Controller, Accounting, Financial Reporting

Salary Range: $90,000.00 To $95,000.00 Annually

Controller - Opportunity Statement

Reports to

Assistant Head of School for Finance (CFO)
· no direct reports at hire; supervision and expanded scope are realistic growth opportunities

Status

Full-time, 12-month, exempt ·
hybrid — up to half of each week remote
, on-site days coordinated with the HR Officer (shared office)

$90,000 - $95,000, commensurate with experience, plus benefits summary

Start

Ideally before November 1 to observe the fiscal year 2026 audit

The Fay School is an independent, non-profit day school in Houston serving 330 students with 77 faculty and staff and a $14 million operating budget, in the midst of a $15 million capital campaign for a building project breaking ground within the year. The project is expected to be funded from the school's own liquidity and campaign receipts rather than borrowing.

The Business Office is the CFO, a Human Resources Officer who administers payroll and benefits, and an Accounts Payable Officer who handles purchasing and payments. The school's monthly close, reconciliations, audit preparation, and Form 990 work papers are currently performed by a contract CPA.
That engagement ends June 30, 2027, and the Controller is hired to replace it
, with a deliberately generous overlap: observe a full audit cycle, then prepare a year's work with the CPA reviewing, before carrying it alone.

The Controller owns the general ledger, the close, and financial reporting; carries campaign and construction accounting through the project; and prepares the audit for the school's external firm. The role also puts in-house review between the colleagues who execute payroll, disbursements, and receivables and the CFO who approves them. This is hands-on work in a small office — the Controller does it personally, and has the standing to improve how it is done.

Trajectory

The school intends this position to grow. For a Controller who performs, the scope can expand over time toward broader business office leadership, supervision of the accounting function, greater involvement in human resources, benefits, compliance, and risk management, and direct work with the Head of School, the Finance Committee, and the Board. The school makes no commitment to a particular future role, but a candidate who aspires beyond the controllership will find genuine room here, and the capital project offers experience that does not come along often.

Stage 1 — Start through November 2026: observe a full audit cycle

• Work alongside the contract CPA through the fiscal year 2026 audit and Form 990 and 5500 work papers, documenting every schedule and the judgments behind it. This is the only audit the Controller will see someone else prepare.
• Inventory every recurring reconciliation, bank and reserve accounts, credit cards, Clarity tuition and financial aid, pledges, payroll clearing, and identify what exists only in the CPA's working files.
• Complete two monthly closes under the CPA's process; meet with the HR and A/P Officers, Advancement, Admissions, and the audit firm to learn hand-offs.

Stage 2 — December 2026 through June 2027: prepare, with review available

• Close each month as preparer, delivering financial statements to the CFO within [10] business days with budget-to-actual commentary on material lines; hold all reconciliations current on a documented schedule.
• Produce monthly campaign and design-and-construction reports that tie to the general ledger, Advancement's pledge records, and contractor applications for payment, and reconcile pledges and gift income with Advancement monthly.
• Deliver a rolling cash-flow and liquidity forecast modeling construction draws against tuition receipts, pledge payments, and reserve balances,…