Accounting Technician, Public Utilities-WV State Auditor's Office-Kanawha Co.

West Virginia; Charleston (WV); On-site; USD 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

WV State Auditor’s Office is seeking an Accounting Technician for Public Utilities in Charleston, WV. The role supports the state’s regulatory accounting for utility services and related funds, emphasizing accuracy in tax distributions and intergovernmental payments.

The position requires an accounting background, experience with accounts receivable, and proficiency in spreadsheet tools and financial systems.

Qualifications

• Accounting fundamentals, including accounts receivable, cash receipts and accrual of interest.
• Reconciliation of totals between independent sources. Most tasks end with a balance that must agree to an outside figure and discrepancies must be explained.
• Spreadsheet proficiency, including formulas, lookups and pivot tables.
• Ability to follow written procedures precisely and to report discrepancies between a procedure and the system.
• Clear written English. Correspondence with county officials and federal agencies.
• Ability to work to fixed deadlines across a defined annual calendar.
• Databases and financial systems. Training provided on each.

Responsibilities

• Print the annual tax tickets for ~500 public service businesses and verify distributions before billing.
• Post payments to accounts receivable, apply timely payment deductions and 9% interest on late installments.
• Update statutory interest on open accounts on the first working day of each month.
• Certify unpaid assessments to county sheriffs after the second installment due date.
• Prepare annual delinquency referrals to the Attorney General and Secretary of State for prior five tax years.
• Prepare deposits, verify postmarks and reconcile deposit reports to tape totals.
• Issue receipts and maintain deposit records.
• Draft memoranda transferring funds between accounts and authorizing payments, citing relevant Code sections.
• Prepare intergovernmental transfers and check refunds requests.
• Enter tentative values from Tax Department and manage tax-year account statuses.
• Enter values by taxing entity from Tax Department reports per division rules.
• Enter levy rates from orders and rate sheets; reconcile totals.

Skills

Accounting fundamentals

Reconciliation

Spreadsheet proficiency

Follow procedures

Clear written English

Fixed deadlines

Databases and financial systems

Education

Associate degree in accounting

Bachelor’s degree with accounting coursework

Equivalent combination

Tools

Microsoft Access

State financial system

Division public utility system

Job description

WV State Auditor’s Office

ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN, PUBLIC UTILITIES

WV STATE AUDITOR’S OFFICE-KANAWHA CO.

Starting range $45,000 to $55,000, may commensurate with experience

West Virginia assesses public service businesses at the state level. These are the utility, railroad, pipeline, telephone and motor carrier companies whose property crosses county lines. The Board of Public Works sets the assessed value. This office bills each company, collects the two installments due September 1 and March 1, and distributes the proceeds to the counties, school districts and municipalities that laid the levies. The position also distributes federal flood control, national forest and Secure Rural Schools receipts to counties, county boards of education and the Division of Highways.

The office does not retain these funds. It holds them briefly and distributes them on statutory deadlines. Collections must reach the several counties within 20 days of receipt under W. Va. Code § 11-6-18. The position maintains a fixed annual calendar and reconciles each figure before it is released.

Responsibilities

• Print the annual tax tickets for approximately 500 public service businesses and verify the total distribution against the State Tax Department total before billing.
• Post payments to the accounts receivable system, applying the 2.5 percent timely payment deduction and statutory interest at 9 percent per annum on late installments.
• Update statutory interest on all open accounts on the first working day of each month.
• Certify unpaid assessments to the county sheriffs after the second installment due date.
• Prepare the annual delinquency referral to the Attorney General and Secretary of State, covering the prior five tax year.

Deposits and fund transfers

• Prepare deposits, verifying postmarks and tax years, and reconcile each deposit report to two independently run tape totals.
• Issue receipts to payers and maintain the deposit records.
• Draft the memoranda that transfer funds between accounts and authorize payments to recipients, citing the authorizing Code section on each.
• Prepare intergovernmental transfers to other state agencies and check requests for refunds.

Value and levy rate entry

• Enter tentative assessed values received from the State Tax Department and activate or inactivate company accounts for the tax year.
• Enter reported values by taxing entity from Tax Department property reports, following the division entry rules for each company type.
• Enter levy rates from the levy orders and rate sheets filed by each taxing entity.
• Reconcile assessed value totals to the value set by the Board of Public Works, and reconcile levy rates to the orders received and to the Local Government Relations levy report.
• Identify and document the companies responsible where a county declines more than $100,000 or a municipality more than $50,000 in assessed value.

Federal receipt distribution

• Record monthly federal receipts to their funds and verify the entries against the deposits and the general ledger.
• Compute each county's share of the annual distribution, allocate sequestration and interest proportionally, and apply the statutory allocation percentages.
• Confirm that memorandum totals and recipient letter totals equal the payment received before submitting for payment.
• Prepare the notification letters to county boards of education, sheriffs, county commissions and the Division of Highways.

Reporting

• Prepare the annual division budget report from the tax liability, distribution and interstate registration reports.
• Complete the fiscal year end accounts receivable closing book form, including the aging schedule and the estimated uncollectible amount, with supporting documentation for each figure.
• Maintain the case tracking records for bankruptcies, court cases and trustee sales affecting amounts owed the state, and refer matters to the office attorney

Local Government Services support.

• Answer and route telephone calls, monitor the division mailbox, and prepare mailings to local government entities.
• Receive and enter budget revisions and assist with budget approval.
• Convert documents for posting to the website and send reminder letters to entities with conditionally approved budgets.
• Receive, log and distribute incoming documents and reports, and maintain division records and filing.
• Assemble the public utilities report for the sheriffs' assessor valuation reconciliations, enter the valuation fund revenue and expenditure reports received from county clerks, and obtain explanations for discrepancies.
• Provide budget, assessment, levy and excess levy information to the Chief Inspector Division annually.
• Assist with the preparation and staffing of training events, including registration and materials.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

• Accounting fundamentals, including accounts receivable, cash receipts and accrual of interest.
• Reconciliation of totals between independent sources. Most tasks in this position end with a balance that must agree to an outside figure, and a difference must be identified and explained before the work is complete.
• Spreadsheet proficiency, including formulas, lookups and pivot tables.
• Ability to follow written procedures precisely and to report discrepancies between a procedure and the system.
• Clear written English. Correspondence issues over the State Auditor's signature to county officials and federal agencies.
• Ability to work to fixed deadlines across a defined annual calendar.
• Databases and financial systems. The position uses the division public utility system, Microsoft Access and the state financial system. Training is provided on each.

Work schedule and starting salary

• Full time, in office (Charleston). The workload follows a fixed annual cycle. October carries the largest concentration of annual tasks, the two installment due dates fall on September 1 and March 1, and the fiscal year end closing package follows June 30. Documented procedures exist for the recurring work.
• An associate degree in accounting, a bachelor's degree including accounting coursework, or an equivalent combination of accounting education and clerical accounting experience

Preferred qualifications

• Coursework or experience in governmental or fund accounting.
• Experience with accounts receivable, aging schedules or collections.
• Familiarity with property tax, levy rates or assessment administration.