POSITION TITLE: Accountant III

DEPARTMENT: Payroll/Administration & Finance

PRIMARY LOCATION: Fall River

REPORTS TO: Assistant Director, Payroll

STATEMENT OF DUTIES:

The Accountant III performs a variety of payroll processing duties for all employees of Bristol Community College, including but not limited to faculty, staff, and student workers. They are responsible for duties such as, but not limited to, communicating payroll status information to employees, tracking employee payroll expenditures for all state appropriations, processing and interpreting payroll tax information and other pertinent payroll deductions, and maintaining the Labor Cost Management (LCM) system to ensure all payroll expenses have been posted to the correct accounts. The Accountant works closely with many departments on campus, including Human Resources and Fiscal Services, to ensure accuracy of payments.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS, DUTIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Verify and review Personnel Action Forms and timesheets for all employees.
• Provide training to employees and time approvers on Self-Service Time and Attendance online payroll system.
• Record and monitor biweekly employee payroll expenditures for reconciliation of all payroll payments.
• Resolve problems related to grants, appropriations, and payroll funding to execute payroll transactions in state and local systems.
• Enter all employee taxes, deductions, direct deposits, and wage garnishments.
• Administer and monitor retirement plans, 403b plans, and 457 plans.
• Communicate and solve payroll issues with college cost center managers.
• Routinely monitor Document Direct and LCM reports; resolve errors with employees' payroll expense distribution.
• Confer with appropriate state agency personnel to resolve payroll discrepancies.
• Run queries/reports from the Commonwealth Information Warehouse (CIW) on employee payment history, as needed.
• Review accounting reports for accuracy, make updates and corrections to payroll activity.
• Prepare journal entries to record payroll expense activity to general ledger.
• Maintain knowledge of current union contractual agreements pertaining to payroll.
• Travel to and participate in various state-wide training sessions as required.
• Process employee payroll advances.
• Ensure all payroll records for the department are accurately maintained and archived and are in accordance with proper legal standards and audit guidelines.
• Demonstrate a sense of professionalism and consistently reflect Bristol's core values while interacting with members of the Bristol community.
• Focus on the Commonwealth's Equity Agenda by applying related best practices throughout all job functions.
• Perform other duties as assigned, consistent with the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Applicants must have at least (A) three years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in accounting or auditing, of which at least (B) one year must have been in a supervisory, administrative or managerial capacity, or (C) any equivalent combination of the required experience and the substitutions below.

Substitutions:

I. An associate degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management may be substituted for a maximum of one year of the required (A) experience.*

II. A Bachelor's degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management may be substituted for a maximum of two years of the required (A) experience.*

III. A graduate degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management may be substituted for the required experience.*

• Education toward such a degree will be prorated on the basis of the proportion of the requirements actually completed.

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: As of January 2022, candidates for employment should be aware that Community College students, faculty, and staff are required to be fully vaccinated. Accordingly, initial employment is dependent upon receipt and verification of full vaccination status records; details of how to fulfill vaccine record verification requirements will be provided during the hire and onboarding process.
• Knowledge of:
  • The principles and practices of payroll accounting including terminology.
  • The methods of general report writing, including Microsoft Excel skills.
• Demonstrated ability to:
  • Give written and oral instructions in a precise, understandable manner.
  • Analyze and determine the applicability of accounting data, to draw conclusions and to make appropriate recommendations.
  • Read and interpret documents such as financial reports, accounts, and ledgers.
  • Understand, apply, and explain the laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, etc. governing assigned unit activities.
  • Perform mathematical calculations using formulae to solve accounting problems.
  • Follow oral and written instructions.
  • Gather information by examining records and documents and through questioning individuals.
  • Maintain accurate records.
  • Prepare general and financial reports.
  • Write concisely, to express thoughts clearly and develop ideas in logical sequence.
  • Communicate effectively in oral expression.
  • Exercise sound judgment.
  • Exercise discretion in handling confidential information.
  • Deal tactfully with others.
  • Establish and maintain harmonious working relationships with others.
  • Work independently.
  • Work in a team setting.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum of an Associate degree with a major in accounting, business administration or business management.
• Minimum of three years of experience processing payroll transactions.
• Demonstrated advanced proficiency in using Microsoft Office 365 applications, including Word, Excel, and Access.
• Proven ability to multitask, manage competing projects, meet deadlines, and adapt to organizational change.
• Working knowledge of software applications, including but not limited to HR/CMS (PeopleSoft), LCM, CIW, Banner, Document Direct, and/or Massachusetts Management Accounting and Reporting System (MMARS).
• Ability to communicate in a language in addition to English.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The employee must meet the physical demands and work environment of the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable those with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

POSITION STATUS: This is a full-time, state funded, AFSCME, unit-classified position with benefits.

WORK SCHEDULE: Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm

CLASSIFICATION SPECIFICATION: https://www.mass.edu/shared/classificationspecs/specspers/Accountant Series.doc

SALARY: AFSCME Unit I, Grade 18, Step 1 $55,437.46 annually. Appointments from outside the bargaining unit begin at Step 1.