Accountant

City of Colton; Colton (CA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 98,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Cafeteria plan

Vacation time

Sick leave

Paid holidays

CalPERS retirement

Tuition reimbursement

Probation period

Job summary

City of Colton seeks a thorough and reliable Accountant to manage fixed assets, depreciation, contracts, and debt repayment across two city departments. The role supports audit requests and prepares financial statements under GAAP and GASB.

The position is in the Electric Department and Public Works, requiring experience in governmental accounting and strong analytical abilities. A CA driver’s license is required and a typical municipal benefits package applies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting is required.
• Three years of related accounting experience in a municipal setting is highly desirable.
• Must possess an acceptable financial history and California driver’s license.

Responsibilities

• Perform routine to complex accounting, budgeting, grant transactions, and financial analyses.
• Post, balance, and reconcile general and subsidiary accounts; manage funds for CIP and city projects.
• Monitor grants, ensure compliance with GAAP and GASB, prepare financial statements and reports.

Skills

GAAP knowledge

GASB familiarity

Financial analysis

Communication skills

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting

Tools

Budgeting

Audit support

Job description

Definition

This recruitment will be used to fill 2 vacancies our city currently has within two different departments. One vacancy in Electric, and the other in Public Works.

First 80 applications will be accepted

The Electric Department is looking for a thorough & reliable well experienced Accountant to manage fixed assets, accumulated depreciation, depreciation expenses, and contracts and agreements while also coordinating the repayment of utility debts assist in audit requests and financial statements. These are a few highlights the Electric Department is looking for along with the below listed duties of an Accountant.

Description

Under general supervision, performs a wide variety of financial accounting, budgeting, CIP accounting and grant administration tasks and provides highly responsible administrative staff assistance in conducting comprehensive financial analyses and studies; maintains, develops and analyzes fiscal statements and records; and prepares financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Government Accounting Standards.

Distinguishing Characteristics

This is a journey level classification within the Accountant job series. Successful performance requires a thorough knowledge of governmental accounting procedures and the ability to exercise sound independent judgment. The Senior Accountant class is distinguished from the Accountant by the level of discretion and independent action and knowledge of the City's accounting system, processes, and complexity of work assigned.

Supervision Exercised

May exercise technical and functional supervision over technical and clerical accounting staff.

Essential Functions

The following duties ARE NOT intended to serve as a comprehensive list of all duties performed by all employees in this classification, only a representative summary of the primary duties and responsibilities. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed and may be required to perform additional, position-specific duties.

• Perform a variety of routine to complex customer service functions to departments/divisions in the City including providing financial information, researching problems and processing accounting, budget, and grant transactions.
• Participate in the posting, balancing, and reconciliation of the general and subsidiary accounts, including grant accounts; control budget for the various funds and projects determining if funds are available and expenditures properly classified; research and analyze transactions to resolve budget problems; provide analysis of available funds at management's request; analyze budget transactions.
• Monitor and report on status of federal, state and local grants, review grant regulations and policies, grant contracts, amendments, and other documents to insure compliance.
• Perform a variety of specialized accounting and budget duties, including the development of budget schedules and reports, calculates and forecasts payroll costs; prepare journal entries; and tracks budget adjustments to the adopted budget.
• Coordinate the funds for capital improvement projects (CIP) and capital impact funds, ensuring accuracy of fund accounts; maintain budgetary control over City departmental expenditures; reviews accounting system conformity and compliance with accounting procedures and legal requirements; monitors various accounts ensuring availability of funds and classification of expenditures.
• Participate in the maintenance and analysis of all General Ledger Accounts, and other account subsystems such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, inventory, fixed assets, revenues, and utility billing systems.
• Prepare financial statements for assigned projects; prepares schedules and financial worksheets to assess financial status of the programs and makes recommendations on corrections.
• Participate in the preparation of financial statements, schedules, and other statistical and financial reports; prepares work papers, financial statements and various reports for federal and state agencies as well as for internal accounting.
• Participate in central accounting functions such as preparing adjusting entries, fiscal year closing adjustments, and documents for auditors.
• Recommend or implement changes in accounting systems and procedures; identifies and resolves problems and inconsistencies involved in maintaining accounting controls and processes.
• Coordinate accounting-related activities with other divisions and/or City programs; answers questions and develops procedures for preparing accounting transactions pursuant to GAAP and procedures.
• Prepare financial analysis and statistical statements in preparation for audit examination pursuant to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS).
• Examine, reconcile, balance, and adjust accounting records.
• Interpret data and generate related statistical and fiscal reports; prepares and submits accounting information for data processing and inputs data into the computer.
• Maintains the absolute confidentiality of all records and information.
• Maintain prompt and regular attendance.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Training and Experience: A typical way to obtain this knowledge and abilities would be:

Education

A Bachelor's degree in Accounting from an accredited college of university is required.

Experience

Possess the equivalent of three years of directly related experience in Accounting, preferably in a municipal setting is highly desirable.

Special Requirements

• Must possess an acceptable financial history.
• Possession of a valid California Class "C" driver's license issued by the California State Department of Motor Vehicles and good driving record.

Additional Information

Knowledge Of

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Basic Principles of Accounting as applied to Governmental Accounting Standards (GASB); principles and practices of municipal government and/or utility accounting; principles of financial administration, including budgeting, reporting and recordkeeping; grant and fund accounting; methods and techniques of payroll preparation and administration; modern office practices, procedures, methods and equipment, including operation of a desktop computer and Windows based applications and other related financial systems; applicable Federal, State, and local laws, codes and regulations in governmental financial reporting.

Ability To

Perform complex accounting transactions and analysis; recognize and resolve accounting, auditing, and internal control situations; read, interpret, and record data accurately; examine and verify financial documents and reports; prepare and analysis a variety of financial statement and reports; reconcile financial documents and reports; analyze data, draw logical conclusions, and make independent decisions; prepare a variety of financial statements, reports, and analyzes; accurately interpret data processing reports; work independently and as part of a team; maintain and establish effective working relationships with others; communicate clearly and effectively, orally and in writing with internal and external customers.

Benefits

• Cafeteria Amount for the purchase of medical, dental and vision insurance is $1,625.00/mo effective August, 2024.
• Employees hired on or after May 1, 2018, shall have a maximum cap of $500 for cash in-lieu.
• Up to 80 hours per year of vacation accrued for 0 – 5 years of service
• Up to 96 hours of sick leave (8 hours accrued monthly)
• 12 paid holidays (per calendar year)
• 20 floating holiday hours (per fiscal year)
• California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) for Miscellaneous Members: Classic Members hired prior to 6/1/2012 benefit level is 2.7% @ 55 Classic Members hired after 6/1/2012 benefit level is 2.5% @ 55 PEPRA Members hired after 1/1/2013 benefit level is 2% @ 62
• CalPERS 4th Level 1959 Survivor Benefit
• City paid short term and long term disability insurance coverage
• City paid life insurance coverage in the amount of $50,000
• City does not participate in the Social Security System
• Tuition Reimbursement - up to $2,500 per fiscal year after passing probation.
• Six month probationary period.