What are the responsibilities and job description for the Financial Accounts Payable Clerk position at Tompkins County?
Financial Accounts Payable Clerk
SALARY: Hire Rate - $24.92/hr / Work Rate - $26.22/hr
TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT: Full Time
ISSUE DATE: 01/27/25
THE FINAL DATE TO FILE APPLICATIONS: 02/16/25
DATE THAT THIS ANNOUNCEMENT SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM POSTING: 02/17/25
RESIDENCY: Candidates must have been legal residents of Tompkins County or one of the six adjoining counties (Cayuga,
Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Seneca, Tioga) for at least one month immediately preceding the date of application and maintain
residency. For Examinations: The eligible list resulting from the examination will be established in accordance with the final
earned numerical ratings of passing candidates regardless of residence. A municipality or district may exercise its right under
section 23-4-a. of Civil Service Law to request a certification of eligible candidates who have been residents of that municipality
or district for at least one month prior to appointment. After the names of residents have been exhausted, Tompkins County must
then certify the names of non-residents on the list.
We have an exciting opportunity in Tompkins County Finance Department for an enthusiastic Financial Accounts Payable Clerk.
Responsibilities include a wide range of Accounts Payable functions including payments that go through Procurement Cards
(P-Card).
Successful candidates will have the following competencies:
Accurate, detail-oriented, organized, good communication skills.
Ability to develop Intermediate Excel skills.
Ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality and professionalism.
A high sense of urgency to meet deadlines and persistence to find solutions.
An interest in continuous professional development.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: EITHER:
a. Completion of 30 credit hours at a New York State registered regionally accredited college or university which must have
included at least ten credit hours in accounting or bookkeeping AND six months full time paid (or equivalent part-time and/or
volunteer) experience in accounting transaction processing; OR
b. Graduation from High School or possession of a high school equivalency diploma AND 18 months full time paid (or equivalent
part-time and/or volunteer) experience in accounting transaction processing.; OR
c. Any combination of training and experience equal to or greater than that defined in (a), (b) above.
Tompkins County is Committed to Equity and Inclusion. We encourage those with similar values to apply.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:
This is a routine finance data preparing and processing position providing for the review and processing of documents to issue
payments for vendor invoices and other financial obligations in accordance with internal accounting policies and practices.
This position also highlights the day-to-day administration of all payment cycle activities in a timely and efficient manner. This
position requires the ability to make independent judgments and decisions on a/p vouchers submitted for payment. This position
reviews purchase orders, statements, and invoices to verify amounts owed, reconciling invoices. Accuracy is valued as well as
efficiency, with attention to details and processes. The position will interact directly with multiple departments and ensure that
vouchers/invoices submitted are appropriate expenditures for the various programs and operations of Tompkins County. The
work is performed under the general direction of the Director of Accounting Services.
TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES:
Finance Accounts Payable Clerks are typically required to:
- Review a variety of documents such as vouchers, bills, purchase orders, and contracts to determine eligibility
- Work within timeframes and meet various deadlines throughout each week to ensure regular and ‘mini’ check
- Verify all calculations, department/unit number, account numbers, and project codes on documents;
- Complete multiple step process to post figures to appropriate accounts (either manually or through a computer),
- Pay careful attention to detail and ability to self-check work
- Reconcile all entries, both debits and credits; this may include preparation of batch reports and verification of
- Prepare simple financial or statistical reports from data entered, including status of accounts, current balances,
- Regularly handle rush items, or items falling outside of normal processing. Often requires communication with
- Ability to prioritize work items, tasks and projects;
- Produce data needed for State and federal reimbursement claims accurately;
- Be aware of process to receive cash payments, issues receipts, prepares checks for disbursement, deposits funds
- Regular Contact with outside clients, vendors, to obtain additional information as necessary;
- Regular daily contact with departments, and various staffing within departments including department heads,
- Utilize independent judgement to resolve situations and involve division managers, directors as needed.
- Regularly explain and instruct staff of various county departments purchasing processes and policies.
- Provide routine information orally or in writing in response to inquiries;
- File and maintain all related records as records related to processing invoices, vouchers, bills, correspondence
- Receive, balance and audit records;
- Process data either for computer or other records with precision and attention to detail and computations as
- Operate a calculator and other related office equipment.
Finance Accounts Payable Clerks (in addition to the above typical work activities) will be required to perform data entry,
type forms, form letters, transcripts, invoices, vouchers, records, payrolls, reports, letters, memoranda, etc. on a
typewriter, word processor, or personal computer.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS:
- Good knowledge of general accounting principles and procedures and ability to apply such knowledge to
records and accounts;
- Maintain high level of ethics, confidentiality and professionalism;
- Effective communication with colleagues, outside vendors, and various departmental staff across the county –
- Experience using financial accounting software;
- Ability to make sound judgements and communicate those effectively; Working knowledge of office
- Ability to communicate well with multiple levels of staff across all departments;
- Ability to multitask and set priorities;
- Ability to perform close, detail work involving considerable visual effort and strain;
- Working knowledge of office methods and procedures and familiarity with the use of standard office
- Working knowledge of Windows and Microsoft Office Suite products along with other software frequently
- Working knowledge of the general principles of public finances administration, including budgeting and
- Ability to prepare complete and accurate accounting reports and statements of some complexity;
- Ability to perform detailed work including written or numeric data and to make arithmetic calculations rapidly
- Ability to enter data in a timely and accurate manner;
- Ability to follow complex oral and written instructions;
- Ability to work independently and prioritize tasks;
- Ability to stay well-organized and meet deadlines;
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
- Ability to work professionally and respectfully with a diverse staff, contractors, and the public;
- Ability to follow-up on outstanding items, tasks, including outside requests.
- Physical and mental condition commensurate with the demands of the position.
Created: 9/2021
F34
FURTHER INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
Falsification of any part of the "Application for Employment" will result in disqualification.
Accepted candidates will be notified when and where to appear for the examination. If you do not receive your notice to appear at least three days before the
date of the written examination, call Tompkins County Department of Human Resources at 274-5526. If an application is disapproved, due notice will be
sent. This department does not make formal acknowledgment of the receipt of an application or take responsibility for non-delivery or postal delay.
Applicants must answer every question on the application form and make sure that the application is complete in all respects. Incomplete applications will
be disapproved.
ACTIVE MILITARY PERSONNEL, VETERANS OR DISABLED VETERANS desiring to claim additional credit will request the Veterans Credits
application form, at any time between the date of application for examination(s) and the date of the establishment of the resulting eligible list. You must
meet the requirements set by NYS for these credits and they may be used only once. YOU MAY NOT CLAIM ADDITIONAL CREDITS AFTER THE
ELIGIBLE LIST HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. IT IS THE CANDIDATE'S RESPONSIBILITY TO REQUEST THE VETERANS CREDIT
APPLICATION FORMS AND TO SUBMIT THESE FORMS AND ANY SUPPORTING PAPERWORK BEFORE THE ELIGIBLE LIST IS
ESTABLISHED.
Tompkins County's written examinations are prepared and rated by the New York State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Section 23-2 of
Civil Service Law. The provisions of the New York State Civil Service Rules and Regulations, which deal with the rating and review of the examinations
apply.
The duration of the eligible lists may be fixed for a minimum of one and a maximum of four years and may be extended beyond four years if there has been
a restriction against the filling of vacancies in that title.
The candidates must complete a separate "Application for Employment" for each open-competitive and/or promotional examination that the candidate is
eligible to take.
All experience required meeting the acceptable training and experience is full-time experience. (Part-time experience will be credited on a prorated basis).
Appointment from an eligible list must be made from the top three candidates willing to accept the appointment.
Tompkins County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. As part of its efforts to provide employment opportunities to the physically handicapped, Tompkins
County Civil Service has adopted a rule permitting the employment of qualified physically handicapped persons without competitive examination (pursuant
to Section 55 of Civil Service Law). If you meet the minimum qualifications for this position and wish to know more about this rule, please contact the
Tompkins County Department of Human Resources Office.
Unless otherwise notified, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand-held, and solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with Typewriter Keyboards,
Spell Checkers, Personal Digital Assistants, Address Books, Language Translators, Dictionaries or any similar devices are prohibited. You may not bring
books or other reference materials.
CROSS-FILING - APPLYING FOR CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS WHEN EXAMINATIONS ARE
SCHEDULED ON THE SAME DATE: When applying for examinations across multiple jurisdictions - all of which are scheduled on the same day - you
must submit a Tompkins County Cross-Filing Form. This form must be submitted no later than 4:30 PM on the final filing date of the examination. On this
form, list each examination that you are taking and then tell us where you would like to sit. The purpose is to ensure that all of the test materials for the
various examinations that you are taking will be available in one location. If you do not provide the cross-filing form to us by the final filing date, we cannot
ensure that we can accommodate your desire to cross-file. If any of the examinations are State level examinations, you must sit at the State test center. You
will still need to complete the Tompkins County cross-filing form. If sitting at the State site, the State will notify you of when and where to report for your
examination(s) and you should bring all admittance letters to the State site. If you are not taking a State examination, bring all admittance letters to your
chosen testing site. If you have any question please call Tompkins County Department of Human Resources Department (607) 274-5526. The Cross File
form is located at http://www.tompkins-co.org/personnel/CivilSrvForms/index.html
FOR RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION AND HANDICAPPED PERSONS: If special arrangements for testing are required, please indicate this on
your application.
ALL CANDIDATES FOR EMPLOYMENT FOR POSITIONS IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND BOCES GOVERNED BY TOMPKINS COUNTY
CIVIL SERVICE MAY HAVE THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL REQUIREMENT. PER CHAPTER 180 OF THE LAWS OF 2000, AND BY
REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, TO BE EMPLOYED IN A POSITION DESIGNATED BY A SCHOOL
DISTRICT OR BOCES AS INVOLVING DIRECT CONTACT WITH STUDENTS, A CLEARANCE FOR EMPLOYMENT FROM THE
STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT IS REQUIRED.
In conformance with Section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duties shall be entitled to receive
an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has served. If you are
qualified to participate in this examination and are a child of firefighter or police officer killed in the line of duties in this municipality, please inform this
office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a minimum of two months from the
application deadline to provide the necessary documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the eligible list has
been established.â‘
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: Applicants may be required to undergo a State and national criminal history background investigation, which will
include a fingerprint check, to determine suitability for appointment. Failure to meet the standards for the background investigation may result in
disqualification.
TOMPKINS COUNTY PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT, 125 EAST COURT STREET, ITHACA, NY 14850
Salary : $25 - $26
