Accounting Technician III

Accounting Technician III

The City of Seward is recruiting for an Accounting Technician III. This position is responsible for performing, under general supervision, moderately difficult accounting clerical work. This position is distinguished from Accounting Technician II in that it requires an understanding of fund accounting, the distinction between governmental and proprietary funds, and the proper treatment of transactions that involve multiple funds of the City.

Detailed work activities include :

• Performs all duties of Accounting Technician II, AP and Payroll in their absence in addition to :
• Reconciling various government funds, balancing general ledger accounts, preparing workpapers and schedules, aiding others relative to the proper accounting treatment of various transactions, and responding to auditor inquiries.
• Preparing and balancing investment schedules, cash flow, and other such projects as assigned. Reviewing records and source documents to identify the sources of discrepancies, determining the entries required to bring accounts in to balance, and identifying significant changes in account balances and the actions that caused the changes.
• Performing a wide variety of regular and recurring accounting procedures including calculating, posting, verifying, preparing, and reconciling designated accounts to ensure completeness, accuracy, and conformance with uniform accounting classifications and generally accepted accounting principles, preparing, verifying, and posting monthly regular and recurring general and budget journal entries, preparing schedules and reports for internal and external distribution.
• Materially participating in the annual audit process and grants management.
• Assisting in the preparation of schedules and reports for the annual budget process.
• In order to maintain a high quality of work within the department and to facilitate cross training, bringing forward suggestions for policies and procedures to promote efficiency and accountability.
• Coordinating assessment billings with the City Clerk and other related departments, ensuring that bills are consistent with the approved assessment roll.
• Maintaining purchase order system, including reviewing account codes on requisitions, ensuring proper authorization, inputting data into the computer system, printing and distributing purchase orders, reconciling encumbrance data.
• Serving as backup to the Utility position, including processing payments, balancing till, answering customer inquiries, communicating with electric linemen regarding job orders.
• Preparing and / or reviewing of monthly, quarterly, and annual grant financial reports and other reports required by outside agencies in a timely and accurate manner.
• Maintaining the City's fixed asset records, preparing journal entries to properly account for the acquisition, donation, or disposal of such assets, maintaining accurate listing of all city-owned property, responsible for learning fixed asset software and for producing fixed asset reports as necessary.
• Providing effective and efficient customer service and promoting and maintaining responsive community relations.
• Following safe work practices.
• Performing related duties as assigned.

Education / experience : Associate degree, preferably in accounting-related coursework, supplemented by at least two years of experience in accounting, or any equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the following knowledge, skills and ability :

Physical demands : While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, stand, walk, talk and hear, use hands and fingers to handle, feel, or operate objects, tools, or controls and reach with hands and arms. The employee must frequently lift and / or move up to 10 pounds and sometimes lift and / or move up to 25 pounds. Work is performed mostly in an office setting, hand-eye coordination is necessary to operate computers and various pieces of office equipment. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus.