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Senior Accountant

Senior Accountant

Reports to:  Chief Executive Officer

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FLSA Status: Full-time/Exempt/40 Hrs per Week/$88-95,000 Per Year, DOE

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Schedule:  Monday – Friday (flexibility required)

Location: Hybrid

About Us

Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2007, The Beacon’s mission is to provide essential and next-step services to restore hope and help end homelessness in Houston.  We accomplish this by providing compassionate services to individuals experiencing homelessness with the goal of helping them achieve housing stability and improved well-being.  The Beacon operates the largest drop-in day center in downtown Houston and is a key partner in The Way Home Continuum of Care.  As such, The Beacon serves as the primary entry point for individuals seeking housing and supportive services.

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Job Summary

Important: This is an accounting & finance position.  It is not a fundraising, grant writing, donor relations, or development role.

The Senior Accountant is responsible for managing The Beacon’s grant accounting, financial reporting, coding accuracy, budget monitoring, reconciliations, grant billing, and compliance with nonprofit and government funding requirements. This role serves as a key finance partner to leadership and program staff, ensuring that expenses are coded accurately, costs are allowable and properly documented, grant budgets are monitored, and financial information is accurate, timely, and decision-ready.

This position requires more than transactional accounting.  The Finance & Grants Manager must be able to analyze financial activity, identify coding errors or inconsistencies, understand funder restrictions, anticipate compliance concerns, and recommend solutions. The role functions as a “Controller lite” by supporting internal controls, month-end close, accruals, grant revenue recognition, budget-to-actual analysis, audit readiness, and financial process improvement.

The ideal candidate is a strategic, analytical, and detail-oriented nonprofit finance professional who can think beyond the transaction, ask the right questions, and serve as a thought partner to the CEO, finance team, and program leadership.

Key Responsibilities

Grant Accounting & Compliance

• Maintain accurate accounting for restricted and unrestricted funding sources.

• Track grant expenditures by funder, program, department, class, and project.

• Review expenses for allowability, reasonableness, allocability, and documentation standards.

• Prepare and support timely grant billing, reimbursement requests, and funder financial reports.

• Monitor grant budgets, spending timelines, match requirements, and compliance deadlines.

• Identify potential unallowable costs or miscoded expenses before reports are finalized.

• Ensure grant accounting aligns with Uniform Guidance, GAAP, FASB, ASC 958, and 2 CFR Part 200 requirements.

• Maintain audit-ready grant files and supporting documentation.

Coding Review & Financial Accuracy

• Review expense coding for accuracy across GL, department, function, project/fund, and restriction/class.

• Identify and correct coding errors before month-end close.

• Partner with staff to resolve unclear or inconsistent coding.

• Develop coding guidance, cheat sheets, and training tools for managers and staff.

• Monitor coding trends and recommend process improvements to reduce recurring errors.

• Ensure expenses are charged consistently and in alignment with grant requirements and organizational policies.

Month-End Close, Reconciliations & Reporting

• Support month-end and year-end close processes.

• Prepare journal entries, accruals, reclasses, and adjusting entries.

• Reconcile grant-related balance sheet and revenue accounts.

• Support preparation of financial statements, budget-to-actuals, and internal financial reports.

• Analyze variances and identify root causes of significant budget differences.

• Prepare financial reports that are clear, accurate, and useful for decision-making.

Budgeting, Forecasting & Financial Analysis

• Assist with grant budget development, modifications, and forecasting.

• Monitor grant spend-down and alert leadership to risks, underspending, overspending, or timing concerns.

• Prepare budget-to-actual analysis for program and executive leadership.

• Partner with program staff to understand operational changes affecting grant budgets.

• Support multi-month and year-end projections.

• Recommend strategies to maximize grant utilization while maintaining compliance.

Internal Controls & Process Improvement

• Support implementation and monitoring of internal controls.

• Identify gaps in financial workflows and recommend solutions.

• Help strengthen documentation, approvals, coding review, and reconciliation processes.

• Support audit preparation, including annual audit, single audit, and grant-specific monitoring.

• Assist with development of finance policies, procedures, templates, and reporting tools.

• Serve as a proactive partner in improving financial accuracy, efficiency, and accountability.

Cross-Functional Finance Partnership

• Serve as a finance resource to program directors, managers, and administrative staff.

• Explain financial information in a clear, practical, and non-technical way.

• Train staff on documentation, coding, allowability, and budget monitoring expectations.

• Work collaboratively with Development, Programs, Administration, and Finance to ensure alignment between grant awards, budgets, expenses, and reporting.

• Bring forward financial concerns, trends, and recommendations to leadership.

Qualifications​

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field preferred.

• Minimum 4–6 years of noprofit accounting experience.

• Minimum 3 years of nonprofit grant accounting experience strongly preferred.

• Experience with government grants, HUD, CDBG, ESG, or other public funding preferred.

• Experience with nonprofit fund accounting, restricted revenue, grant billing, and audit preparation required.

• Experience with Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, or similar accounting systems preferred.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong understanding of nonprofit accounting, fund accounting, grant accounting, and internal controls.

• Ability to identify incorrect coding, missing documentation, and financial inconsistencies.

• Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret budget-to-actual reports.

• Ability to think strategically and connect accounting activity to organizational risk, compliance, and decision-making.

• Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, formulas, and financial analysis.

• Ability to prepare clear financial summaries and explain financial issues to non-finance staff.

• Excellent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality.

• Strong problem-solving skills and willingness to ask questions before posting or finalizing transactions.

• Detail-oriented, accurate, organized, and deadline-driven.

• Comfortable working independently and serving as a thought partner to leadership.

Work Environment & Physical Demands

• Hybrid & flexible schedule with on-site presence required for meetings and events.

• Must be able to lift up to 20 pounds and remain seated for extended periods.

• Comfortable working in dynamic, non-traditional environments.

• Occasional evening or weekend hours may be required for events or urgent program needs.