Financial Accounting Data Specialist

Location

Augusta University
Our Health Sciences Campus: 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912
Our Summerville Campus: 2500 Walton Way, Augusta, GA 30904

The Controller's Division Missions are:
Account for all financial resources and provide advice to administrators, faculty, and students to support the University's overall mission of instruction, research, and healthcare services;
Manage the investment of all University funds to ensure maximization return on investments;
Receive and deposit all funds due to the University in a timely manner;
Ensure compliance with both internal and external regulations, policies and procedures;
Maintain and process the University payroll, accounts payable, and travel disbursements efficiently, accurately, and timely;
Prepare financial and statistical information to the University management, federal and state agencies, and other interested parties;
Maintain the University's accounting and financial reporting systems.

The Financial Accounting Data Specialist serves as a technical expert within Financial Accounting and Reporting, responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining advanced financial reporting and analytics solutions. This role supports the institution’s financial reporting functions by integrating and analyzing complex data across enterprise systems to ensure accuracy, consistency, and compliance with GAAP, GASB, and regulatory requirements. The position focuses on enhancing financial reporting capabilities through data modeling, automation, and business intelligence tools, while providing meaningful insights to finance leadership.

Operating with a high degree of autonomy, this role plays a key part in strengthening data governance, improving reporting efficiency, and ensuring the integrity and reliability of financial data used for institutional and external reporting.

• Financial Reporting & Analysis
  • Lead the preparation, analysis, and distribution of recurring financial reports (e.g., monthly, quarterly, and annual) for department, university leadership, and state reporting.
  • Support and enhance the preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP and applicable higher education reporting standards.
  • Design, develop, and maintain complex financial reports, dashboards, and data visualizations using business intelligence tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, or similar) to support financial reporting, improve data accessibility, and communicate trends, variances, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
  • Perform detailed financial analysis, including trend and variance analysis, to support accurate and timely financial reporting and explain fluctuations in revenues, expenses, and fund balances.
  • Respond to complex and high‑level ad hoc reporting requests.
  • Extract, validate, and reconcile data information from multiple systems (finance, HR, Banner, etc.) to support comprehensive financial reporting.
  • Ensure alignment between reporting outputs and official financial records and systems of record.
  • Analyze large and complex datasets to identify trends, discrepancies, and data quality issues; communicate findings to finance leadership.
  • Partner with leaders within the department to define reporting needs and deliver actionable insights.
• System & Process Improvement
  • Design, develop, and implement new financial, operational, and ad hoc reports to support evolving business needs.
  • Gather and analyze requirements to ensure new reports deliver actionable insights and meet functional and analytical objectives.
  • Test and validate new reports for accuracy, completeness, and compliance prior to deployment.
  • Create documentation and deliver training to promote proper usage and understanding of reports across the organization.
  • Support and improve ERP reporting functionality, including system testing and optimization aligned with financial reporting needs.
  • Enhance reporting automation and data accuracy through system optimization and process improvements.
  • Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to ensure data integrity and consistency across reporting platforms.
  • Document and maintain reporting procedures, data definitions, and…