Accounting Manager
Organization: International Scholars Academy (ISA)
Reports To: Director General, with functional accountability to the Chief Financial Officer of the parent organization
Classification: Full-Time, Exempt, 12-Month Position
Location: On-site, Fairfax County, Virginia
Effective: School Year 2026-2027
Position Summary
The Accounting manager leads the accounting and financial operations of International Scholars Academy, an IB World School operating within a portfolio of affiliated nonprofit and educational entities. The role owns the full accounting cycle: tuition and enrollment revenue, accounts payable and receivable, payroll and benefits accounting, month-end and fiscal-year-end close, intercompany reconciliation with affiliated entities, and the preparation of GAAP compliant financial statements for a fiscal year ending May 31.
Beyond transaction processing, the position is expected to function as the Academy's principal financial analyst. The Accounting manager builds the annual operating and capital budgets alongside the Director General, models the financial consequences of enrollment, tuition, staffing, and compensation decisions, and delivers a monthly reporting package that gives the Director General, the Administrative Committee, and the Board the information needed to make decisions rather than simply record history.
The Academy is strengthening its financial infrastructure. The successful candidate will be someone who can operate an accounting function and improve it at the same time: tightening internal controls, documenting procedures, eliminating manual workarounds, and making the Academy audit-ready.
Duties and Responsibilities
Financial Reporting and Close
- Owns the monthly, quarterly, and fiscal-year-end close calendar, including the adjusting journal entry log, accrual and deferral entries, and close checklists with defined owners and due dates.
- Prepares complete GAAP-compliant nonprofit financial statements: Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Activities, Statement of Functional Expenses, Statement of Cash Flows, and footnote disclosures.
- Prepares and reviews all balance sheet account reconciliations monthly, including bank and merchant accounts, receivables, prepaid expenses, fixed assets, accrued liabilities, and deferred revenue.
- Maintains the fixed asset register and depreciation schedules, including the capitalization policy, useful lives, roll-forward, and disposal accounting.
- Delivers a monthly financial reporting package to the Director General and the CFO, including budget-to-actual variance analysis with written explanation of material variances.
- Develops and reports school-specific operating metrics, including revenue and cost per student, instructional versus administrative expense ratios, discount and financial aid rates, staffing ratios, and days of cash on hand.
Tuition, Enrollment Revenue, and Receivables
- Owns the tuition revenue cycle end to end: enrollment contracts, tuition billing, payment plans, application and technology fees, cafeteria and program fees, and ancillary revenue streams.
- Maintains the deferred tuition schedule and ensures revenue is recognized in the correct period in accordance with enrollment contract terms and applicable revenue recognition standards.
- Reconciles tuition revenue to enrollment records each period and investigates variances between the student information system, the tuition management platform, and the general ledger.
- Accounts for tuition discounts, scholarships, and financial aid awards as contra-revenue, and reports on the effective discount rate.
- Manages accounts receivable aging, collections follow-up, delinquency escalation, and the allowance for doubtful accounts, working with Admissions and the Director General on payment arrangements.
- Records and documents contributions, grants, and in-kind gifts, including donor documentation, valuation support, and required disclosure of contributed nonfinancial assets.
Accounts Payable, Procurement, and Disbursements
- Supervises accounts payable processing, vendor onboarding, W-9 collection, expense coding, and the annual 1099 filing cycle.
- Administers the corporate card and expense management program, including cardholder limits, receipt and coding compliance, and monthly review of unsubstantiated spend.
- Enforces purchasing, approval, and contract commitment policies; reviews financial terms of vendor agreements and flags commitments that exceed budget or approval authority.
- Manages cash disbursement schedules, banking platform payment approvals, and treasury coordination with the affiliated portfolio finance office.
Payroll, Benefits, and Compensation Accounting
- Process payroll and oversees payroll accounting for all instructional and administrative staff, including the general ledger interface, allocation across departments and functions, and reconciliation of payroll expense to payroll registers.
- Reconciles payroll tax liabilities to Forms 941, W-2/W-3, and state unemployment and federal unemployment filings, and clears variances promptly.
- Reconciles benefit expense and employee deductions to carrier invoices, and ensures retirement plan contributions are remitted within required timeframes.
- Records accruals for paid time off, summer pay obligations for academic-year contracts, and other compensation-related liabilities.
- Supports the Director General and Human Resources with salary scale modeling, contract cost analysis, and multi-year compensation projections.
Budgeting, Forecasting, and Financial Analysis
- Leads preparation of the annual operating budget and capital budget in coordination with the Director General, Principal, and department heads, building the budget from enrollment projections and staffing plans.
- Builds and maintains rolling cash flow forecasts and multi-year financial projections, including enrollment sensitivity and tuition pricing scenarios.
- Performs financial analysis to support decisions on tuition and fee schedules, program expansion, staffing additions, facility investments, and vendor selection.
- Monitors budget performance throughout the year, identifies emerging shortfalls or surpluses early, and recommends corrective action.
- Prepares financial schedules and analysis for accreditation, authorization, and program review requirements, including those associated with the Academy's international programme and accrediting bodies.
Audit, Tax, and Regulatory Compliance
- Serves as the primary point of contact for external auditors; prepares the year-end close package, lead schedules, and all prepared-by-client deliverables, and resolves audit requests without delay.
- Maintains audit-ready documentation year-round so that supporting schedules, reconciliations, and approvals exist at the time of the transaction rather than at the time of the audit.
- Supports preparation of Form 990 and related informational filings, and provides the underlying functional expense allocation and schedules.
- Ensures compliance with federal, state, and local financial reporting, registration, sales and use tax exemption, and charitable solicitation requirements applicable to the Academy.
- Supports financial compliance for any federal, state, or private grant awards, including budget preparation, cost allowability, drawdown documentation, and funder reporting.
Internal Controls, Systems, and Process Improvement
- Designs, documents, and enforces internal controls across cash receipts, disbursements, payroll, procurement, and journal entry approval, with appropriate segregation of duties for a small finance team.
- Maintains written accounting policies and procedures and a documented chart of accounts, and keeps both current as operations change.
- Administers and continuously improves the Academy's financial systems, including the general ledger platform, payroll system, expense management platform, banking platforms, and the interfaces between the tuition and student information systems and the general ledger.
- Identifies and eliminates manual, spreadsheet-dependent processes in favor of automated, auditable workflows.
- Safeguards the confidentiality and integrity of financial, payroll, and student billing information.
Leadership and Supervision
- Supervises, trains, and evaluates accounting staff, including Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable functions; sets performance expectations and develops staff capability.
- Partners with the Principal, Human Resources, Admissions, Operations, and IT on financial matters that cross functional lines.
- Performs other accounting and financial duties as assigned
Reporting Structure and Supervisory Responsibility
This position reports directly to the Director General of International Scholars Academy, with functional accountability to the Chief Financial Officer of the parent organization on accounting policy, financial reporting standards, close deadlines, systems, and internal controls. The position directly supervises the Academy's accounting staff, including Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable personnel.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a closely related field.
- Minimum of five years of progressive accounting experience, including at least two years supervising staff or owning a full accounting cycle independently.
- Demonstrated ownership of month-end and year-end close, including preparation of financial statements and account reconciliations.
- Working knowledge of U.S. GAAP, with the ability to apply nonprofit accounting standards including net asset classification, functional expense reporting, contribution and in-kind revenue recognition, and deferred revenue.
- Direct experience coordinating an external financial statement audit and preparing auditready supporting schedules.
- Proficiency with a mid-market or enterprise general ledger system and advanced Excel skills, including multi-sheet models, lookup and reference functions, and pivot tables.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving ability, with demonstrated attention to detail and accuracy.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including the ability to explain financial results to non-financial leaders.
- Proven ability to manage competing deadlines, maintain confidentiality, and exercise sound professional judgment.
Preferred Qualifications
- CPA license, CPA candidacy, or an advanced degree in accounting, finance, or business administration.
- Experience in independent school, K-12, higher education, or nonprofit finance, including tuition revenue and enrollment-driven budgeting.
- Experience in a multi-entity environment with intercompany reconciliation, allocations, and consolidated reporting.
- Hands-on experience with Sage Intacct, ADP, Ramp, or comparable general ledger, payroll, and expense management platforms.
- Experience with tuition management, student billing, or student information systems and their integration with the general ledger.
Core Competencies
- Integrity and discretion. Handles payroll, family billing, and confidential financial information with absolute professionalism.
- Ownership. Treats the accuracy of the Academy's financial records as a personal responsibility, not a shared one.
- Process discipline. Builds repeatable procedures and documents them rather than relying on institutional memory.
- Service orientation. Responds to families, staff, and vendors promptly and professionally; recognizes that the business office is a service function within a school community.
- Judgment. Knows which issues to escalate and which to resolve independently.
- Adaptability. Works effectively in a growing organization where processes are still being built and priorities shift.
Work Environment and Schedule
This is a 12-month, on-site position at the Academy's campus in Fairfax County, Virginia. The role requires extended hours during peak periods, including enrollment and re-enrollment cycles, budget development, fiscal year-end close following the May 31 fiscal year end, and the annual audit. The position operates in a school environment and requires regular interaction with staff, families, and vendors. A background check and any clearances required for school personnel in the Commonwealth of Virginia are conditions of employment.
Pay: $105,000.00 - $125,000.00 per year
Application Question(s):
- Are you certified/licensed?
- Do you have a degree in Finance or Accounting?
- Do you have strong oral and written communication skills?
- Are you able to work in person?
Work Location: In person
