Sarah Pierson
Greenwood,IN
Summary
Dynamic financial professional focused on delivering results in the Senior Fiscal Analyst role within a collaborative team environment. Proven expertise in financial analysis and due diligence, honed over 10 years in the financial industry. Detail-oriented and proficient in monitoring costs, investigating variances and processing data files. Excellent multitasking, problem-solving and interpersonal abilities. Demonstrates strong analytical, communication, and teamwork skills, with proven ability to quickly adapt to new environments. Prepared to bring experience and take on a new professional challenge.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Fiscal Analyst
State of Indiana - Department of Education
Indianapolis, USA
10.2017 - Current
- My main role is reviewing, understanding and implementing State and Federal compliance for the State of Indiana’s reporting while providing guidance to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and internal staff.
- Assigned financial analyst for over 100 school corporations within the State.
- Review Form 9 data for flags that could cause potential findings and inconsistencies.
- Work regularly with developers to develop and build new programs and reports within the LINK portal and other systems.
- Training new analysts and other internal staff about the fundamentals of school finance.
- Adding new Form 9 review steps that decrease Maintenance of Effort (MOE) failings, indirect cost rate fluctuations, while maintaining consistency in Indiana's Federal reporting.
- I am self-taught in the calculations and implementation of indirect costs with guidance from USDOE.
- Because of this, the State did not need to renew their contract with the vendor who provided our indirect cost rate calculations, internal and external guidance, and the creation of a new Power BI indirect costs tab within the Form 9.
- I am the in-house expert for all indirect cost questions, including the Title, Special Ed, and School Nutrition Teams.
Accounts Payable Clerk
State of Indiana - Department of Education
Indianapolis, USA
02.2014 - 10.2017
- Reviewed vendor invoices for appropriate documentation and validity prior to payment.
- Maintained good working relationships with vendors and resolved disputes.
- Evaluated financial records to detect errors and discrepancies.
- Reached out to vendors and customers to verify information and follow up on client issues.
- Processed invoices and journal entries with efficiency and accuracy, resulting in decreased discrepancies.
- Matched purchase orders with invoices and recorded necessary information.
Clerk/Treasurer
Town of Newberry
Newberry, USA
01.2013 - 11.2013
- Budget submission to the DLGF
- Annual Financial Report (AFR) to SBOA
- Payroll for Board members and water staff
- Present financial information to Board members
- Record Board meeting minutes
- Manage, record, and report the Town funds
Education
Accounting -
Vincennes University
Vincennes, INSkills
- State and Federal compliance
- Fundamental accounting principles
- Experienced in various software applications
- Records management
- Financial monitoring
- Report creation
- Payroll management
- Financial variance analysis
- Financial compliance measures
- Analyzing spending patterns
- Advanced Microsoft Excel skills
- Data analysis and reporting
- Analytical report composition
- Organizational management strategies
- Invoice processing
References
- Micheal Rogina, CPA, Retired (SBOA), s_rogina@yahoo.com
- Shanti Karthik, Senior Project Manager, Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), iampeace@hotmail.com
- Kelan Fong, Senior Fiscal Analyst, Legislative Service Agency (LSA), kelanfong@gmail.com
- Charianna Reid, Controller, Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), cmreid1985@gmail.com
Personal Traits And Values
- I work hard to be the person people can depend on.
- I am very approachable, easygoing, and greatly appreciate that coworkers are comfortable enough to come to me with even the easiest of questions.
- This led to our newer fiscal analyst nominating me for the State Mentor Spotlight last December.
- I make sure everyone around me feels appreciated and valued with their contributions.
- I enjoy teaching new staff and providing guidance to new school business officials. I am often asked to sit in on staff calls with new Local Education Administrators (LEAs) to help with everything from audit findings to Form 9 submission errors.
- I am driven by the accuracy in my work, my workplace relationships, and my four daughters, who are my personal cheerleaders.
Working Relationships
- Since working with other program areas, I realized that there had been inconsistencies within the department regarding guidance related to the chart of accounts and financial reporting. I took it upon myself to meet with, train, and serve as a co-collaborator for implementation of new guidance and reporting processes for these areas. These changes have already started rolling out to schools for FY 2026.
- I have been asked to speak at the last two Title Cons, several monthly Title Coffee Chats, and IASBO's annual conference as well as regional meetings.
- Indiana volunteered to pilot a new building-level federal report called the State-Level Financial Summary (SLFS) in 2019.
- I worked solely on mapping this report for almost two years, resulting in one of the first states to complete and submit a FY 2021 SLFS report.
- I was honored by the USDOE and the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) with an award presented at a quarterly national State Education Administrator (SEA) meeting for the completion of the SLFS.
- Since then, the SLFS has become a mandatory report with years of guidance and training to other states, and I was asked to speak at the last quarterly meeting presenting Indiana's reporting process.
- I have collaborated with the Schools and Townships area of SBOA regarding the chart of accounts with the understanding and implementation of new or changing State and Federal financial requirements.
Timeline
Senior Fiscal Analyst
State of Indiana - Department of Education
10.2017 - Current
Accounts Payable Clerk
State of Indiana - Department of Education
02.2014 - 10.2017
Clerk/Treasurer
Town of Newberry
01.2013 - 11.2013
Accounting -
Vincennes University