Institute Controller (Chief Accounting Officer)

Institute Controller (Chief Accounting Officer)

The Opportunity
The Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as Georgia Tech, is a top-ranked public college and one of the leading research universities in the USA is seeking their next Institute Controller (Chief Accounting Officer).  Georgia Tech provides a technologically focused education to more than 39,000 undergraduate and graduate students in fields ranging from engineering, computing, and sciences, to business, design, and liberal arts.  Georgia Tech is ranked the 10th Top Public University and the 38th National University by U.S. News & World Report.  In FY20, Georgia Tech’s R&D expenditures were nearly $1B. 

Georgia Tech is seeking an energetic, seasoned individual with at least 10 years of experience to serve as the Institute Controller (Chief Accounting Officer).  The successful candidate will have an active CPA license (or willing to renew and commit to annual education requirement).  The next Institute Controller (Chief Accounting Officer) will have advanced knowledge of the principles and practices of accounting as applied within a major research university.

The Institute Controller (Chief Accounting Officer) is a key leader within the Finance & Planning unit, within Georgia Tech's Administration & Finance division. The Controller serves as the Chief Accounting Officer for Georgia Tech, overseeing the preparation of financial statements for Georgia Tech and its affiliates, and serving as the primary contact for the annual financial audits by state, federal and independent auditors. Georgia Tech by itself has over $1B in net assets and over $2B in expenditures each year; the Controller not only is responsible for the compilation of GT’s financial report and management of the annual audit, but also oversees the nine Georgia Tech affiliated entities who also submit financial statements (five of which are considered “component units” by the state of Georgia and require individual audits).

Reporting to the Vice President, Finance, the Controller (Chief Accounting Officer) oversees an office of 12-15 professional staff, all of whom work with this position to produce fair and accurate financial reports, provide financial system oversight to monitor the integrity of Institute data, oversee tax compliance, and both develop and manage a system of accounting policies and procedures and a system of internal controls to ensure compliance with Institute, University System of Georgia, State and Federal guidelines.  The Controller (Chief Accounting Officer) also serves as the data and system steward for Georgia Tech’s financial accounting system (Workday) and provides oversight for components of the payroll process and data within the OneUSG Connect human resources system (PeopleSoft-based).

Georgia Tech 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
Vickie Antolini, Principal
Virginia Mathis, Principal
Georgia Tech specific email: GTController@kornferry.com

Georgia Tech is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, marital status, disability, genetics (including testing and characteristics), or protected veteran status, uniformed service-member status, political affiliation or any classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Consistent with its obligations under federal law, each company that is a federal contractor or subcontractor is committed to taking affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified women, minorities, disabled individuals and veterans.