Controller

Job Description

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic graduate school and seminary, serving Dominican friars, other religious, seminarians, and priests, as well as lay students. The Thomistic Institute is also part of the PFIC.

As Controller, you'll support 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. You'll report to the Chief Operating Officer (COO).

This is a hands-on, individual-contributor accounting role for a small administrative staff: you'll process the institution's full transaction volume and run weekly payroll cycles, 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 an onsite role. Employment requires residency in the greater Washington (DMV) metro area. The PFIC is located in the Dominican House of Studies, close to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Catholic University of America.

This role is well-suited for a meticulous, self-sufficient accountant who takes real ownership over the institution's books, is comfortable running financial systems independently, and finds satisfaction in the steady work of accurate records, clean reconciliations, useful reporting, and dependable controls.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

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.

WHO YOU ARE

Strengths and Temperament

• You're precise and detail-oriented, comfortable serving as a critical line of defense on accuracy across high transaction volume.
• You're comfortable being hands-on across the full range of accounting and financial functions day-to-day, in an environment currently without dedicated/full-time support staff.
• You can hold things together. You bring order, discipline, and efficiency gains to processes as a matter of habit, not because you're asked to.
• You communicate clearly with non-financial colleagues and institutional leadership.
• You take ownership of the books and the controls environment as if they were your own, even when the work is behind-the-scenes.
• You feel called to use your accounting and financial expertise to serve a faithful Catholic educational institution.

Qualifications

• As a representative of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph and the PFIC, 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.
• 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.
• Proficiency with-or ability to quickly develop 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 is a plus. .
• Familiarity with ADP or comparable payroll and HR information systems is a plus.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

•Salary: $110,000 - $130,000. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience and qualifications. Offers toward the top are uncommon and reserved for exceptional candidates with directly relevant experience.
This is a full-time, salaried role with medical and dental coverage, a 403(b) retirement plan, and paid vacation.
•In addition to paid vacation and most public holidays, the PFIC provides paid leave for select Catholic Solemnities (e.g., the Triduum, St. Joseph's Day, the Immaculate Conception) and an extended Christmas Break (Dec. 21 - Jan. 2).

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.