Special Projects Accountant

Under general direction, professional accounting work in the establishment and maintenance of accounts, records and budgets for the County; to report financial and statistical information timely and accurately; to maintain complex accounting records and reports; and to perform related duties as assigned.
 
SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED 
Receives general direction from Auditor-Controller.  Exercises no direct supervision over staff.  May provide technical and functional direction to lower level staff.
 
CLASS CHARACTERISTICS 
Special Projects Accountant is a technical specialist class in the professional accounting series. Incumbents perform specialized and highly complex accounting project and fiscal related work. Incumbents are distinguished from Senior Accountant by the latter’s supervision of subordinate staff. (Illustrative Only)
Management reserves the right to add, modify, change, or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job.
 

• Provides responsible professional and technical assistance in the administration and implementation of the County's financial, auditing, and accounting programs to staff, other department personnel including department heads, The County Administrative Office, members of the public and outside audit firms.
• Prepares a wide variety of financial and statistical reports, including year-end reporting, budgetary reports, assisting in the preparation of the annual report, and preparing other legal documents and management analysis. 
• Monitors expenditures, revenues, and budget allocations to determine the County's financial status and prepares custom reports, graphs, and schedules as needed. 
• Prepares journal entries and reconciles general ledger and subsidiary accounts related to postings from payroll, accounts payable, cash receipts, and accounts receivable; prepares monthly financial statements, including distributing monthly revenue and expenditure reports to departments; prepares numerous monthly financial reports.
• Analyzes and reconciles expenditure and revenue accounts; reviews and processes appropriation transfer requests between accounts; reconciles bank statements to the general ledger.
• Participates in and assumes responsibility for various departmental programs including financial statements, general ledger, monthly statements, and special projects accounting; conducts and prepares special studies and reports. 
• Records and maintains appropriate controls for fixed assets including the scheduling of surplus asset sales; assists in the County's purchase orders and accounts payable system, auditing and financial analysis, grant accounting, and special reports. 
• Maintains and monitors the County’s grant funds and ensures compliance with rules and regulations governing the use of each grant.
• Directs accounting for all County fixed assets. Schedules auctions for the sale of surplus assets; maintains related records.  
• Prepares daily, weekly and/or monthly spreadsheets for use in analyzing financial activities and conditions. 
• Performs general accounting work as assigned, which may include processing accounts payable and receivable, posting journal entries, auditing and verifying the accuracy of invoices for payment, balancing cash receipts, reconciling bank statements, etc. 
• Assists with budget maintenance and review. 
• Responds to inquiries, requests for assistance and complaints pertaining to areas of responsibility. 
• Maintains cost accounting system. 
• Prepare annual County A-87 cost plan. 
• Balances accounts with the Auditor’s Office including but not limited to general fund contingency, outstanding warrants month balance, year end balance sheet accounts.
• Prepare State Controller’s reports for Special Districts.
• Completes year-end closing procedures. 
• Attends meetings, conferences, workshops, and training sessions, and reviews publications to remain current on principles, practices, and new developments in the field of accounting.
• Provides training and leadership of lower-level accountants and technical staff as assigned. 
• Performs general administrative / clerical work as required, including typing reports and correspondence, copying and filing documents, maintaining logs and lists, entering and retrieving computer data, preparing spreadsheets, sending and receiving faxes, answering the telephone, processing mail, assisting customers, etc.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge of: 

• Principles, practices, and methods of public and governmental accounting and financing, including program budgeting and auditing and their application to operations. 
• General principles and practices of data processing and its applicability to accounting operations. 
• Applicable Federal, State, and local laws, regulatory codes, ordinances, and procedures relevant to government financial operations.
• Principles and procedures related to budgetary preparation, control, and development.
• Principles and practices of financial analysis, auditing, and reporting.
• Principles and practices of business organization and public administration. 
• Principles and procedures of financial record keeping.
• Modern office practices, methods, and computer equipment and applications related to accounting applications, including word processing and spreadsheet software.
• English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation. 
• Techniques for providing a high level of customer service by effectively dealing with the public, vendors, contractors, and County staff.

 
Ability to: 

• Learn and apply pertinent federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations.
• Learn and apply County and department policies and procedures.
• Understand and follow oral and written instructions.
• Examine and verify financial documents and reports.
• Prepare a variety of financial statements and reports.
• Make accurate arithmetic, financial, and statistical computations.
• Enter and retrieve data from a computer with sufficient speed and accuracy.
• Operate modern office equipment including computer equipment and specialized software applications programs.
• Use English effectively to communicate in person, over the telephone, and in writing.
• Use tact, initiative, prudence, and independent judgment within general policy, procedural, and legal guidelines.
• Establish, maintain, and foster positive and effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
• Analyze financial data and draw sound conclusions. 
• Prepare, examine, analyze and verify, clear, complete, and concise financial documents and reports. 
• Interpret, apply, explain, and ensure compliance with Federal, State, and local policies, procedures, laws, and regulations.
• Establish and maintain a variety of filing, record-keeping, control, and tracking systems.
• Understand and carry out a variety of complex instructions in a responsible and independent manner.
• Organize and prioritize a variety of projects and multiple tasks in an effective and timely manner; organize own work, set priorities, and meet critical time deadlines.

                                                                                             
Education and Experience:
Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying.  A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:
 
Equivalent to graduation from a four-year college or university with a degree in accounting or a closely related field and two years of experience in governmental accounting at a level equivalent to the classification of Accountant I with Tuolumne County.
 
Licenses and Certifications: 

• Possession of, or ability to obtain, a valid California Driver’s License by time of appointment. 

Technical skills needed to be successful in this position:

• Proficiency in GAAP
• Knowledge of accrual accounting
• Understanding of double-entry accounting
• Auditing
• Central Square
• Microsoft Office

Interpersonal skills needed to be successful in this position:

• Critical thinking
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Time management
• Coachability

Salary : $27 - $33