LEAD ACCOUNTANT

City of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 81,000 - 99,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Chicago's Department of Water Management is seeking a Lead Accountant to perform advanced accounting work and supervise a small accounting staff. Under general supervision, you will manage financial accounts and coordinate reporting and auditing activities.

Starting salary is $90,144, and the position is open to the public and City employees under AFSCME bargaining unit. Applicants must have a Bachelor's in Accounting and at least three years of experience, with additional options

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting and three (3) years of professional accounting experience.
• Alternative: Bachelor's in Accounting or related field with 15 accounting hours and three (3) years of professional accounting experience.
• Master's degree in Accounting with two (2) years of professional accounting experience.
• Master's degree in a related field with 15 accounting hours and two (2) years of professional accounting experience.

Responsibilities

• Performs and supervises professional accountants managing financial accounts.
• Develops and maintains computer applications, verifies and analyzes journal entries.
• Develops work standards and conducts staff performance evaluations.
• Conducts audits of financial documents and ensures compliance with guidelines.
• Monitors balances and reallocates funds to cover expenditures.
• Prepares complex financial reports and statements.
• Coordinates analyses of historical records and forecasts.
• Coordinates complex financial schedules and reports.
• Interprets GAAP and financial procedures to management.
• Trains staff on accounting procedures.
• Liaises with Budget Office, City Comptroller and agencies.
• Assists in designing computerized accounting systems and internal controls.
• Processes and reviews invoice payments and purchase orders.
• Calculates grant/project revenue collection and reimbursement.
• Reviews grant/project applications and awards.
• Reviews sub-grant agreements for fiscal requirements.
• Reviews departmental requests for funds and maintains grant expenditures.
• CPM: manages funding requests and connects FMPS with CPM.

Skills

Auditing techniques

Budget procedures

GAAP knowledge

Financial reporting

Municipal accounting

Reconciliation

Education

Bachelor's in Accounting

Master's in Accounting

Accounting-related degree with 15 credit hours

Master's in related field with 15 credit hours in Accounting

Job description

Description

BID/JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

LEAD ACCOUNTANT

DEPARTMENT OF WATER MANAGEMENT

Administration / Finance

Number of Positions: 1

(Additional vacancies possible pending budget approval)

Starting Salary: $90,144

This position is open to the public and all current City employees covered under the City's collective bargaining agreement with AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES (AFSCME) - BARGAINING UNIT 1, 3, 4 & 5. Only employees in City job titles in this bargaining unit are eligible to bid.

Under general supervision, performs professional accounting work of the most complex nature, typically requiring the application of advanced accounting knowledge, and/or functions as a working supervisor over a small accounting staff while maintaining own accounts, and performs related duties as required

ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Performs and supervises the work of professional accountants engaged in the management of financial accounts.
• Develops and accesses new or existing computer applications or spreadsheets and records, verifies, and analyzes journal entries for assigned accounts and those managed by subordinates.
• Develops work standards and conducts staff performance evaluations
• Conducts audits of financial documents (e.g., internal accounting records performed by private audit firms) and reviews those conducted by subordinates to ensure entries are accurate, appropriately allocated to accounts, and comply with contract and funding guidelines, and documents errors and reconciles accounts, as required.
• Monitors the balances of assigned accounts and those of subordinates and adjusts spending levels and fund re-allocations to ensure the availability of funds to cover expenditures.
• Prepares various reports (e.g., program and operating budgets with tiered funding structures, financial statements, balance sheets, financial reports) of a complex nature and reviews those prepared by subordinates.
• Coordinates the analyses of historical records and anticipated economic trends and forecasts future expenses and revenues.
• Coordinates the compilation of complex financial schedules and reports.
• Interprets general accounting principles and financial procedures to management.
• Trains staff on accounting procedures
• Functions as a liaison on accounting-related issues to the Office of Budget and Management, City Comptroller's Office, and government and delegate agencies.
• Assists in designing and implementing computerized accounting systems and internal controls.
• Processes and reviews invoice payments and purchase orders for various parties (e.g., refunds and payment voids, accounts payables issues, status of purchase orders and payment vouchers).
• Calculates and prepares grant/project revenue collection reimbursement.
• Reviews grant/project applications and awards.
• Examines sub-grant agreements for any fiscal related requirements.
• Reviews departmental requests for appropriating funds, authorizing grant/project obligations, monitoring and reporting grant/project expenditures, recording receivables and collections and closing out grant/project awards.
• Capital Program Management (CPM): Ability to generate new funding requests and CPR-1 submissions, establish links between FMPS and CPM, and accurately select funds, cost centers, appropriations, and project numbers. Proficiency in managing capital construction projects and fixed assets, ensuring effective tracking and oversight.
• Coordinates and submits final close-out reports to various grantors.
• Maintains and reports in-kind awards and expenditures incurred by the sub-grantees.

Additional duties may be required for this position

Address:

1000 E. Ohio St. Chicago IL 60611

Hours: 8:30 am to 4:30pm / Monday-Friday

THIS POSITION IS IN THE CAREER SERVICE

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in Accounting plus

three (3) years of professional accounting experience.

Should the above criteria not be fulfilled, the following options are acceptable:

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in a directly
• related field of Accounting with 15 semester hours in Accounting, plus three (3) years of
• professional accounting experience.
• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master's degree or higher in Accounting, plus two (2) years of professional accounting experience.
• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master's degree in a directly
• related field of Accounting with 15 semester hours in Accounting, plus two (2) years of
• professional accounting experience.

Licensure, Certification, or Other Qualifications

N/A

NOTE: To be considered for this position you must provide information about your educational background and your work experience. You must include job titles, dates of employment and specific job duties . (IF you are a current City employee, Acting Up cannot be considered). If you fail to provide this information at the time you submit your application, it will be incomplete, and you will not be considered for this position. There are three ways to provide the information: 1) you may attach a resume; 2) you may paste a resume; or 3) you can complete the online resume fields.

Educational & Employment Verification:

Please be advised that if you are selected to be hired you must provide, upon request, adequate information regarding your educational and employment history as it relates to the qualifications of the position for which you are applying. If you received your degree internationally, all international transcripts/diploma must be accompanied by a Foreign Credential Evaluation. If the City of Chicago cannot verify this information, any offer extended to you will be withdrawn and you will not be hired.

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS

This position requires applicants to complete an interview. The interviewed candidate(s) possessing the qualifications best suited to fulfill the responsibilities of the position, based on the oral parts of the interview will be selected.

Desired Skills:

• Previous work experience analyzing data and applying auditing techniques.
• Previous accounting experience in grants management.
• Previous work experience working with budgetary procedures.
• Previous work experience working using generally accepted accounting principles and governmental accounting standards.
• Proficiency in a position requiring auditing techniques; financial management; budget & cost analysis; forecasting principles.
• Previous work experience in municipal accounting; reconciliation & maintaining maintenance of ledgers; preparation of financial statements.
• Proficiency in a position requiring knowledge of financial reporting.

For Information on our employees benefits please visit our benefits website at:

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/fin/benefits-office.html

For Information on our salary and title structure visit our classifications website at:

City of Chicago :: Classification and Pay Plan

APPLICATION EVALUATION: Initial evaluation will be based on information provided on the application and the documents submitted. Department of Human Resource staff will review applications after the final posting date. Staff will follow any and all required Employment/Hiring Plan provisions, federal, state and local laws, and Collective Bargaining Agreements when applicable. Staff will apply hiring preferences as required by the municipal code. Placement on an eligibility list is not an offer or guarantee of an interview nor employment with the City of Chicago.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY: To further our commitment to hiring applicants with diverse experience the City of Chicago has adopted the following ordinances 2-74-020 and 2-74-075. The ordinances provide a preference to applicants who meet minimum qualifications and who are veterans of the Armed Forces, and/or residents of Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Areas (SEDA) and/or Chicago Public School (CPS) high school graduates to be referred to departments for consideration. These hiring preferences do not apply to bidders, as Collective Bargaining Agreements define the hiring process for bidders. For positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement, bidders will be considered before external candidates. To learn more about our hiring practices.

ALL REFERENCES TO POLITICAL SPONSORSHIP OR RECOMMENDATION MUST BE OMITTED FROM ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS SUBMITTED FOR CITY EMPLOYMENT.

The City of Chicago in an Equal Employment Opportunity, Military Friendly, and Fair Chance Employer.

City of Chicago

Brandon Johnson, Mayor