Fiscal Analyst

The City of Alexandria is bordered by Washington D.C. and the Potomac River, Arlington and Fairfax counties, and Maryland. The small city has a cosmopolitan feel with 150,000 people living within its 15.75 square miles. At the Department of Community and Human Services, we provide essential safety net services to help city residents enjoy a sense of well-being, safety and self-sufficiency. Our behavioral health programs provide compassionate services that support self-determination and recovery. The beauty of our diverse and resilient people and our commitment to race and social equity, coupled with a historic district dating to 1749, charming waterfront, vibrant arts community and unique places for foodies and shopping, make the City of Alexandria a uniquely wonderful place to live, work and play. We invite all qualified candidates to learn more and apply for our Fiscal Analyst position.

The Fiscal Analyst (Fiscal Assistant I) is the entry level in the occupational group of Fiscal Assistants. Employees are responsible for routine computations, processing checks, assisting vendors, maintaining files, forms and reports and other clerical functions. Responsibilities require having some knowledge of accounting and bookkeeping principles. Employees perform duties under close supervision and must comply with directives and follow established policies and procedures. The Fiscal Assistant I class is distinguished from the Fiscal Assistant II by the latter’s having working knowledge of accounting and bookkeeping principles and processing a variety of documents for payment involving auditing for completion and accuracy requiring some judgment and interpretation of financial policies and regulations.

Examples of Duties:

• Reviews and verifies the accuracy of a variety of expenditures and revenue reports from the States' accounting system and the City's' accounting system to prepare monthly analyses of expenditures and revenues, to include the resolution of any financial issues requiring adjustments;
• Ensures that all transactions are properly coded, approved, signed and documented;
• Creates, purges and maintains an efficient filing system for all financial records;
• Maintains monthly review and code adjustments to all State credit card activity;
• Processes all transactions appropriate for client refunds;
• Develops, maintains, and monitors various facets of a department's reimbursement system, including overseeing and maintaining billing and collection of client, third-party payer and contract program payments;
• Monitors fiscal condition of operating programs;
• Reviews monthly Performance Accounting reports and prepares corrections for the Finance Division;
• Develops financial analyses for developing and monitoring the division budget;
• Initiates vouchers and requisitions for payment for goods and services obtained in operating programs, and recommends Divisional purchases and payments in accordance with City, State and Federal regulations;
• Oversees computerized tracking system of Maintenance and Solid Waste Division expenditures;
• Assists in planning, coordinating, and administering a computerized management information system;
• Assists Grants Manager for grant close-out;
• Performs all purchasing & accounting activities for unit;
• Responds to agency and vendor inquiries regarding status of payments, and researches and resolves vendor inquiries on past due invoices. Resolves various other problems regarding payment to vendors;
• Develops, maintains & monitors program reimbursement system, including client rent payments & contract program payments;
• Assists in planning, developing and preparing the annual operating budget and periodic projections;
• Prepares monthly budget reports of maintenance activity and outcome;
• Attends quarterly meeting and prepares related documents;
• Coordinates preparation of annual facilities budget and oversees execution of approval budget by program staff and contractors;
• Monitors program expenditures & revenues and recommends solutions to identified issues;
• Enters new vendors into system, processes invoices, edits and posts accounts, prints checks, maintains records and files, including cash disbursements, journal entries, payroll, monthly and yearly end, audit, bank, budget, carryover, income, monthly budget summary, and investments;
• Creates journal entries of cash receipts, including electronic transfers, monies from debit card machines and cash registers;
• Prepares grant applications for Federal and non-Federal budget requests, administers grants to insure that allocations are not over expended, and prepares and submits periodic reports to grantors;
• Prepares, reviews and verifies bi-weekly payroll information and resolves staff payroll problems in coordination with the Finance/Accounting Department and with the assistance of the City's Performance Accounting software;
• Monitors billing of third-party payer (credit cards), monitors that funds collected are equal to projection in budget, and administers refunds to patrons;
• Reviews timecards for employees biweekly;
• Participates in budget preparation and mid-year budget revisions;
• Prepares schedules for submission to Finance regarding fixed assets;
• Prepares General Fund Expenditure report to Office of Management and Budge;
• Exercises responsibility for fiscal-management activities, and plans, implements and maintains department's financial management system;
• Coordinates annual audit and financial statement preparation;
• Reconciles bank statements, with outstanding checks, debiting of interests, crediting of service charges to match up with general ledger and hand kept balances;
• Provides technical guidance on financial matters to employees within the department;
• Communicates work progress and accomplishments in oral and written reports, and generates own new work assignments through feedback obtained in discussions;
• Responds to policy and procedural questions regarding budget, finance and other matters;
• Provides support documentation and schedules to auditors;
• Performs related work as required.

Minimum Qualifications:

High school diploma supplemented with basic fiscal support experience OR any equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. Some knowledge of clerical practices, office procedures, automated equipment, and business related mathematics. Skill in operating a personal computer, associated business and agency software, a calculator, and other office machines. Demonstrated ability to perform computations with reasonable speed and accuracy; Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with others in giving and obtaining information, in following prescribed operating instructions, and in preparing routine reports from fiscal data.

Preferred Qualifications:

Two Year College Degree with coursework in accounting or financial management. Considerable experience in the field of accounting and financial management. Some experience involving public accounting or public financial administration; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. Four Year College Degree. Some experience with commercial financial software application. Ability to interpret fiscal accounting records and to prepare accurate and complete reports.