Finance Manager, Accounting and Payroll

City of Milpitas; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Milpitas seeks an experienced Finance Manager to lead the Accounting and Payroll group, directing general ledger, payroll, and grant management while supporting the Finance Director. This working manager role oversees staff, coordinates with auditors, and drives GAAP compliance during Tyler ERP payroll migration.

Ideal candidates bring public sector accounting leadership, CPA preferred, and hands-on ERP implementation experience.

Qualifications

• Five years of governmental accounting and financial reporting experience with supervisory duties.
• Public sector payroll oversight including CalPERS reporting and payroll tax compliance.
• Experience with year-end close, audits, and grant reimbursement reporting in California local government.
• Active CPA license and ERP implementation experience are highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Plan, organize, and direct the Accounting and Payroll group.
• Lead year-end close, CAFR, single audit, and grant reporting.
• Oversee Tyler ERP Phase 2 payroll migration and related procedures.
• Supervise staff and ensure GAAP compliance and internal controls.
• Coordinate with auditors and implement recommended changes.

Skills

GAAP knowledge

GASB standards

Public sector

Payroll oversight

ERP experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance

MBA or CPA preferred

Tools

Tyler ERP

Workday

Oracle

Job description

Help lead the finances of a full service city at the north end of Silicon Valley.

The City of Milpitas seeks an experienced, hands on governmental accounting leader to serve as Finance Manager over the Accounting and Payroll group: General Ledger, Payroll, and Grant Management. This is a working manager's seat at a moment that matters. The City is converting payroll to Tyler ERP, the annual audit and Single Audit run on a fixed calendar. The Finance Manager reports to the Finance Director, supervises professional and technical staff, and acts for the Director when needed.

The Department

The Milpitas Finance Department safeguards the City's fiscal resources and advances long term financial sustainability through sound stewardship, transparency, and responsive service to the City Council, City staff and the community. The Department plans, manages and directs budgeting, accounting, payroll, procurement, risk management, debt management, investment management, and utility billing, and oversees financial responsibilities exceeding one billion dollars across its combined operating budget, investment and debt portfolio. Milpitas has received the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation award for 23 consecutive years and the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 30, and its FY 2024-25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and Federal Single Audit both received unqualified opinions with no material findings. The Department has 31 funded positions.

The Position

The Finance Manager plans, organizes and directs the Accounting and Payroll group and is one of two Finance Manager positions in the Department. Key responsibilities include:

• Lead General Ledger, Payroll and Grant Management: year-end close, the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the annual audit and Single Audit, grant reimbursement reporting, and the bi-weekly payroll cycle with its Federal and State payroll tax filings and CalPERS reporting.
• Own the Finance side of the Tyler ERP Phase 2 payroll migration: stabilization, business process redesign, and the written procedures that come out of it.
• Develop, implement and maintain accounting procedures and internal controls in accordance with GAAP, GASB pronouncements, the Government Code and City policy.
• Coordinate with internal and external auditors; oversee implementation of recommended changes to systems and controls.
• Supervise, train and evaluate professional and technical staff; set priorities and keep day to day accounting and payroll current through the system change.
• Train staff across City departments on financial transactions and serve as the Department's resident expert on accounting and payroll operations.
• Act for the Finance Director in the Director's absence.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a governmental accounting professional who has closed the books, run or overseen a public agency payroll, and lived through an ERP conversion. They bring a steady hand with staff during change, a working knowledge of CalPERS reporting and negotiated MOU provisions, and the judgment to recommend and put in place procedures that make the Department's work more accurate and easier to explain. An active CPA license, Single Audit experience, and a role in a Tyler, Workday, Oracle or comparable implementation are highly desirable. Public sector experience in California local government is strongly preferred.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED

Works under the direction of the Finance Director. Supervises professional, technical and clerical staff.

Duties below are from the Finance Manager class specification and may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Plans, develops, directs, supervises and evaluates staff and performance of the assigned division in support of general accounting, payroll, accounts payable and receivable, revenue analysis, cash collections and billing functions.
• Provides technical expertise in financial data preparation, administration and analysis, and automated financial information systems.
• Assigns, schedules, prioritizes, coordinates and reviews work activities and determines schedules.
• Establishes, develops and maintains practices, procedures and policies for compliance and control in accordance with the Government Code and City policies and procedures.
• Integrates financial and statistical information into a comprehensive financial recording and reporting system.
• Supervises and conducts detailed analysis of existing accounting systems, makes recommendations for revision and implements required changes; assists in the coordination of information systems functions to ensure the proper design, testing and implementation of enhancements and corrections to the City's financial application software.
• Interacts with internal and external audit staff in review of financial systems and controls; oversees implementation of recommended changes to such systems or control procedures.
• Coordinates financial services operations with other City sections, divisions and departments; conducts training for staff within the department and within other departments throughout the City as required to effectively administer all financial transactions.
• Performs a variety of complex and technical revenue analysis functions and maintains records; prepares analytical and management reports as required; directs the preparation of interim and annual financial reports in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
• Attends meetings and seminars related to financial service functions and acts as the resident expert of such functions for the City; represents the Finance Department on citywide special project teams.
• Sets policies and procedures for the work of professional, technical and clerical staff engaged in the processing and recording of all financial transactions.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

Any combination of experience and education that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience:

• Five (5) years of increasingly responsible experience in governmental accounting and financial reporting, including at least two (2) years of supervisory experience.
• Public accounting experience in the audits of local governments may be substituted for up to two (2) years of the governmental accounting and financial reporting experience.

Education:

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in Business with major course work in accounting and finance.
• An advanced degree, such as an MBA with emphasis in finance or accounting, or a CPA certificate, may be substituted for two (2) years of the required experience.

Desirable:

• Active CPA license.
• Hands on role in a financial or payroll system implementation or conversion (Tyler ERP, Workday, Oracle or comparable).
• Public agency payroll oversight, including negotiated MOU provisions, CalPERS reporting and payroll tax compliance.
• Year-end close, annual audit and Single Audit, and grant reimbursement reporting in a California local government.

LICENSE AND CERTIFICATES

• When driving on City business, possession of a valid California Driver's License and a satisfactory driving record are required.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Proof of CPA licensure (if held)

SELECTION PROCESS

Applications are reviewed for the minimum qualifications and the required documents. The Finance Department then reviews the responses to the supplemental questions, the cover letter and the resume, and the most qualified candidates are invited to an oral board interview, planned for the first week of December 2026. Finalists are interviewed by the Finance Director in mid December. Meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee advancement to the interview. City communication regarding the selection process will be by email; please ensure you have access to the email address on your application. Target start: January 2027. Relocation expenses will not be reimbursed for this position.

Appointment is contingent on a satisfactory background check, including Department of Justice fingerprinting and a credit check for this position's responsibility for City funds and payroll, and on reference checks.

Recruitment contact: Ernest Azevedo, Human Resources, [phone], [e-mail].

UNREPRESENTED MANAGEMENT

This is an unrepresented management classification. Salary placement is within the range based on qualifications. Benefits for unrepresented employees are summarized in the Unrepresented Benefits Handbook.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Work is performed indoors in a standard office environment. Required to sit for long periods of time; talk and hear in person, in meetings and by telephone; use hands and fingers to operate standard office equipment; frequently required to carry, bend, squat, twist, push and pull with hands and arms to reach files; and safely lift and carry up to 30 pounds occasionally. Ability to travel to various locations within and outside the City of Milpitas.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Incumbents in this position are required to file a Conflict of Interest Statement (Form 700) upon assuming office, annually, and upon leaving office, in accordance with Resolution No. 8833.

DISASTER SERVICE WORKER

In accordance with Government Code Section 3100, all City of Milpitas employees are Disaster Service Workers and may be required to perform assigned duties in the event of an emergency or disaster.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Milpitas will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the Human Resources Department. Applicants who need an accommodation in the application or selection process should contact Human Resources at [phone] or [e-mail] by the final filing date.

The City of Milpitas is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.