Company Name
MacArthur Foundation
Company City
Chicago
Company State
IL
Job Location
Chicago, Illinois
Company Information
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is placing a few big bets that truly significant progress is possible on some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including over-incarceration, global climate change, nuclear risk, and significantly increasing financial capital for the social sector. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program, the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsible and responsive democracy, as well as the strength and vitality of our headquarters city, Chicago.
MacArthur is one of the nation’s largest independent foundations. Organizations supported by the Foundation work in about 50 countries. In addition to Chicago, MacArthur has offices in India, Mexico, and Nigeria.
Job Description
The Office of Finance is responsible for all accounting, banking, payroll, budget, internal control, treasury, tax, audit and financial reporting for the Foundation. The Office is also responsible for maintaining the financial enterprise systems and end user support training. The department is comprised of a staff of about 12 finance and accounting professionals.
The Investment Accountant is responsible for:
- assisting the investment accounting team with valuing and accounting for the
Foundation’s investments and related financial statement footnote
disclosures. - developing a broad working knowledge of the Foundation’s investment
strategy and practices, and the accounting and tax rules and regulations
applicable to a modern diversified investment portfolio with allocation to a
variety of asset classes, public and private, within a private foundation. - helping drive continuous process improvement; look for new and unique ways
to do things better; consistently strive for greater efficiency; embrace change.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Perform due diligence with respect to investment funding transactions and fee payments.
- Monitor and facilitate the progress of wire activity and confirm processed transactions.
- Coordinate with internal and external partners to confirm incoming wire instructions and prepare banking and interested party letters, as requested by custodian and/or investment managers.
- Update and maintain accounting workpapers and investment applications for alternative investments.
- Prepare internal workpapers needed for monthly reconciliation and analysis of portfolio activity based on reporting from our custodian.
- Collect supporting documentation from our investment research management application, as needed for reconciliation purposes.
- Prepare and track audit confirmations from our auditor’s investment sample.
- Perform tracking of the audited financial statements of the Foundation’s investments and their capital statements.
- Assist with review of the audited financial statements of the Foundation’s investments and their capital statements.
- Assist with schedules and underlying data needed for the Foundation’s audited financial statements, including providing the information needed for the footnote disclosures.
- Assist with accounting for the Foundation’s investments, including investment banking activity, preparation, and reconciliation of investment accounting journal entries, and monitoring all investment accounts.
- Assist in creating investment related deliverables required for the preparation of the 990-PF and 990-T.
- Assist in the continuing development of investment accounting reporting tools to ensure accuracy and security of data through report testing, data cleansing and completeness checks.
- Assist Investment Accounting Manager with various operational and accounting tasks for wholly owned subsidiary fund.
- Assist with various accounting for the Foundation’s real assets.
- Special projects as identified.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
The position is based in Chicago, Illinois.
Annual salary for this for role will start at $95,000.
Physical Requirements and Work Environment:
The work environment is an office setting. Intermittent physical activities will include bending, reaching, sitting, and walking during working hours. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable a person with physical disabilities to perform the job.
Job Qualifications
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance required; at least four years of investment accounting related experience. CPA a plus.
- Comfortable and proficient in learning and troubleshooting new accounting and investment applications and emerging technologies.
- Proficiency with Excel and working knowledge of Power BI preferred.
- Ability to demonstrate a high level of attention to detail.
- Ability to simultaneously juggle several tasks or responsibilities efficiently despite resource and time constraints.
- Ability to assemble information from diverse sources and develop a logical solution.
- Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
- Able to work with discretion and maintain confidentiality.
- Must be able to work in harmony with all levels of the organization.