Finance Assistant

Thank you for your interest in Madison County.

Description

Work Unit Overview: The County Finance Office preserves the financial and personnel records of the County. This includes maintaining salary and payroll information and ensuring County employees are paid accurately according to established procedures and the law; and providing accurate and timely financial support services to public officials, departments, and the public to ensure efficient and effective use of County resources.
Job Summary: The Finance Clerk is responsible for compiling and recording County employee time and payroll data to ensure that employees receive accurate paychecks in accordance with established procedures and the law. Duties include processing and computing employee time and payroll information, maintaining employee records related to pay and benefits, and assisting in managing the employee benefits program for County employees. This position is also responsible for performing a variety of clerical accounting duties in accordance with county policies and legal requirements. These duties include performing accounts payable, accounts receivable, maintaining books and ledgers, coding and processing transactions, and related customer service. This position reports to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Essential Functions

Assist the CFO in the following duties:

• Identify assets by following the Madison County capitalization policy and ensure that this information is entered in the fixed asset subsidiary ledger of the Black Mountain Software program. Calculate depreciation for all assets and balance to the detail year end expenditure report. May require traveling to other departments to obtain pictures of assets to be loaded to the associated asset tag.
• Using an excel spreadsheet keep track of inventory for insurance purposes.
• Process paperwork for new employees. Enter all pertinent employee information into the payroll and benefit system.
• Assist CFO with all payroll functions to ensure County staff is paid in an accurate and timely manner. Establish and maintain payroll files; process forms; enter time and payroll data; verify pay amounts and adjustments; and hours of work. Track employee hours for eligibility for wage step increases, longevity pay raises, and vacation and sick leave accrual.
• Process and issue paychecks and statement of earnings and deductions to County employees according to established procedures. This includes verifying coding and signatures on checks; preparing, sorting and mailing printed checks; setting up direct deposit systems; and other duties associated with payroll processing.
• Distribute payroll deductions (e.g., retirement, health insurance, dues, etc.) according to department policies and in compliance with local, state, and Federal statutes. Maintain and organize employee personnel payroll files.
• Complete, verify, and process forms and documentation for administration of benefits such as pension plans, unemployment and medical insurance. Process and maintain records such as staff leaves, terminations for notification of FMLA and/or COBRA coverage and for possible future Unemployment Claims.
• Compile statistical reports, statements, and summaries related to pay and benefits and submit them to the appropriate departments, boards, commissions, and County officials according to established procedures.
• Compose a variety of materials (e.g. reports, memos, spreadsheets, letters, procedures, manuals, etc.) for the purpose of documenting activities and providing written reference.
• Provide information to employees and managers on payroll matters, tax issues, and benefit plans.
• Review and process claims submitted to the County for payment according to established procedures and laws. Ensure appropriate information and back up are included, assist department heads by providing the information they need to review and approve claims, and ensure that all paid claims are filed appropriately in order that they will be easily retrieved for audits.
• Rotate the claims boxes on an annual basis.
• Maintain copies and working knowledge of the contracts that various vendors have with the County for goods and services to ensure payments are in accordance with the contract terms. Maintain and update vendor files to ensure all accounts payable activities are performed promptly according to department procedures. Process 1099s, mail to vendors, and file with state and federal revenue agencies as required by law at the close of each calendar year.
• Complete billing and accounts receivable procedures according to established methods to ensure that County entities receive payment for goods and services. This includes proofreading, verifying, sorting daily transmittal reports and receipts for goods/services provided by the County; entering billing information into the appropriate accounting software; ensuring that monthly bills are printed, collated and mailed; and receiving, recording, and banking cash, checks, and vouchers.
• Maintain general and subsidiary ledgers and journals, post debits and credits, record receipts and balances to the County’s accounting system according to established procedures and laws. Examine all financial transactions to make entries to the appropriate departmental account.
• Classify, record, and summarize numerical and financial data to compile and keep financial records, using journals and ledgers or computers. Code accounting transactions according to county procedures.
• Send out budget reports monthly to department heads.
• Assist with the budgeting process.
• Perform general accounting journal entries and administrative work such as answering phones, distributing departmental mail and providing assistance to the public as needed to assist County staff and customers.
• Assist with checking the mill levy requirement schedule, the non-levy, and the voted levy schedule.
• Operate postage machine and monitor for scheduled maintenance.

Education and Experience

The job requires education and experience equivalent to a high school diploma or GED and (2) two years related experience. Equivalencies include an Associate’s degree in accounting or a related field, with course work in business, math, accounting, bookkeeping and record keeping and previous payroll experience.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

This job requires knowledge of federal and state wage and hour laws, and related regulations; payroll, governmental accounting and bookkeeping practices and principles; administrative and clerical procedures; business computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheets and databases; records management and retention; form design; office procedures and terminology; accounting software, accounts receivable, and accounts payable; and the organization and operation of the County government. Knowledge of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and follow the process to ensure HIPAA compliance.
The job requires skill in mathematics, communicating verbally and in writing, active listening, reading comprehension, monitoring, critical thinking and time management, making informed presentations, and processing transactions quickly and accurately.
The job requires the ability to operate general office equipment including computers and software applications; to read and interpret documents such as spread and balance sheets, invoices, and correspondence; to calculate figures; to compute rates, ratios, and percentages; to read and comprehend instructions, correspondence, and memos; to maintain confidentiality of wage and salary information and respect the confidentiality of information related to accounting duties; and to solve problems involved in working with payroll, insurances, budgets, and computer systems.

Madison County is an Equal Employment Opportunity.