Master's Graduate Rotational Development Program - Accounting
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
From day one at NREL, you’ll connect with coworkers driven by the same mission to save the planet. By joining an organization that values a supportive, inclusive, and flexible work environment, you’ll have the opportunity to engage through our eight employee resource groups, numerous employee-driven clubs, and learning and professional development classes.
he Financial Operations Accounting Professional Rotational Development Program (APRDP) provides recent Masters graduates with an immersive experience within the Financial Operations Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). In this two-year program, selected candidates will be assigned to the four-month rotations within the Financial Operations team, including General Ledger, Internal Controls and Compliance, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Travel Accounting, and Payroll. Participants will spend their time between individual operational tasks within each department (50%-70%) and various group projects to optimize the organization and improve processes (30%-50%). These projects will vary and include areas such as process improvements, workflow enhancements, KPI development, systems, organization, etc. Each rotation will be of a 4-month duration where participants will be integrated within their assigned team working on the same work as their peers within that team. This 4-month period will provide each participant with an in-depth understanding of the team, the required processes, and the day-to-day operational environment of the team. At the completion of the 2-year program, participants that satisfy all of the defined program objectives will be eligible for placement in a permanent role on one of the six teams within Financial Operations.
To be eligible for the program, candidates must have received their Masters degree from an accredited University in the 12 months prior to applying. This program will provide participants with an in-depth understanding and experience of accounting activities for a U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) to comply with GAAP, DOE Financial Accounting Handbook, OMB Circular A-123, Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
Primary Responsibilities Include, but not limited to:
Financial Operations group projects: Candidates will team with other members of the Financial Operations APRDP on various projects to streamline processes, workflows, KPIs, internal customer interaction. Projects may include cross-functional team input and analysis.
General Ledger Team: This team is responsible for the accuracy of the general ledger and financial reporting of the organization. During this rotation, candidates will work with the team responsible for the following:
- Financial statement preparation
- General ledger account reconciliations
- Trial balance variance analysis
- Oracle subledger accounting maintenance
- Accrual accounting
- Capital construction and fixed asset accounting
- Interface with management, staff, vendors, and service providers with cross-functional stakeholders
-Internal Controls and Compliance Team: This team is responsible for the compliance with laws, regulations, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Department of Energy (DOE) contractual requirements, and NREL policies and procedures, including OMB Circular A-123, FAR, FTR, internal controls, and erroneous payment reporting. During this rotation, candidates will work with the team responsible for the following:
- Evaluate, develop and assist in implementing and evaluating internal controls through Lab Operations.
- Conduct annual internal controls risk assessment
- Analyzing and documenting internal controls risks at an entity and process level.
- Erroneous payment research and reporting
- PCard auditing
- Vendor Maintenance
- ACH payment review
- Audit liaison for internal and external audits
- Review, research, and interpretations of tax law and regulations on both a federal, state, and local level, which may include but not limited to not-for-profit, payroll, and sales and use tax compliance issues
-Project Receivable and Billing Team: This team is responsible for the overall functions of the project billing, accounts receivable, and Strategic Partnership Program project accounting. During this rotation, candidates will work with the team responsible for the following:
- Review and analysis of routine and complex customer contracts and cost plans
- Monitor and analysis of monthly project costs in conjunction with maintaining sufficient customer advances
- Prepare routine and complex customer invoices and provides adequate supporting documentation based on individual customer needs
- Prepare manual journal entries and supporting documentation.
- Prepare routine and complex accounting reports as needed
- Conduct routine and complex accounting research and analyses, including account and variance analyses
-Accounts Payable Team: This team is responsible for the accurate and timely vendor payments as a full-cycle accounts payable. During this rotation, candidates will work with the team responsible for the following:
- Review and process moderate volume, highly complex invoices using Oracle Accounts Payable module for both three-way and two-way match
- Review subcontract invoices to ensure compliance with applicable terms and conditions
- Process payment runs (Check, ACH and Wires)
- Handle correspondences with internal and external customers
- Research and resolve all invoice and purchase order discrepancies
- Respond to internal and external data requests
-Travel Accounting Team: This team is responsible for accounting and support functions to facilitate the processing of domestic and foreign travel requests and travel expense reports in NREL’s highly regulated and complex environment. During this rotation, candidates will work with the team responsible for the following:
- Compliance with Federal Travel Regulations (FTR), DOE Conference Management policies, and eCountry Clearance polices
- Audit travel expense reports in compliance with NREL and DOE policies and procedures
- Prepare journal entries and general ledger account reconciliations
- Provide superior customer service to NREL conference attendees, domestic and foreign travelers by providing information, support, and accounting services related to NREL travel
- Develop reports and presentations for internal and external peers, customers, and NREL senior and executive management
- Maintain travel vendor relations, including their adherence to DOE and NREL policies and procedures
- Collect, evaluate, and conduct complex analyses related to federal and industry travel and conference metrics and data
- System administrator for Concur system
-Payroll Team: This team is responsible for a diverse, international, and multistate workforce of over 2,500 employees. During this rotation, candidates will work with the team responsible for the following:
- Bi-weekly multistate payroll processing and review
- Preparation of payroll and benefits-related payments
- Preparation of monthly payroll and benefits journal entries
- Preparation of general ledger account reconciliations
- Research and respond to monthly variance analysis
- Respond to internal and external audit data requests
- Provide superior customer service within the OCFO, NREL employees, and other internal business partners
- Liaison with payroll processing vendor to ensure accuracy of payments
- Reconcile monthly, quarterly, and annual federal, state, and local filings
- Preparation of complex reporting requests