Sr Financial Accountant

Overview

The University of Georgia is an equal opportunity employer. This posting details the Sr Financial Accountant role within the FD-Payroll department.

• Posting Number: S14667P
• Working Title:
  
  Sr Financial Accountant
• Department: FD-Payroll
• Posting Type:
  External
• Retirement Plan: TRS or ORP
• Employment Type:
  
  Employee
• Benefits Eligibility:
  Benefits Eligible
• Full/Part Time:
  Full Time
• Additional Schedule Information:
  Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm
• Advertised Salary:
  Commensurate with Experience
• Posting Date: 02/04/2026
• Open Until Filled:
  No
• Closing Date: 02/12/2026
• Proposed Starting Date: 03/01/2026
• Location of Vacancy:
  Athens Area

Chartered by the state of Georgia in 1785, the University of Georgia is the birthplace of public higher education in America and the state’s flagship university. The University’s main campus is located in Athens, with extended campuses in Atlanta, Griffin, Gwinnett, and Tifton. UGA employs approximately 3,100 faculty and more than 7,700 full-time staff. The University’s enrollment exceeds 41,000 students, including over 31,000 undergraduates and over 10,000 graduate and professional students.

Academic programs reside in 19 schools and colleges, including our newly established School of Medicine. Visit https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). for more information.

Bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field, or equivalent, and 5 years of professional experience.

• Knowledge of practices and procedures related to payroll administration
• Advanced knowledge of Payroll, Federal, State and Local tax regulations
• Experience with People Soft based HCM software, or other HRMS software programs
• Experience processing payroll in a Higher Education setting

The Senior Financial Accountant position is part of a customer-focused team responsible for oversight and processing of the University of Georgia payroll (approximately 25,500 W-2s generated). Responsibilities include preparation, updating, and maintaining payroll-related records, data files for payroll processing, as well as the resolution of payroll issues and customer service. This position will assist with taxable fringe processing and general ledger liability account reconciliation, the annual escheatment process and unclaimed checks, updating and maintaining retirement deductions and reports, and any necessary journal entries for these actions.

The position will be flexible and able to work in a high-stress, fast-paced environment and meet stringent production deadlines. This role coordinates between USG, the Shared Services Center (SSC), and UGA distributed departments regarding payroll-related issues, including tax-related data and inquiries, account reconciliations, retirement processing, and payroll calculation/confirmation.

• Ability to plan, organize, and schedule duties to meet rigid deadlines and changing priorities
• Detail-oriented with strong interpersonal and collaborative work style
• Ability to work with highly confidential and sensitive information
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Proficient to advanced experience with Microsoft applications
• Excellent research and problem-solving skills
• Verbal and written communication skills
• Customer service skills
• Knowledge of governmental accounting standards, regulations, and procedures
• Knowledge of payroll administration practices and procedures
• Advanced knowledge of Payroll, Federal, State, and Local tax regulations
• Experience with People Soft-based HCM software or other HRMS software programs
• Experience processing payroll in a Higher Education setting

• Updates and maintains Common Remitter for Teachers Retirement System (TRS), analyzes and corrects errors, and proactively analyzes system data to determine pay inconsistencies; serves as backup analyst for Employee Retirement System (ERS) and Georgia Defined Contribution Plan (GDCP)
• Responsible for reconciling payroll general ledger liability accounts, including tax accounts (FICA EE & ER, federal, state, and local taxes), employee payroll accounts receivable, and…