ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT

The City of Helena is an equal opportunity employer. The City shall, upon request, provide reasonable accommodations to otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities.
Job Purpose:
Under direction of the Finance Director and Controller, perform a variety of accounting and administrative duties including assisting with banking and receivable activities, acting as the city’s liaison for liability and property insurance claims, entering department payables, handling department mail, daily deposits and office supplies; organize and update loan receivable tables and act as the finance point person for loan pay-off and other information; performs various administrative duties such as records management, office supplies, and records management. Assistance is provided to supervisors and other department staff. Occasionally may be called upon to assist the utility customer service department with mail and administrative tasks.
Essential Duties: These job functions are the essential duties of the position and are not all-inclusive of all the duties the incumbent may be assigned.
60% Accounting Support
This position is responsible for preparing daily deposits and entering daily banking activity on the banking worksheet. Ensures appropriate documentation for each deposit is received and managed according to retention policies. Excel spreadsheets are used extensively as tools to facilitate balancing between the bank, credit card processing companies and the accounting system.
Record loan receivables in established schedules. Ensure documents have been recorded with the County Clerk’s office. Update loan schedules with new loans, loan payoffs and expired loans. Organize loan documents so they can be easily referred to and tie to loan schedules. Prepare loan-payoff estimates for supervisor to review and act as the city finance liaison for escrow companies and brokerage firms.
Enter department purchase orders and direct invoices.
Create miscellaneous billings for audit, county shared services, etc.
Responsible for administering the department petty cash funds.
Supports accounts payable and receivable personnel as assigned. While this position is not expected to perform at the Accounts Receivable or Accounts Payable Technician level, they may be called upon to cross-train to support those activities as needed.

15% Liability and Property Insurance
Administer the City’s liability and property insurance claims.
Monitor claims as they are submitted. Contact claimant if necessary to finalize the claim and send it to the insurance adjuster.
Communicates and collaborates with other city departments and the City Attorney’s office to gather claim information in order to process claims with accuracy in an efficient manner.
Maintains and updates the monthly claim files and reports.
Prepares monthly liability deductible invoice by reviewing claims and determining what division the deductible payment is assigned for cost recovery purposes.
Administer the annual property insurance valuation updates. This includes collecting property data from the insurance carrier, organizing it by division and sending each division their respective sections to review, update and return. Ensures all property data has been updated with current values and sends back to the insurance carrier. Fields questions from divisions and insurance carrier on property data.
Finalizes all insurance renewal information and ensures updated certificates are received and organized in the insurance file.

25% Administrative
Prepares and updates procedural manuals as assigned.
Process incoming and outgoing mail.
Uses standard computer software to word process, proofread and process a variety of documents, including general correspondence, reports, meeting agendas and minutes, memos, and spreadsheets.
This position is responsible for tracking and managing department files for records retention compliance.
This position manages office supply inventory and is required to order, receive, inventory, store, and distribute supplies, forms, and related items.
Other administrative duties as assigned.

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Related to this Position:
Knowledge of:
·Customer service skills including active listening and problem solving
·Strong organizational skills
·Make correct mathematical calculations
·Principles and procedures of record keeping
·Generally accepted accounting and bookkeeping principles
·Knowledge of federal and state laws or ability to research and familiarize self as related to position duties.
·Learn and become highly functional in several major modules of the City’s accounting software

Skill or ability to:
·Communicate effectively both orally and in writing
·Establish, maintain and foster positive, harmonious, and effective, professional working relationships with employees and the public
·Practice excellent time management and organizational skills
·Perform varied and responsible fiscal and operational duties as outlined in job description.
·Exercise sound decision-making and problem-solving skills
·Exercise strong interpersonal skills
·Multi-task and work with routine interruption
·Exercise proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel & Word)
·Perform analytical and mathematical skills
·Maintain the highest degree of integrity when handling confidential data
Physical Demands:
The position requires the ability to perform sedentary physical work with the ability to lift and carry up to 10 pounds regularly and on occasion up to 50 pounds. The position must have the ability to perform body movements applicable to records management and an office environment.

Safety
Performs all functions in the safest possible manner and according to policies and procedures. Participates fully with safety trainings. Reports unsafe work conditions and practices, work-related injuries, illnesses, and near-misses as soon as possible to assigned supervisor.

Minimum Qualifications (Education, Experience and Training):
Requires a high school diploma or GED certificate.
Prefers a certificate of completion or graduation from a two-year business, vocational, trade school or college curriculum.
Requires proficiency and working knowledge in Microsoft Word and Excel; interoffice and public communications; and frequent interpersonal contact in the performance of duties.
Requires a minimum of two years of experience in using a computerized accounting system.
Other relevant combinations of education and work experience may be evaluated on an individual basis.

License or Certificate:
Must possess a valid driver’s license with acceptable driving record at the time of hire and have the ability to obtain a valid MT driver’s license within six months of hire.

Supervision Received:
Under general direction of the Finance Director and City Controller with Controller acting as direct supervisor.
Supervision Exercised:
None