Tiffany Brito

Bus 1010
Michael Russell
Fall 2015

SCHOOL DISTRICT ACCOUNTING

COORDINATOR
ASSESSING A CAREER

With a family of small children, I am interested in a position that would allow me to have a
flexible schedule to be at home with them as much as possible. I love numbers, almost as
much as I love my family, and get a small, or not-so-small thrill, when they come out balanced
at the end of the accounting cycle.
A position within the educational system seems to lend itself naturally to letting me enjoy
both of these loves, without sacrificing either. This is why I decided to look further into a
specific position within the school district. I contacted a few people within the district and
lucked into getting the chance to really delve into the Granite School District Accounting
Coordinator position.

JOB DESCRIPTION
The school district accounting coordinator is a middle manager position over accounts
receivable. Typical job functions include:

Collecting district monies while maintaining complete files,

Managing invoices and accounts for all off-site staff,
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Managing district invoices for building rentals, food invoices, postage invoices, etc.
Trains and assists financial secretaries in the current bookkeeping system,
Conducts policy implementation through customer services,
Balances several general ledger accounts and school lunch bank accounts,
Initiates letters for various supervisors and handles supervisory correspondence.

GENERAL EDUCATION EXPERIENCE

This position only requires a high school diploma and two years of experience in accounting,
bookkeeping, public relations and workshop presentations. This experience is commonly
acquired by starting at entry-level positions within the educational system and moving up as
your expertise grows and positions open up. It is a great benefit to have training in accounting
software.

AVERAGE SALARY
Due to this being a government position, the salary is very structured and predictable. It is on
the lower end of typical accounting jobs, but offers great benefits and job stability. Starting
salary for the accounting coordinator is $47,560. Most other accounting positions at the
district level start at $45,523. Benefits include nearly a month of paid vacation, low-cost
health insurance and retirement options.

CAREER OUTLOOK
The field of accounting has a good outlook for the future. Every field needs, and always will
need, accountants. Within the educational field there are huge numbers of schools in every
area of the country. This means it is not a hard field to enter. Moving up in the field is not

difficult either. Positions within the field open up frequently, especially if you are willing to
take positions in different school districts.

BIO OF SHERIDAN WILSON, GRANITE SCHOOL DISTRICT

ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR
In the process of assessing this career, I had the opportunity to speak with Sheridan Wilson.
She is the Accounting Coordinator for Granite School District. Her description of the
accounting dance of joy and her desire to be able to sit and balance accounts on a daily basis
ensured me that I found the right person to talk to. Sherry has worked for Granite School
District for 35 years. She began working part-time in accounts payable and worked her way up
through the ranks.
Sherry emphasized the need in this position to be able to see the big picture and how it all fits
together, while at the same time having great attention to detail. She said that this job is like
being a detective. You need to have the curiosity to look for clues and track things down when
things arent adding up.

GENERAL CAREER PATH

Sherrys position in the district gave me the unique opportunity to get a brief overview of how
the entire district works. One of the things that surprised me is that the accounting
coordinator is a 12 month position, I had assumed because it was within the educational
system that they had the summers off. But the summer is actually the busiest season at the
district level because that is when the fiscal year ends. Within the district there are many jobs
that are only during the school year, but they are primarily at the elementary and junior high
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or middle school levels. However, the most common career path to this position includes
starting in part-time positions. This means I could spend some years working at the
elementary and junior high levels while I still have young children and have the opportunity to
move up when my children are older. It seems like a perfect fit as a long-term career path.
As I spoke with Sherry about where I currently am professionally and my short-term plans,
she made me feel like I am on the right track. I have previous experience as an accounting
clerk, I currently manage federal, state and private grants for a non-profit, and in a year from
now I will have an Associates degree in accounting. My combined education and experience
give me a great advantage in looking for a job within the educational accounting field.

ADVANTAGES, CONCERNS, AND MY FIT WITHIN THE CAREER

My biggest concern with the career is that it is a management position. I love the autonomy of
sitting in my own space, balancing books and getting my work done. While this position does
require that type of work fifty-percent of the time, it also requires training and supervising
others and working as a team. I spoke with Sherry about this and she mentioned that the
latter part of the position is something that she learned as she worked her way up. It is
something that can be learned, as long as you are good with the accounting portion of the job.
One of the advantages of this career is working in a positive environment. Sherry confirmed
that this field is very positive and uplifting. Of course there are bad days, but on the whole
there is a feeling of wanting to make a positive difference. This is appealing to me because I
hope to be in a position where working is a choice not a requirement. If I am going to choose
to work it will be because doing so enriches my life.
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For me the biggest advantage with this career is the ability to grow with the position. It feels
like the plans I have for my personal and family life fit easily within the career path this
position lends itself to. I can see how I could grow, feel professional accomplishment and
enjoy my work, without sacrificing the values I have for myself as a wife and mother. To me
this is more important than the money or other benefits the career could offer.
In conclusion, this career path feels like a good fit for me long-term. The advantages greatly
outweigh the concerns, in fact, the concerns seems more like opportunities to grow than
reasons to rethink the career.