GRANTS SENIOR STAFF ACCOUNTANT

Position Overview

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) is seeking an organized, professional, and results oriented individual to serve as a Grants Senior Staff Accountant. Responsibilities include reconciliation of and reporting on agency accounts pertaining to grants and administrative funds in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), federal guidelines, and Illinois Comptroller's Office regulations and related ledgers, ensuring that all accounting systems and subsystems are in balance and consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). This position provides a great opportunity for someone who has a strong knowledge of creating journal entries, maintaining general ledgers and performing financial analysis and who is dedicated to ensuring compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Federal Guidelines, and Illinois Comptroller's Office regulations. The ideal candidate for this position will have extensive experience maintaining ledgers for large funds, preparing accrual journal entries, performing account reconciliations, and using Microsoft Excel to perform complex analyses and create reports. IDES offers a competitive compensation plan, excellent benefits, and a pension program. We invite you to join our innovative team to help make a positive difference in the lives of Illinois employers and job seekers.

Essential Functions

• Under direction, serves as a Grants Senior Staff Accountant for the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES)
• Reviews, analyzes and reconciles accounting transactions to ensure accuracy
• Performs reconciliations of agency’s grants and administrative funds accounting systems and related ledgers, ensuring that accounting systems and subsystems are in balance and consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Illinois Comptroller's Office regulations and relevant state and federal guidelines
• Utilizes a PC and systems including but not limited to Microsoft (MS) Excel, SAP and SAP High-performance Analytic Appliance (HANA) reporting and analytic tools to extract, compile an analyze financial data and prepare complex financial statements and reports
• As directed, confers and consults with various agency staff, the Illinois Comptroller's Office and other interested parties to resolve complex technical issues and/or interpretation of policies and to ensure accurate journal entries and financial reports
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties enumerated above

Minimum Qualifications

• Requires knowledge, skill and mental development equivalent to completion of four (4) years college, with courses in business administration and accounting
• Requires two (2) years of professional experience in accounting, external auditing, budgetary planning and control or public accounting

Preferred Qualifications

• Two (2) years of professional experience using Microsoft Excel to create complex financial analyses and reports, including but not limited to experience creating pivot tables and creating formulas to perform calculations and analysis
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or a closely related field
• Four (4) years of professional experience in accounting or a related field
• Two (2) years of experience using accounting systems to maintain General Ledgers; examples of applicable accounting systems include but are not limited to: SAP and QuickBooks
• Two (2) years of experience using financial systems to extract data and perform analysis
• Basic proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite products, including Outlook, Word and Excel
• One (1) year of professional experience using SAP High-performance Analytic Appliance (HANA) reporting and analytic tools, including but not limited to custom queries, to extract, compile an analyze financial data
• Professional experience speaking to various groups to convey policy and procedures in a manner easily understood by diverse audiences

Conditions of Employment

• Requires an Illinois State Police background check and self-disclosure of any criminal history.
• Requires ability to travel in the performance of duties, with overnight stays as appropriate.
• This position is considered sedentary work as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor (20 CFR 404.1567(a)). Sedentary work involves lifting no more than 10 pounds at a time and requires occasional lifting, carrying, walking, and standing.
• Requires ability to attend seminars, conferences, and trainings to stay current on methods, tools, ideologies, or other industry related topics relevant to the job duties.
• The conditions of employment listed here are incorporated and related to any of the job duties as listed in the job description.

About the Agency

The Illinois Department of Employment Security’s (IDES) mission is to serve Illinois workers and employers to the best of our ability and to use our knowledge of the Illinois workforce to inform sound policy decision making. IDES encourages economic growth and stability in Illinois by providing vital Employment Services to Illinois residents and employers, analyzing and disseminating actionable Labor Market Information, and administering Unemployment Insurance programs.