Controller

About us: Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income individuals and families. Our mission is to ensure equal access to justice and remove legal barriers to economic opportunities. Legal Aid is an innovative, creative, and progressive civil legal services provider committed to building a justice system where all voices are valued, heard, and respected.

Who we are looking for: Legal Aid of North Carolina is seeking a full-time Controller. The ideal candidate is a highly skilled financial leader who is passionate about sound stewardship of organizational resources and supporting our mission through strong financial management and compliance. The successful candidate is detail-oriented, analytical, and collaborative, with extensive experience in nonprofit accounting, financial reporting, internal controls, audits, and regulatory compliance.

The Controller serves as a trusted advisor to the Chief Financial Officer and organizational leadership, ensuring the integrity of accounting operations, financial reporting, grant compliance, and internal controls. This position requires strong leadership skills, excellent judgment, and the ability to communicate complex financial concepts to a variety of audiences while maintaining the highest standards of accuracy, accountability, and integrity.

Why this role matters: The work performed by the Controller is critical to ensuring the financial health, compliance, and long-term sustainability of Legal Aid of North Carolina. This role safeguards organizational assets, supports informed decision-making, strengthens financial accountability, and helps ensure that grant, donor, and public resources are managed responsibly in support of Legal Aid's mission of expanding access to justice.

What you will do: 

Accounting Operations and Financial Reporting

• Oversee all aspects of accounting operations and assigned accounting personnel. 
• Prepare and/or oversee required monthly journal entries and review supporting documentation for accuracy, completeness, proper approval, and appropriate funding-source coding. 
• Lead the monthly and annual general ledger close and maintain a close calendar with clear process ownership and deadlines.
• Ensure general ledger and subledger accounts are reconciled timely; review and approve account reconciliations prepared by accounting staff. 
• Prepare timely and accurate monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements in accordance with GAAP. 
• Work with the CFO to prepare the annual consolidated budget, regular financial projections, and year-over year forecasts. 
• Manage the Accounts Payable function and assigned staff supporting general ledger and grant accounting. 
• Support the preparation of financial reports for the Board of Directors and the Finance and Audit Committees. 

Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Financial and Grant Compliance 

LANC is substantially funded by federal, state, local government, and foundation grants. The Director of Grant Accounting has primary responsibility for day-to-day grant financial management, billing, grant budget maintenance, and grant reporting. The Controller maintains responsibility for the overall adequacy of financial controls, compliance processes, and supporting LSC and other restricted funding sources. 

• Serve as LANC's lead financial compliance resource for LSC funding and maintain current working knowledge of applicable LSC regulations, the LSC Financial Guide, LSC Office of Inspector General guidance, grant terms, and other applicable federal requirements. 
•  Ensure LSC expenditures are allowable, allocable, reasonable, consistently treated, properly approved, adequately documented, and charged to the correct funding source.
• Review LSC grant activity and financial reports regularly to identify questioned costs, unsupported transactions, coding errors, budget concerns, or control gaps, and ensure prompt corrective action. 
• Assist the CFO in maintaining and updating the LANC Accounting Manual and related financial policies to remain aligned with LSC requirements and sound nonprofit financial-management practices. 
• Prepare financial reports for assigned grants as needed, ensure proper support for audits and grantor inquiries, and support Development staff with financial information for grant applications. 

Internal Controls and Risk Management

• Establish, document, maintain, and continuously improve the organization's financial internal-control framework. 
• Ensure accounting policies and procedures are followed consistently and recommend improvements that strengthen compliance, accountability, efficiency, and asset protection. 
• Monitor remediation of control deficiencies and recommendations arising from audits, monitor reviews, risk assessments, and management reviews. 

Audit, Tax, and Regulatory Reporting

• Act as the primary liaison and coordinator for annual external audits, including preparation of financial statements, footnote disclosures, schedules, work papers, and supporting documentation. 
• Coordinate single-audit, grant-audit, compliance testing, and LSC audit requirements when applicable. 
• Support compliance with applicable federal, state, and local financial and nonprofit reporting requirements, including preparation and review support for Form 990 and related filings. 

Leadership and Collaboration

• Lead, mentor, cross-train, and develop assigned accounting and finance staff, fostering a culture of accuracy, service, accountability, continuous improvement, and compliance. 
• Serve as a strategic partner to the CFO and executive leadership by providing timely financial insights and clearly communicating accounting, compliance, and risk matters. 
• Serve as backup to the CFO and exercise delegated authority when assigned or when the CFO is unavailable, consistent with approved internal controls and authorization limits. Technology, Process Improvement, and Other Duties
• Evaluate and improve accounting systems, tools, workflows, and reporting processes to increase efficiency, accuracy, control, and service quality.
• Serve as system administrator for assigned accounting and finance systems, including Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, with appropriate access controls and periodic access review.
• Lead or support implementation and optimization of accounts payable, expense management, invoicing, reporting, and other finance systems. 
• Perform other duties as assigned.

What you will bring to Legal Aid of North Carolina:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, or a related business field required.
• CPA certification is strongly preferred, master’s degree in accounting or a related field preferred.
• At least seven years of progressively responsible Controller or comparable accounting leadership experience.
• Experience in nonprofit or government-funded organizations preferred.
• Strong knowledge of GAAP, nonprofit fund accounting, financial reporting, and internal controls.
• Demonstrated experience with restricted grants, federal grant compliance, and financial stewardship. Experience with Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funding and regulations is preferred.
• Experience coordinating external audits, compliance reviews, grantor monitoring, and corrective action plans.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office 365, Teams, Outlook, Word, Advanced Excel, and accounting systems; Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT experience preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical accounting and compliance concepts to non-financial audiences.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Demonstrated supervisory, coaching, project management, and leadership experience.
• Ability to handle confidential financial, employee, donor, grantor, and organizational information with the highest level of professionalism and integrity.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments while fostering accountability, service, and continuous improvement.
• Commitment to the mission and values of Legal Aid of North Carolina.