Accountant, Senior (Budget Analyst)

Analyze and reconcile County’s benefit programs monthly – providing information with accuracy and timeliness within the guidelines of Governmental Accounting Standards Board procedures, County policies and procedures, and budget guidelines and federal, state and local laws and ordinances.  Reports to the Budget Manager or other designated person and works with co-workers, department directors, auditors, vendors (engineering firms and contractors), the general public, and elected officials and representatives to provide accurate and accessible records.

• Reconcile city deductions to monthly invoices for various city benefits (vision, life, dental, medicare, etc.); send recons to vendors & HR for their review each month.  Prepares comparative analyses of operating programs and submits reports to the Budget Manager with recommendations for budget revision.
• Assists departments in the preparation of budget requests by performing budget fieldwork – i.e., analyzing alternative budget scenarios, executing fiscal studies, visiting department heads, and reviewing request for format and content.
• Monitors the expenditures/charges of assigned departments – reviews projects’ expected expenditures to ensure progress within the approved budget.
• Provides technical assistance during budget hearings and performs initial cut of expenditure requests based on budgetary guidelines. Reviews budget requests & budget amendments for accuracy and makes recommendations for budget adjustments to the Budget Manager
• Serves as back up for Grants Coordinator; handles basic grants from application to award to monitoring expenditures and submitting requests for reimbursement.
• Assists and provides data to internal and external auditors.  
• Performs other duties of a similar nature or level.

Education:  BA/BS from accredited college in a course of study related to occupational field of Accounting or Finance

Experience: Three (3) years of experience in Accounting or Finance.  Budget Analyst experience preferred. 
 
Knowledge/Skills/Abilities: 
 

• Considerable knowledge of procedures and requirements for budget preparation, review and analysis procedures, financial system operation, and local government accounting. 
• Familiarity with relevant federal, state and local laws and county policies and procedures. 
• Proficiency in principles of generally accepted accounting practices, planning, organizing, and establishing priorities, public speaking and interpersonal relations.
• Mastery of concepts of organizational management, operation of personal computer, both in general and specific to specialized software (i.e., spreadsheets, word processor, etc.), report preparation and mathematical calculations.
• Good communication skills, both oral and written.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently

 
PERFORMANCE APTITUDES:

• Data Utilization:  Requires the ability to evaluate, audit, deduce, and/or assess data using established criteria. Includes exercising discretion in determining actual or probable consequences and in referencing such evaluation to identify and select alternatives.
• Human Interaction:   Requires the ability to work with and apply principles of persuasion and/or influence over others to coordinate programs or activities of a project, and resolve typical problems associated with the responsibilities of the job.
• Equipment:  Requires the ability to operate, maneuver and/or control the actions of equipment, machinery, tools, and/or materials used in performing essential functions.
• Verbal:  Requires the ability to utilize a wide variety of reference, descriptive, advisory and/or design data and information.
• Math:  Requires the ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; ability to calculate decimals and percentages; may include ability to perform mathematical operations with fractions; may include ability to compute discount, interest, and ratios; may include ability to calculate surface areas, volumes, weights, and measures.
• Functional Reasoning:   Requires the ability to apply principles of influence systems, such as motivation, incentive, and leadership, and to exercise independent judgment to apply facts and principles for developing approaches and techniques to resolve problems.
• Situational Reasoning:  Requires the ability to exercise judgment, decisiveness and creativity in situations involving the evaluation of information against sensory, judgmental, or subjective criteria, as opposed to that which is clearly measurable or verifiable.
• Physical Abilities:   Tasks require the ability to exert light physical effort in sedentary to light work, but which may involve some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of light weight (5-10 pounds). Tasks may involve extended periods of time at a keyboard or work station.
• Sensory Requirements:   Some tasks require the ability to communicate orally. 
• Environmental Factors:  Essential functions are regularly performed without exposure to adverse environmental conditions.

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees to this job.

Salary : $45,738 - $52,599