• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Standard Work Schedule: full time
• Building:
• Salary Range: $80,000-$85,000 annually

Position Summary

The Senior Accountant, Tax is a member of the University's Tax Department and participates in overall tax compliance including Forms 990, 990-T, 4720, 1120, sales tax, excise tax, and unclaimed property compliance, and departmental advisory efforts. 

Responsibilities

Reporting to the Associate Director, Tax, the Senior Accountant will:

• prepare a series of Form 990, 990-T, 4720 & 1120, including preparing tax adjustment workpapers, collecting and analyzing financial or operational information for Form 990, analyzing and tracking complex financial instruments reported on Form 990-T, preparing informational reporting for foreign operations, and summarizing tax reporting information to upper management,  
• responsible for tracking all tax filing deadlines, for ensuring that the tax team meets these deadlines for multiple tax related filings, for staying updated on changes in tax legislation and assisting with assessing impacts on the university’s tax position, and for managing communication with other internal departments,  
• play a strong role in sales tax filing which requires strong understanding of relevant state laws associated with sales tax matters,
• assist in performing various duties associated with unclaimed property outreach and reporting,
• assisting the Executive Director, Tax and Associate Directors in University consulting matters associated with central administrative and academic departments, assisting in internal process improvements,
• performing other related duties and special projects as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and/or its equivalent, preferably in Accounting or Finance.
• Three to five years related experience. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in Public Accounting, Tax, or Non-profit Finance preferred.
• Knowledge in robotic process automation and programming languages such as Python preferred.

Other Requirements

• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access, Visio), along with tracker software experience required. 

• Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills, including active listening skills and a high level of attention to detail, plus the ability to convey complex tax concepts to a diverse group of university administrators required. 

• Demonstrated ability to operate successfully in a complex organization, to work in a high pressure, fast-paced environment and ability to meet deadlines is required. 

• Strong technical skills in financial analysis, reporting and accounting, along with demonstrated analytical skills to examine processing problems and develop reasonable and practical solutions, required.    

• Must have a deep understanding of tax laws related to the University’s various tax compliance filings. 

• Must have a passion for excellent customer service and commitment to exceptional quality.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.