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Summary:

The Accountant Lead is responsible for preparing general ledger month-end journal entries in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, review of journal entries as assigned, and financial statement analysis relevant to their assigned functional accounting team.

Functional Accounting Teams are as follows:
Cash Accounting
Fixed Assets Accounting
Corporate Accounting
Payroll Accounting
Investments and Foundation Accounting
Prepaid Asset, Deferred Revenue, and Notes Payable Accounting
Inventory and Supplies Accounting
Physician Guarantees and Physician Fees Accounting
Purchased Services and Non-Patient Accounts Receivable Accounting
Contract Labor and Utilities Accounting
Joint Venture Accounting
Intercompany Accounting, Allocations, and Eliminations
Lease Accounting
Technical Accounting
Health Plan Accounting
Physician Group Accounting
Grant Accounting

This job requires a strong understanding of United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP). The Lead Accountant should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of the journal entries they are recording to the general ledger, evaluate the appropriateness of the entry (including the GL accounts used and the financial statement line item classification), and explain the impact to the financial statements. The Lead Accountant will typically be assigned to areas of higher risk and more complex accounting within the functional accounting team. They are responsible for ensuring appropriate and relevant supporting documentation is attached to the journal entry. The Lead Accountant is responsible for evaluating the source of the information for their journal entries and asking appropriate followup questions to ensure documentation is appropriate. In some cases, appropriate support will include developing estimates of the current month activity based on financial analysis of historical data. The Lead Accountant is expected to develop an understanding of healthcare specific accounting issues relevant to the assigned functional accounting area. Previous healthcare experience is preferred but not required. The Lead Accountant is responsible for analyzing and providing variance explanations (from budget and trend) related to assigned areas. The Lead Accountant is responsible for completion of monthly balance sheet account reconciliations related to the assigned functional accounting area.
The Lead Accountant reports directly to the Accounting Manager and is responsible for assisting their Accounting Manager with supervision and training of accountants on the assigned functional team. The Lead Accountant will be assigned lower risk areas to review journal entries and balance sheet reconciliations. The Lead Accountant is expected to function at a high level of accounting knowledge coupled with ability to direct others and give feedback on a daily basis as to work product. Overall performance evaluation is not the direct responsibility of this job; however, the expectation is for the Lead Accountant to provide specific and documented feedback on the work of the accountants to the Accounting Manager to be incorporated into performance evaluations of those Associates.
The Lead Accountant is expected to assist the Accounting Manager in ensuring the team is meeting month-end close deadlines and communicating timely when any deviation from the close schedule is expected. The Lead Accountant should proactively look for ways to make our processes more efficient and maintain or reduce the overall close timeline. Timeliness, accuracy, and the ability to prioritize and meet critical deadlines are essential. The Lead Accountant is expected to lead efforts in improving processes for preparation of financial statements and related reports/schedules, ensuring reporting accuracy and building relationships throughout the System that achieve these goals.
For each month-end close, the Lead Accountant will work with the Manager to accumulate and summarize variance analysis results for both the functional area and the Manager?s assigned regional responsibilities. The Lead Accountant will be responsible for assisting the Accounting Manager in preparing materials for and participating in month-end financial review calls with the regional CFOs. The job requires strong analytical skills and the ability to problem solve. Lead accountant will be required to review financial and non-financial information in various modules with in Infor CloudSuite relevant to their functional area, including but not limited to the following modules: GL, BI/FSM, Inventory, Purchasing, Fixed Assets, Cash, etc. as part of the research and review of financial statement variances.
The Lead Accountant is responsible for assisting other teams across the System (both at the corporate office and at our facilities) with information requests related to the assigned functional area, as needed. The Lead Accountant is expected to work closely with other teams to resolve issues timely and to the satisfaction of all parties. The Lead Accountant is responsible for other projects, as assigned, which may include but are not limited to: research of GL transactions to understand the impact to the GL, process improvement projects, and assistance for the year-end external audit. The job requires excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities:

• Meets expectations of the applicable OneCHRISTUS Competencies: Leader of Self, Leader of Others, or Leader of Leaders.
• Prepare month-end journal entries in accordance with US GAAP, with complete and accurate supporting documentation.
• Independent analysis of applicable accounting guidance (FASB, AICPA, etc.) to guarantee the proper treatment of financial transactions and ensuring compliance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP).
• Perform variance analysis on assigned accounts to both budget and trend.
• Prepare month-end balance sheet reconciliations.
• Review month-end journal entries and account reconciliations prepared by accountants, as assigned. Provide feedback to accountants as necessary and ensure entries are appropriate and include appropriate documentation.
• Assist Manager with onboarding and training accountants.
• Assist Manager with accumulating and analyzing month-end variance analysis for assigned functional area and assigned regional responsibilties.
• Identify errors and research areas of concern. Communicate issues to Accounting Manager and provide potential solutions.
• Drive process improvements to ensure the team becomes more efficient.
• Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with other teams across the System (both at the corporate office and at our facilities).
• Support Senior Management, Regional and Corporate Associates with data requests and analyses.

Job Requirements:

Education/Skills

• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting or equivalent required.

Experience

• 7 years of accounting experience required.
• General ledger accounting experience and Healthcare accounting experience preferred.

Licenses, Registrations, or Certifications

• Candidates seeking CPA license preferred; some assistance available for those seeking licensing.

Work Schedule:

8AM - 5PM Monday-Friday

Work Type:

Full Time

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About CHRISTUS Health

CHRISTUS HEALTH is an international Catholic, faith-based, not-for-profit health system comprised of almost more than 600 services and facilities, including more than 60 hospitals and long-term care facilities, 350 clinics and outpatient centers, and dozens of other health ministries and ventures. CHRISTUS operates in 6 U.S. states, Colombia, Chile and 6 states in Mexico. To support our health care ministry, CHRISTUS Health employs approximately 45,000 Associates and has more than 15,000 physicians on medical staffs who provide care and support for patients. CHRISTUS Health is listed among the top ten largest Catholic health systems in the United States.

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