Accounting Director III

Job Summary:
The Assistant Accounting Director III is a senior-level managerial position responsible for providing direction and guidance in strategic operations and planning. This role involves establishing the strategic plan and goals, developing policies, procedures, and guidelines, and coordinating and evaluating program activities and/or business functions. The incumbent will oversee key financial functions, including general ledger, accounts payable, travel, procurement support, cash management, accounts receivable, and cost allocation. Additionally, they will oversee the preparation and dissemination of budget reports, studies, and information relating to budget operations and programs. The Assistant Accounting Director III will also review and approve all expenditures for the department, ensuring allowability and funding availability. Key Responsibilities:
• Directs program activities and/or business functions within a department or division. • Directs the development and implementation of financial strategic plans, accounting policies, procedures, and best practices for program operations. • Directs the planning and coordination of major activities of the accounting department, including the close out of the fiscal year, reallocation, and Annual Financial Report. • Oversees key financial functions within Accounting department such as general ledger, accounts payable, travel, procurement support, cash management, accounts receivable, and cost allocation. • Oversees and/or prepares a division or department budget and reviews and approves major expenditures; and ensures that requirements of funding sources are met. • Oversees the preparation and dissemination of budget reports, studies, and information relating to budget operations and programs. • Reviews and approves all expenditures for the department, ensuring allowability and funding availability. • Oversees the collection, organization, analysis, and preparation of reports. • Oversees the collection, organization, analysis, and preparation of annual, quarterly, and monthly financial reports, such as Annual Financial Report (AFR), Cash Management Improvement Act (CMIA) report, Federal Financial Status Reports (FFSR) and others. • Oversees the collection, organization, analysis, and preparation of routine internal status reports and any ad-hoc reports requested by internal and external stakeholders. • Develops and implements techniques for evaluating program activities and/or business functions within a department or division; and identifies need for changes. • Develops and implements cost containment and cost reduction strategies. • Develops and implements techniques to monitor the performance of the accounting sections. • Identifies systemic issues, policy conflicts, knowledge and process gaps and deficiencies within the accounting department. • Develops and implements tracking, reporting, and other methods to increase efficiency, close gaps, and resolve issues and conflicts. • Develops and establishes goals and objectives consistent with the agency's strategic plan. • Develops strategic plans and establishes goals to achieve the agency's mission and priorities by translating the Finance Division mission into specific and measurable goals for the fiscal year and biennium within each area of Accounting. • Develops policies, procedures, and guidelines; and monitors compliance. • Makes decisions concerning agency policies governing financial accounting activities in areas that include travel, cash management, federal reporting, accounts payable, procurement, payroll, child support payment distribution, children's income accounts (SSI), and cost allocation. • Based on policy evaluation results, directs staff to update existing policy or develop new policy, and implement new policy and policy changes. • Evaluates effectiveness of policy changes. • Plans, develops, and approves schedules, priorities, and standards for achieving goals; and directs evaluation activities. • Holds managers and other direct reports accountable by developing and implementing plans to achieve goals through periodic (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) monitoring of key accounting activities and events via reviewing and analyzing report data (example: error, transaction, production reports, etc.). • Represents the agency at business meetings, hearings, trials, legislative sessions, conferences, and seminars or on boards, panels, and committees. • Serves as subject matter expert related to financial accounting operations and represents the agency at the meeting with other state and federal agencies, audits, conferences, system planning and developing workgroups, etc. • Coordinates activities with the Comptroller of Public Accounts and various federal agencies. • Oversees and facilitates intra-agency and external workgroups, meetings, and committees to support agency program initiatives as well as federal and state regulatory directives. • Reviews and approves management, productivity, and financial reports and studies. • Oversees and performs qualitative review of comprehensive financial reports such as the Annual Financial Report (AFR), Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA), quarterly and annual federal financial reports, travel cost reports, reporting, and monthly financial reports. • Meets with Accounting Director, Deputy CFO, and CFO to provide information on key aspects of reports, identify potential issues and develop solutions. • Reviews results of special investigations, internal audits, research studies, forecasts, and modeling exercises to provide direction and guidance. • Reviews the results and recommendations of internal and external audits, investigations, studies, and forecasts and responds to findings. • Provides directions and guidance regarding the implementation of the recommendations and corrective actions from the studies, audits, and investigations. • May develop and oversee the implementation of long-range and short-term plans. • Works with agency IT, HHS PCS, HHS ESC and other agency program and support offices throughout the year to oversee the implementation of both long- and short-term and to sequence activities for year-end close with a major focus on critical payments, contract procurement and purchase requisition deadlines, and invoice processing and travel claims processing deadlines. • Supervises the work of others. • Makes decisions regarding staffing levels, staff classifications and repurposing, restructuring, workflow, process modifications and improvements, hiring, terminating, and other disciplinary decisions. • Performs related work as assigned. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
• Knowledge of local, state, and federal laws and regulations relevant to program activities and/or business functions; and the principles and practices of public administration and management. • Skill in establishing plans and setting objectives and goals that support an overall business strategy. • Ability to direct and organize program activities and/or business functions; to establish goals and objectives that support the strategic plan; to identify problems, evaluate alternatives, and implement effective solutions; to develop and evaluate policies and procedures; to prepare reports; to communicate effectively; and to supervise the work of others.

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