Accounting Technician

City of Barstow (CA); California (MO); On-site; USD 42,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Barstow (CA) is seeking an Accounting Technician/Senior Accounting Technician to support the Finance team with accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and utility billing. The role involves handling routine to moderately complex financial transactions, preparing reports, and ensuring accurate record-keeping in a collaborative city environment.

Ideal candidates are detail-oriented, organized, and possess strong numerical skills, with experience in government accounting

Qualifications

• Knowledge of GAAP and governmental accounting practices.
• Familiar with chart of accounts and cost centers.
• Ability to organize and prioritize work to meet deadlines.
• Strong data entry and numerical accuracy.
• Excellent English communication.

Responsibilities

• Process accounts payable and receivable, payroll, and utility billing.
• Prepare journal entries, reconciliations, and month-end reports.
• Prepare payoff demands for property liens and customer billing.
• Provide customer service and assist with audits.

Skills

Organizational skills

Analytical thinking

English communication

Attention to detail

Education

High school diploma or GED

Associate degree desirable

Job description

Join our team as an Accounting Technician/Senior Accounting Technician and be the engine behind our financial operations and billing system.

Are you detailed oriented, dependable, and great with numbers? The City of Barstow is looking for an Accounting Technician to join our Finance team and help keep essential City operations run smoothly. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys problem-solving, takes pride in accurate work, and wants to grow their career while making a difference in the community. If you are organized, customer-service focused, and ready to be part of a dedicated team during an exciting time of growth for Barstow, we encourage you to apply!

Under the direction of the assigned administrator, the Accounting Technician/Senior Accounting Technician performs routine to moderately complex financial transactions, record-keeping, and processing functions related to accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, general ledger, utility billing, invoicing, and payments, and performs related duties as required.

Positions in this class are entry-level in the accounting support series.

Accounting Technician: Incumbents work under general supervision, learning to perform routine duties. This class differs from the Senior Accounting Technician class, which provides functional and technical supervision of subordinate staff and have gained a thorough working knowledge of Accounting Technician functions. The work is also more complex in nature and requires the use of more specialized financial statements and reports.

Senior Accounting Technician: Incumbents in this class have gained a thorough working knowledge of the Accounting Technician functions, working a minimum of 5 years as an Accounting Technician, receiving minimal instructions or assistance. The work is also more complex in nature and requires the use of more specialized financial statements and reports. Senior Accounting Technician provides some functional and technical supervision to subordinate staff. This class differs from the Accounting Technician class, which works under general supervision, learning to perform routine duties. The incumbent is also responsible for performing responsible duties in the preparation, administration, and maintenance of City or departmental accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and other accounting transactions and records, as assigned.

The following list of functions, duties, and tasks is typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform other closely related or department-specific functions, duties, and tasks from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.

• Receives, matches, and distributes invoices for payment of accounts payable; verifies supporting documents, account numbers, and adherence to purchasing procedures; checks expenditures and account numbers for conformity with budget accounts and available amounts; and verifies, corrects, and balances accounts payable; and generates, validates, and mails checks.
• Records and reconciles related journal entries, processes, and pays semi-monthly warrants, and maintains accounts payable files; and prepares the billing, collection, and reconciliation of inter-department accounts receivable.
• Coordinates and monitors other purchasing activities, including Cal-Card, the fueling program, and other credit cards; and processes cashier transactions, payments, balances and prepares daily deposits; runs daily cash reports; and verifies reports and cash balances received from city departments.
• Prepares for bi-weekly payroll processing: reviews timecards, conducts various payroll profile changes, produces pay period reports, payroll direct deposit and checks, reviews multiple post-payroll data, and prepares various bi-weekly payroll reports for various departments; conducts payroll audits and makes changes as needed; and communicates with individual employees and city staff on payroll policies and procedures through verbal and written correspondence.
• Assists in the preparation and reconciliation of month-end and year-end reports, journal entries, treasurer’s ledger and cash condition reports, bank reconciliations, filing and retention of records, and preparation of records for year-end closing and the annual audit and distributes related reports.
• Prepares payoff demands for administrative property liens, releasing of liens, and lien processing for utility billing accounts; and provides customer service, processes account changes and updates, and prepares the billing of invoices, including reoccurring billings to outside entities and the public.

Other duties:

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities

(At time of application)

Knowledge of:

• Chart of Accounts and cost center code structure
• Practices and procedures of governmental accounting methods, practices, documents and terminology used in processing accounting transactions and in financial record keeping
• Federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, policies, rules, and regulations
• Computer usage including related software
• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)

Skills and Abilities to:

• Organize and prioritize work to meet deadline
• Analyze and solve accounting problems in accordance with accounting practices and department procedures
• Understand and carry out written and oral instructions
• Work effectively and courteously with City staff, vendors, contractors, auditors and others encountered in the course of work
• Accurately input data at an acceptable rate of speed.
• Communicate effectively in the English language at a level necessary for efficient job performance
• Perform all essential functions as assigned by an authorized employee, supervisor and/or manager with or without reasonable accommodation
• Relate well, communicate, and work effectively with diverse groups of stakeholders who represent a range of ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds

Job qualifications / requirements:

(At time of application and in addition to the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities listed above.)

Education and Experience:

Accounting Technician: school diploma or GED and two (2) years of general office experience, including some financial recordkeeping experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience that would provide the required knowledge, abilities, and skills, is qualifying.

Senior Accounting Technician: In addition to the above, training in business or secretarial science and five (5) years of experience as an Accounting Technician having experience in all functions of the Accounting Technician position (e.g. accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, utility billing, etc). An Associate degree is highly desirable.

License(s) Required

• Valid, current driver’s license and a good driving record

Work environment / physical demands

(Must be performed with or without reasonable accommodations)

• This position works primarily in an indoor office environment.
• Positions in this class typically require; standing, walking, sitting, gripping, feeling, reaching, climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, talking, hearing, tasting, and smelling with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Medium Work: Exerting 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally (up to 1/3 of workday), and/or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently (1/3 to 2/3 of workday), and/or greater than negligible up to 10 pounds of force constantly (2/3 or more of workday) to move objects. Physical Demand requirements are in excess of those for Light Work.