Associate Controller

Be You

Occupational Summary

Reporting to the Associate Vice President, Finance and University Controller, the Associate Controller, Payroll and Tax Compliance provides strategic leadership and oversight for critical financial operations supporting Duke University and Duke University Health System (DUHS). This role oversees Tax, Payroll, Fringe Benefits Accounting, and International Administrative Operations within a highly complex, decentralized environment.

This position is one of four Associate Controller roles within the Controller’s Office and serves as a key member of the Controller’s senior leadership team, collectively providing strategic direction, governance, and operational coordination across the University’s financial functions.

As a senior advisor and key member of the Finance leadership team, the Associate Controller leads a team of approximately 25 professionals ensuring institutional compliance, mitigating financial and regulatory risk, and advancing operational excellence across functions with significant financial scale and external visibility.

What You'll Do

Tax Compliance and Regulatory Oversight (25%)

• Provide strategic direction and executive oversight to the Senior Director, Corporate Tax, and team responsible for federal, state, and local tax compliance for Duke University and DUHS.
• Oversee preparation and filing of approximately 30 IRS Form 990 and 990Ts and related state returns, sales and use tax filings, property tax returns and unclaimed property reports.
• Ensure effective management of internal and external audits and serve as a senior institutional resource on tax compliance matters and risk mitigation.

Payroll (25%)

• Lead and provide oversight to the Senior Director, Corporate Payroll, responsible for the accurate and timely payment of over $4.7B in annual compensation to more than 52,000 University and DUHS employees and students.
• Ensure payroll operations utilizing SAP are compliant, auditable, and aligned with institutional financial controls, including accurate expense posting to the University’s financial accounting systems.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency, controls, and service delivery.

Fringe Benefits Forecasting and Accounting (25%)

• Oversees the Director of Fringe Benefits Accounting, responsible for monthly accounting, reporting and forecasting of fringe benefit expenditures and recoveries totaling over $1.3B annually.