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Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is one of the largest school districts in the United States, serving over 320,000 students in 600+ schools and employing approximately 40,000 people, most of them teachers. CPS has set ambitious goals to ensure that every student, in every school and every neighborhood, has access to a world-class learning experience that prepares each for success in college, career, and civic life.  In order to fulfill this mission, we make three commitments to our students, their families, and all Chicagoans: academic progress, financial stability, and integrity.  Six core values are embedded within these commitments – student-centered, whole child, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning.

The Office of the Controller maintains the fiscal integrity of Chicago Public Schools and provides financial leadership to the Chicago Board of Education according to state and federal legislation, government regulations, Board policies, and sound financial practices. Within the office, the Corporate Accounting team is responsible for managing financial operations and providing timely, accurate, and relevant financial reporting for the District.

Job Summary: 

Under the direction of the Accounting Manager of Capital Fixed Assets and Revenues, the Accountant, Fixed Assets is responsible for timeliness, accuracy and daily, monthly and annual maintenance of the general ledger. The Accountant – Fixed Assets will primarily support the integrity of the processing and recording of capital and fixed assets and related transactions and provide support related to the processing and recording of payables and payroll accounts, property tax revenues, cash and other bank accounts, as well as other revenue and expense transactions. The role also requires to provide support for the annual financial audit and other regulatory audits, to prepare various audit schedules and workpapers and assist in the preparation of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and the Annual Financial Report (AFR).

The Accountant will be held accountable for the following responsibilities:

• Review invoices for purchases of capital/fixed assets and process transactions within the Oracle subledgers and/or other platforms for the Districts inventory of assets.
• Timely and accurate preparation and submission of various cash, property tax, payables and/or payroll related journals.
• Prepare daily and monthly bank reconciliations for large complex bank accounts, with supporting schedules and narrative notes/explanations.  Investigate and resolve variances. 
• Support the District’s Cash and Investment operation by completing the assigned Daily and Monthly processes, i.e. Monitor items being processed by our check voids and/or replacement processes. Communicate item/issue status with other CPS Offices, Departments, and Divisions. 
• Prepare monthly general ledger account reconciliations and analyses, and/or subledger processes that support the financial and operational activity posted to the general ledger. 
• Identify transactions within bank statements/electronic extracts and other documents and develop journal entries to correct and/or adjust balances.
• Perform accounting duties to properly allocate revenues and expenses to the correct and appropriate units, funds, accounts, programs, grants and/or fiscal year within the general ledger.
• Assist in the preparation of monthly and quarterly financial statements, the ACFR and the Annual Financial Report submitted to ISBE.
• Assist in the annual external audit and internal audits by preparing assigned PBC (prepared by client) audit schedules. 

In order to be successful and achieve the above responsibilities, the Accountant must possess the following qualifications: 

Education Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Accounting, Finance, or Business Administration with an Accounting concentration

Experience Required: 

• Minimum of two (2) years of professional experience in Accounting, Auditing and/or Financial Reporting
• Previous experience in Bank, G/L account, and fixed asset reconciliations is preferred. 

 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, including Excel, Word and PowerPoint; Oracle Financials, SQL programming language preferred.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret general business periodicals, websites, professional journals, technical procedures, or governmental regulations.  
• Ability to write reports, business correspondence, procedure manuals, and emails.  
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers, school personnel, and the general public.
• Ability to apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations.
• Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. 
•  Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Certificates and Licenses:

• Valid CPA license is highly preferred

Conditions of Employment

As a condition of employment with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), employees are required to:

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency -Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.
• Be Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19 -Unless approved for a medical or religious exemption, all employees are required to be up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters, and to submit proof of vaccination to the district within 30 days of hire. “Up-to-date” on vaccination is defined as being at least two weeks past all primary vaccine doses and any applicable boosters.