TRUST FUND SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

Position Overview

The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) is seeking an organized, professional, and results oriented individual to serve as a Trust Fund Senior Accountant. Responsibilities include reconciliation of and reporting on agency accounts pertaining to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund (UTF) 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 is dedicated to ensuring compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Federal Guidelines, and State of Illinois Comptroller's Office regulations. The ideal candidate for this position will have extensive experience maintaining ledgers for large funds, preparing accrual journal entries, and performing account reconciliations. 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 Trust Fund Senior Accountant for the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES)
• Reconciles Unemployment Insurance (UI) Clearing Account deposits and UI Benefit Account withdrawals to Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund (UTF) transactions
• Performs reconciliations of agency’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund (UTF) accounting system and related ledgers, ensuring that all accounting systems and subsystems are in balance and consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Comptroller's Office regulations and all relevant state and federal guidelines
• Prepares annual accrual journal entries for entry into the financial reporting system of the Illinois Office of the Comptroller (IOC)
• Reconciles the total deposits in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Clearing Account to the total money allocated in GenTax
• Prepares schedules and support documentation for use in annual determination of the State Experience Factor
• Reviews manual checks prepared for issuance prior to submission for approval to the Manager
• Maintains accounting records for the collection of Accounts Receivable from the General Revenue Fund for benefits paid to former federal and state employees
• As directed, confers and consults with various agency staff, the State of 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

• 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 performing complex financial reconciliations
• Two (2) years of experience in government accounting
• Two (2) years of experience using financial systems to extract tax and/or revenue data and perform analysis; examples of applicable financial systems include but are not limited to: SAP and GenTax
• Two (2) years of experience using accounting systems to maintain General Ledgers; examples of applicable accounting systems include but are not limited to: Financial Edge NXT and QuickBooks
• Experience using Microsoft Excel to create complex financial analyses and reports
• Basic proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite products, including Outlook, Word and Excel
• 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.