Associate University Comptroller

Associate University Comptroller

The Opportunity
The University of Southern California, one of the world’s leading private research universities and an institution revered for its entrepreneurial spirit, seeks its next Associate University Comptroller.

USC is seeking an energetic, seasoned individual with significant experience. The successful candidate will be well grounded in accounting rules and procedures, with a proven track record of working across the institution to solve problems and advance the university’s strategic plan.  The successful candidate will have a sophisticated capacity in distilling complex information into understandable and coherent presentations for all levels of financial, and non-financial, staff and faculty.

The most compelling candidates will have a minimum of ten years’ leadership experience in an accounting or finance function and hold a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or a related field, CPA and/or CIA is required as well as a Master’s degree in Business Administration, Accounting, or a related field. Qualified candidates may come from either higher education or private sector, with experience in either highly distributed, complex organizations or from the professional services realm.

Reporting to the Vice President, Comptroller (“VP”), the Associate University Comptroller (“Comptroller”) oversees the department’s accounting and reporting activities. The VP has overall accountability for the financial controls of the university's academic and health enterprises. S/he monitors best practices in accounting using financial analytics to forecast the future needs of the organization and aligns financial performance and responsibility objectives with the university’s overall strategic plan. The Comptroller validates and implements integrated and coherent financial control policies and processes within the university to enhance its business practices. The Comptroller is also responsible for leading and directing teams to achieve the university’s business strategy related to financial performance and responsibility, implementing an organization wide technology system integration, and modeling and cultivating the organizational culture, values and behaviors within the team.

The Comptroller strives to improve processes and to provide service and accuracy in an increasingly complex and demanding regulatory environment. The Comptroller will evaluate monthly financial performance projection reports which outlines the university operation budget for all schools, auxiliaries, and administrative departments.  

USC has retained Korn Ferry, a national executive recruiting firm, to assist with this search. All nominations, inquiries, and application materials should be submitted in confidence to Korn Ferry. Korn Ferry will begin reviewing applications immediately and continue to accept applications and nominations until the position is filled. Please direct all applications, nominations, and inquiries for the position to the search firm at the contact information below:

Beau Lambert, Senior Client Partner
Virginia Mathis, Principal
Ashley Bowes Johnson, Senior Associate
USC specific email: USCComptroller@kornferry.com

USC is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, other legally protected characteristics or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria. The University promotes Affirmative Action for minorities, women, individuals who are disabled, and veterans. USC is a drug-free, smoke-free workplace.