and business operations in support of a wide variety of University activities.
• Review current accounting and budgeting systems, processes and procedures to ensure compliance with audit requirements and applicable policies, rules, and regulations
• Recommend and ensure implementation of corrective action, policy improvements and/or procedural changes, as appropriate.
• Evaluate requests for new fiscal practices to ensure efficient control and utilization of financial resources.
• Participate in the planning and development of the University’s budget and financial policies, processes, and systems.
• Interact with internal and external auditors, participate in auditing projects, or provide information and access to accounting records as required.
• Approve cash disbursements through check approvals and wire transfer authorizations. Review all bank reconciliations.
• Monitor and evaluate programmatic and operational effectiveness, and implement changes required for improvement.
• Oversee staff recruitment, training and supervision; evaluate performance, make recommendations for human resources actions, and motivate employees to achieve peak productivity and performance.
• Encourage customer-oriented staff interaction with students, parents, and administrators.
• Chapman is deeply committed to a unique business model and favors the quantitative results of the 5-year strategic plan for decision-making. The successful candidate must be comfortable making and executing financial decisions quickly in an environment that acts like a for-profit.
• Participate in national and regional professional organization leadership to improve the visibility of Chapman.

Required Qualifications

Education/Certification

• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting or related field of Business, or equivalent combination of experience and education.
• Master’s Degree in Finance/Accounting or a related field.
• CPA

Knowledge and Work Experience

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience in financial oversight of a medium size company.
• Minimum of five years’ experience in higher education.
• Expertise in financial and accounting practices and reporting, including Chart of Accounts design, asset management, ledger, budgeting, payables and receivables, purchasing and expense management.
• Comprehensive working knowledge of GAAP .
• Knowledge of current and emerging trends in financial technologies and analytical tools, and issues.
• Knowledge of federal and state financial regulations, and higher education financial policies and procedures.
• Experience with financial enterprise application systems, such as PeopleSoft Financials modules or similar complex financials systems.

Leadership Skills and Competencies

• Strong communication skills to write, communicate, facilitate and present information to diverse audiences.
• Demonstrated successful analytical skills to research and interpret information, make informed judgment and provide recommendations as well as present complex annual financial reports, statements and or projections.
• Proven ability to recognize and make recommendations to assure effective quality and internal controls and regulatory compliance.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and guide the month-end closing process, which includes the follow-up with colleagues regarding month end-activities and the review of journal entries for posting requirements.
• Strong organizational skills to prioritize duties when faced with interruptions, distractions and fluctuating workload. Ability to complete work in an accurate and timely manner.
• Ability to train, supervise and motivate staff. Supervisory skills to supervise the work of others including planning, assigning and scheduling work as well as reviewing work and ensuring quality standards.
• Ability to handle sensitive issues and facilitate collaboration. Ability to demonstrate tact and diplomacy, maintaining high level of confidentiality.
• Ability to work effectively both as part of a team and independently. Self-starter. Strong interpersonal and communication skills to work with diverse constituents in a customer focus and consensus building manner.
• Skill in examining and re-engineering operations and procedures, formulating policy, and developing and implementing new strategies and procedures.
• Strong technical skills to learn and use enterprise systems and departmental applications needed for the position.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience using recent releases of PeopleSoft applications based solutions, especially of different PeopleSoft Financials modules.

Special Instructions to Applicants

NOMINATION / APPLICATION INFORMATION – Initial screening of applicants will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. WittKieffer has been retained by Chapman University to assist in this search process.

All applications, inquiries and nominations are welcome. Please direct via email to chapmanUAVFinance@wittkieffer.com or by contacting Ben Haden ( bhaden@wittkieffer.com ) or Kati Sweaney ( ksweaney@wittkieffer.com ).

We appreciate nominations or expressions of interest. All communication is strictly confidential.

Minimum Number of References

Maximum Number of References

Pre-screening Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

Applicant Documents
Required Documents

1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

Optional Documents