SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

Senior Accountant

Pontiac, MI

Description

FLSA: Administrative Exemption

Supervision Received: Works independently under the general supervision of Finance Director and/or Deputy Finance Director.

Supervision Given: Exercises direct supervision over technical, and administrative support staff.

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

The Senior Accountant will have knowledge of municipal government budget development and accounting practices. Reporting to the Finance Director, this individual will demonstrate skill in independent critical thinking and problem solving and have the ability to comprehend current and historical financial trends and make sound conclusions and recommendations.

The Senior Accountant provides analytical support to the City's senior management, performing confidential policy development, financial research and analysis. Performs professional accounting/financial analysis and research including operating and capital budget development and analyses, cost allocation, revenue forecasting and management reporting. Prepares ad hoc reports from City's central financial database.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Performs a variety of professional-level accounting and finance functions and analysis in support of the department and the entire city; serves as a technical resource to other City staff on a variety of budgeting, accounting and analytical needs.
• Assists in the preparation of citywide monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual financial and management reports in compliance with regulations and best practices, including research and data analysis. Resolves and explains differences, prepares corrections and required notes, statistical tables, schedules and other supplemental information as required.
• Coordinates fixed asset accountability for the City.
• Performs complex operating or capital budget analyses such as project expenditure/revenue trends; reconciles data between different sources; analyzes proposed operational and legislation changes and trends, and projects fiscal impacts. Prepares analysis and narratives in support of program plans.
• Prepares portions of the annual financial statements, including research and data analysis, corrections, supporting documentation, notes, statistical tables, schedules and other supplemental information as required.
• Serves as primary confidential analytical support to labor relations; develops statistical analysis of salary data of comparable cities for purposes of labor strategy development; analyzes benefit data trends and compares multiple plan costs for use in negotiations; calculates total costs of labor proposals for confidential consideration for collective bargaining sessions; reviews classification and compensation studies and provides analysis of median and high/low range costs for confidential policy development.
• Performs analyses related to the development of internal and external interagency agreements; develops revenue estimates and coordinates or prepares interagency agreements involving complex financing and rate arrangements.
• May be assigned staff oversight in the absence of the department director and/or managers, and may participate in department and City-wide teams and work groups.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• The ability to gather, organize, track, analyze and interpret data and effectively communicate analysis in written and oral form,
• Strong project management skills and the ability to work independently on multiple projects simultaneously.
• The ability to develop materials and present information.
• Knowledge of laws, regulations and standards pertaining to governmental accounting, BARS and financial reporting procedures.
• Knowledge of economic indicators, forecasting techniques, research methods and trends.
• Knowledge of generally accepted principles and practices of governmental financial accounting and budgeting.
• Knowledge of principles and practices of financial and statistical analysis, research techniques and financial record keeping and reporting.
• Knowledge of principles of compensation pertaining to public employers.
• Knowledge of The Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Knowledge of advanced mathematical principles.
• Knowledge of City organization, operations, policies and procedures.
• Knowledge of modern office procedures, methods, computer equipment and applicable software.
• Ability to analyze complex costing spreadsheets and prepare recommendations
• Ability to prepare and analyze the City's budgetary and financial statements
• Ability to analyze financial documents/information and draw appropriate conclusion
• Ability to exercise initiative and sound judgment and prioritize workload
• Ability to meet deadlines and handle multiple prioritize,
• Ability to support and model the identified vision, values and behaviors of the organization.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships
• Ability to use initiative and independent judgment within established procedural guidelines.
• Ability to operate a personal computer utilizing a variety of standard and specialist software.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

QUALIFICATIONS

• A bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or a related field and three years of progressively responsible experience;
• OR any combination of experience, education and training that would provide the level of knowledge and ability required.
• A master's degree in business administration and/or public sector experience are preferred.
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation is desired.
• Valid driver's license is required.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and stand; must regularly lift and or move items up to 25 pounds, and occasionally lift or move items over 50 pounds; be able to clearly hear constituents when speaking in person or on the telephone. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and the employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change. The City of Pontiac is an equal opportunity employer.

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