Controller

Job Description

The Controller supports institutional planning, compliance, and financial accountability by maintaining robust internal controls, producing accurate and timely financial reports, and serving as a knowledgeable resource across all areas of institutional finance.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), this is a hands-on, individual-contributor accounting role for a Catholic graduate school with a small administrative staff.

The Controller processes the institution's full transaction volume and runs payroll cycles weekly, while also maintaining the books and controls environment and working with the COO to ensure compliance with relevant federal, state, and local regulations.

This is a full-time, in-office role based at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Employment requires residency in the greater Washington (DMV) metro area.

Key Responsibilities

Accounting & Financial Reporting

• Maintain the general ledger and ensure the accuracy and completeness of all financial records in accordance with GAAP and applicable FASB standards.
• Manage month-end and year-end close processes, including the preparation and posting of journal entries, accruals, deferrals, and reconciliations.
• Process and maintain all accounts receivable and accounts payable, ensuring timely and accurate recording of transactions.
• Reconcile bank accounts and investment accounts, investigating and resolving discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Produce financial statements for review by the President, senior leaders, and members of the Board of Trustees and Board of Overseers.

Payroll & Benefits Administration

• Process institutional payroll accurately and on schedule, subject to executive approval, ensuring compliance with all applicable wage and tax laws.
• Maintain and process all employee tax-related data, including withholding, reporting, and year-end W-2 preparation.
• Administer employer contributions to 403(b) retirement accounts.
• Respond to and process federal and District of Columbia tax requests and inquiries in a timely manner.

Billing, Invoicing & Vendor Compliance

• Generate, send, and process student tuition payment invoices, tracking collections and following up on outstanding balances in coordination with the Registrar.
• Manage the institutional bill approval process, routing invoices through appropriate approvers and maintaining a clear audit trail for all disbursements.
• Prepare various invoices for payment, schedule reminders, and ensure vendors are paid in accordance with agreed terms.
• Prepare and file annual 1099 forms for applicable vendors and contractors, and 1098-T forms for qualifying students, in compliance with IRS requirements and filing deadlines.

Internal Controls & Audit

• Monitor internal financial controls.
• Ensure financial operations comply with GAAP, applicable FASB guidance, and all federal, DC, and accreditation-related financial requirements.
• Manage the annual audit process, serving as the primary liaison with external auditors.
• Maintain financial records in accordance with applicable legal and institutional retention requirements.

Budgeting and Planning Support

• Collaborate with the President, Chief Operating Officer, and other leaders to prepare the annual institutional budget.
• Monitor actual expenditures against budget.
• Assist the Dean and Registrar with financial reporting and data required for accreditation reports and institutional self-studies as needed.
• Collaborate with the COO and other institutional stakeholders on financial planning, reporting, and special projects as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a closely related field; CPA or progress toward CPA designation preferred.
• A minimum of three years of progressively responsible experience in accounting or financial management, preferably in a nonprofit, higher education, or mission-driven organizational context.
• Knowledge of GAAP and FASB standards.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage high transaction volume independently.
• Comfortable working on accounting/financial operations in a small team environment, with no dedicated AP, payroll, or accounting support staff at present.
• Proficiency with Sage Intacct.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, including the ability to build and maintain financial models, reconciliations, and reporting workbooks.
• Knowledge of Bill.com and Expensify.
• Familiarity with ADP or comparable payroll and HR information systems is a plus.
• Commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition and motivation to spread the faith by evangelization.

The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies is an institution sponsored by the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph. The person holding this position will represent the PFIC and the Dominican friars in public, will bear witness to and teach the Catholic faith, and will at times participate in (and even lead others in) Catholic prayers. Applicants must be practicing Catholics in good standing who assent to and profess the Catholic faith in its entirety as presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Members of the PFIC team are encouraged to participate in the regular liturgical life of the Dominican friars (e.g., step away from work for Mass, the daily midday rosary, the divine office, etc.).

Benefits: Medical, dental, retirement plan, paid vacation. In addition, PFIC employees receive paid leave for most public holidays and select Catholic Solemnities (e.g., the Triduum, St. Joseph's Day, Immaculate Conception), plus Dec. 21-Jan. 2 for the Christmas/New Year's holiday.

About the Employer

As a Roman Catholic pontifical institution belonging to the Order of Preachers and serving its evangelizing mission, enriched by the study of sacred doctrine, the Dominican House of Studies has as its primary purpose to provide a theological education that prepares students for ordained ministry in the Province of St. Joseph.

In this endeavor, it is faithful to the fullness of the magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church and committed to communicating that teaching in full. It takes St. Thomas Aquinas as its privileged teacher, in dialogue with contemporary thought.