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Payroll Accountant

Posting Details

Position Information

Position Number 014208
Functional Title Payroll Accountant
Position Type Administration - Staff
Position Eclass EP - EHRA 12 mo leave earning
University Information
UNC Greensboro, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is 1 of only 57 doctoral institutions recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for both higher research activity and community engagement. Founded in 1891 and one of the original three UNC System institutions, UNC Greensboro is one of the most diverse universities in the state with 20,000+ students, and 3,000+ faculty and staff members representing 90+ nationalities. With 17 Division I athletic teams, 85 undergraduate degrees in over 125 areas of study, as well as 74 master’s and 32 doctoral programs, UNC Greensboro is consistently recognized nationally among the top universities for academic excellence and value, with noted strengths in health and wellness, visual and performing arts, nursing, education, and more. For additional information, please visit uncg.edu and follow UNCG on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Primary Purpose of the Organizational Unit
The UNCG Office of the Controller’s Payroll/Tax unit provides operations administration and processing of all payrolls for UNCG and is responsible for the general accounting functions relating to payroll. The Payroll/Tax unit is responsible for timely and accurate payments of salary to faculty, staff and students as well as the monthly reconciliation, reporting and remittance of withheld taxes and employee payroll deductions. The Payroll/Tax unit also performs data control duties and provides accounting transactions for general ledger posting. Payroll/Tax accounting involves reconciling numerous Banner Finance clearing accounts related to payroll withheld taxes and deductions and preparing re-allocations entries, which ensure that labor cost for wages and benefits are expensed to appropriate Banner Finance accounts. In addition, the Payroll/Tax unit is responsible for all state and federal tax reporting related to payments made to foreign visitors (Nonresident Aliens), currently about 300 employees in 2017; including the formal interview process of each potential employee ensuring the appropriate visa documents are sufficient to qualify the applicant to work at UNCG. An average of 5,400 employees are paid monthly with applicable tax remittance, reporting and filing to the NC State government and the federal government (i.e. quarterly/annual Form 941). In addition, the NC quarterly state unemployment is filed based upon applicable employee basis. Annual payroll totals are in excess of: $189 million in gross wages, $41 million in federal/fica taxes, $9 million in NC state taxes and 7,500 Form W-2s, with applicable maintenance of mandatory W-2 and NC-4 tax form documents and direct deposit information.
Position Summary
This position reports to the Accounting Operations Manager and assists with directing the monthly payroll/tax processes to ensure that the University employees are paid, payrolls are balanced, payroll fundings are requested, Finance GL is interfaced and balanced, payroll liability accounts reconciled, and payroll taxes are completed timely and accurately. The position is also to be the liaison between the functional area of Payroll and the technical area IT to assure the timely and accurate set up and maintenance of the university payroll.

The secondary major purpose of this position is to identify changes/issues from the various Payroll Users (IT, Payroll, HR Offices, Budget Department, Contract and Grant Accounting, and other University Campus Departments) to thoroughly and accurately research, analyze and test each to ensure desired resolutions are reached. This position documents and communicates changes and procedures within by presenting clear and concise instructions of expectations so that effective and efficient processing occurs within the HR/Payroll environment.

The third major responsibility of this position is to assist in filling any gaps the Payroll Office may have with payroll processing and payroll administration work. Additionally, this position will be key in the set-up and implementation of the Employee Self-Service time entry platform in the near future.

Minimum Qualifications
  • A Bachelor’s degree in accounting, or a related field; and 2-4 years of related experience; or equivalent education and experience is required.
  • All degrees must be received from accredited institutions.



Additional Required Certifications, Licensures, and Certificates
Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience with payroll tax accounting, investigating and resolving payroll related accounting issues and other related payroll accounting experience.
  • Experience with automated timekeeping systems.
  • Detailed oriented, organized, problem solver and team player.
  • Proficient in Excel spreadsheet design creation with data comparisons.
  • Ability to maintain strict confidentiality.
  • Experience in Higher Education or public accounting.
Special Instructions to Applicants
Recruitment Range $65,085
Org #-Department Office of the Controller - 56202
Job Open Date 11/13/2023
For Best Consideration Date 11/13/2023
Job Close Date
Open Until Filled Yes
FTE 1.000
Type of Appointment Permanent
If time-limited, please specify end date for appointment.
Number of Months per Year 12
FLSA Exempt

Key Responsibilities

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Percentage Of Time 35
Key Responsibility
Financial Monitoring and Analysis
Apply professional knowledge of accounting principles related to payroll processing, taxes and general ledger entry.

Essential Tasks
  • Ability to monitor and collect data and to assess the accuracy and integrity of payroll data.
  • Ability to analyze payroll/HR data to ensure compliance with applicable standards, rules, regulations, and systems of internal control.
  • Ability to interpret and evaluate results, prepare documentation, and create financial reports and/or presentations.
  • Apply a working knowledge of basic accounting principles and practices and reporting guidelines when changing or adding new table setups and when preparing journal entries or when processing changes or corrections to labor during the redistribution process.
  • Apply a working knowledge of functional knowledge and assist IT when there are issues or changes related to using Banner HR/Payroll, Finance, Reporting, Check writing, Banking, Electronic Funds Transfer, and any other software used for processing payroll.

Percentage Of Time 40
Key Responsibility
Professional knowledge and skill in payroll accounting and ability to keep current with developments and trends. Knowledge and ability to use applicable information technology and software to meet work needs such as utilizing Banner HR, Banner Finance, Reporting and other University software to research, process, analyze and implement new/changes.

Essential Tasks
  • Be the liaison between the functional Payroll area and Information Technology to research, analyze, and ensure implementation of new/changes, Employee Self Services system as it relates to Time Entry, Employee Set-up and/or Employee or Finance Tab, and other related Payroll processing.
  • Provide training related to changes and assist with developing policy and procedure changes when necessary.
  • Monitor and examine the requested account changes from the University Departments to ensure internal controls are in place (policies and procedures are being followed) and that each request is valid.
  • Monitor a checklist of payroll processing steps, reports, and interfaces for errors and unusual events that may cause the payroll to be incomplete.
  • Report, review and research any unusual activities and work with the Information Technology department for resolutions.
  • Ability to compile, monitor, examine, and audit complex financial reports, especially related to payroll, OPEB, and Pension etc for accuracy, integrity, and conformance to accounting and program guidelines.
  • Ability to develop, evaluate, and implement changes to accounting systems and processes.
  • Ability to identify substantive issues, thoroughly and accurately research and analyze them.
  • The position requires the ability to design data collection, reporting tools, and financial models within payroll area, in addition to prepare, disseminate, and interpret financial reports.
  • It will also serve as serve as technical advisor on fiscal management and reporting issues within General Operations area of accounting.

Percentage Of Time 15
Key Responsibility
Payroll/Tax Administration
Essential Tasks
  • May assist with the day-to-day administration of preparing documentation for payroll processing of various information before and/or after it is keyed into the our ERP related to payroll.
  • The position will assist with tax calculations for payroll processing, overpayment reconciliations, and W2 preparations.
  • May assist with preparing and verifying tax information for reporting of Federal and State payments after payroll processes or quarterly and annual reporting.
  • Provide payroll/tax customer service and interact with all University employees, payroll/tax vendors, and agencies that seek assistance from the UNCG Payroll/Tax Office.

Percentage Of Time 10
Key Responsibility
Communication
Essential Tasks
  • Prepare written and/or technical products that convey concise, comprehensive, and accurate findings and conform to guidance; provide appropriate documentation to support conclusions; may need to work with other departments outside of the Controller’s office.
  • Review and test Payroll procedure documents to ensure that documentation is accurate and can be easily understood.
  • Develop and maintain effective working relationships that foster organizational success by working with various users as needed in the payroll area.
  • Serve as a resource for the HR user community in resolving unprecedented, non-standard issues and problems.
  • Anticipate problems and develop recommendations for management resolutions.

ADA Checklist

ADA Checklist

R for Rare (0-30%), O for Occasional (30-60%), F for Frequent (60-90%), C for Constant (90-100%).

Physical Effort Hand Movement-Repetitive Motions - F, Hand Movement-Grasping - O, Holding - R, Finger Dexterity - O, Reading - O, Writing - O, Vision-Preparing/Analyzing figures - F, Hearing - O, Talking - O, Sitting - F, Walking - O, Lifting-0-30 lbs. - R
Work Environment Inside - C, Overtime - O

Applicant Documents

Required Documents
  1. Resume/CV
  2. Cover Letter
  3. List of References
Optional Documents

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

  1. Are you currently a permanent, time-limited or RIF employee of UNCG?
    • No Response
    • Yes
    • No
  2. Do you have experience using Banner Finance and Banner HR?
    • Yes
    • No
  3. Do you have experience in payroll/tax operations processing environment?

    (Open Ended Question)

  4. * Are you eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship?

    (Open Ended Question)