Senior Accountant

DESCRIPTION
**PREVIOUS APPLICANTS, NEED NOT APPLY**Under limited supervision, performs complex fiscal control and accounting work. Work involves maintaining general obligation and water/sewer revenue bonds through debt payments, compliance monitoring, and recommendations on complex transactions. Work also involves ensuring budget compliance through analysis, compliance monitoring, enforcement of appropriate laws depending on funding source, and requesting outside revenue. Maintain a system of controls and forms related to the recordation of fixed assets. Employee may also be responsible for preparing financial statements and audit information for Suffolk Economic Development Authority (EDA), making recommendations on EDA operating budget, recording complex real estate transactions, applying funding formula on bond maintenance fees, and reviewing incentive agreements for compliance. Employee must exercise considerable initiative and independent judgment in completing assigned tasks. Reports to the Controller.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the essential job functions satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary job functions herein described. Since every duty associated with this position may not be described herein, employees may be required to perform duties not specifically spelled out in the job description, but which may be reasonably considered to be incidental in the performing of their duties just as though they were actually written out in this job description.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Interprets, applies, and ensures compliance with established policies/procedures, governmental accounting standards, grant guidelines, and all other applicable laws, rules, regulations, and standards; initiates any actions necessary to correct deviations.
• Analyzes capital project budgets to ensure compliance with funding availability, performance timelines, and any outside funding source goals and requirements.
• Analyzes payment vouchers and purchase orders to ensure compliance with City policies and project budget requirements in order to process payment requests, change order requests, and contract documents; prepares regular general ledger entries related to capital project charges.
• Prepares monthly or periodic accrual financial statements or reports, including normal monthly detail and any major real estate transactions.
• Prepares monthly debt payment advices for bond issuances and record new debt proceeds to general ledger and update school related debt schedule for budgeting purposes.
• Prepares year-end audit reports and/or schedules.
• Prepares project-specific reports for use in project management.
• Prepares appropriate reports for monitoring and final audit by the granting agency on any outside funding sources.
• Reviews, analyzes, and makes recommendations on various complex accounting and budget issues as assigned.
• Analyzes bond issuance for compliance with arbitrage, spending regulations, and timelines.
• Analyzes and processes contract documents and change orders related to capital projects for funding availability and compliance with policies/procedures.
• Prepares entries to appropriately record issuance and proceeds of new debt.
• Recommends funding sources for projects included in annual capital improvements budget.
• Analyzes certified payrolls for compliance with Davis Bacon.
• Recommends final allocation of resources in approved capital improvement plan.
• Recommends operating budget for Economic Development Authority (EDA); maintains calculation of EDA bond maintenance fees; analyzes Economic Development Incentive agreements; handles all required year-end reporting for EDA.
• Prepares year-end audit reports for the EDA, capital projects, and debt.
• Prepares, analyzes and maintains quarterly status reports on all capital projects for internal use, prepares required reports for grant compliance for external use; reconciles grant specific software systems to internal general ledgers.
• Prepares or completes various forms, reports, correspondence, financial statements, draw-down request forms, journal entries, project reports, year-end reports, capital project status reports, labor standards report, operating budget proforma, bond maintenance schedules, grant monitoring/audit reports, or other documents.
• Prepares draw down requests for outside funding sources such general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, aviation grants, CDBG and HOME funding, VDOT funding, and other one-time capital project grants.
• Operates a personal computer, general office equipment, or other equipment as necessary to complete essential functions, to include the use of word processing, spreadsheet, database, financial, capital project monitoring, e-mail, Internet, or other computer programs.
• Communicates with supervisor, employees, other departments, bond counsel, debt holders, auditors, government agencies, granting agencies, the public, outside agencies, and other individuals as needed to coordinate work activities, review status of work, exchange information, or resolve problems.
• Attends various meetings as needed; represents the City and the Finance Department at various meetings with federal, state, and local officials.
• Maintains a comprehensive, current knowledge of applicable laws/regulations; maintains an awareness of new trends and advances in the profession; reads professional literature; maintains professional affiliations; attends workshops and training sessions as appropriate.
• Provides assistance to other employees or departments as needed.
• Performs other related duties as required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Bachelor's degree in Accounting or closely related field; supplemented by 3 years previous experience and/or training that includes general accounting, governmental accounting, and personal computer operations; or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this job.
Possession and maintenance of (or candidacy for) valid Certified Public Accountant certification preferred.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

• Knowledge of the policies, procedures, and activities of the City and of departmental practices as they pertain to the performance of duties relating to the position of Senior Accountant.
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of general governmental and municipal accounting.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local laws and policies concerning municipal fiscal operations, including Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), governmental accounting standards, governmental budgeting practices, and related state/federal regulations and requirements.
• Knowledge of Fixed Assets.
• Knowledge of federal and state grant regulations, procedures and reporting requirements.
• Knowledge of modern accounting and office procedures and equipment, including the application of electronic data processing to the maintenance and analysis of fiscal data.
• Knowledge of the terminology, principles, and methods utilized within the department.
• Knowledge of the current literature, trends and developments in the fields of governmental accounting, public finance administration, and fair labor, and enterprise fund accounting practices.
• Knowledge and proficiency of computers and software programs typically utilized in the position.
• Ability to keep abreast of any changes in policy, methods, computer operations, equipment needs, policies, etc., as they pertain to departmental operations and activities.
• Ability to comprehend, interpret, and apply regulations, procedures, and related information.
• Ability to maintain standard accounting and control measures for municipal government.
• Ability to effectively communicate and interact with supervisors, members of the general public, and all other groups involved in the activities of the department.
• Ability to prepare clear and concise reports, and to compile and analyze financial statements and reports.
• Ability to use independent judgment and work with little direct supervision as situations warrant.
• Ability to perform required calculations.
• Ability to read, understand, and interpret financial reports and related materials.
• Ability to evaluate, audit, deduce, and/or assess data using established criteria, includes exercising discretion in determining actual or probable consequences and in referencing such evaluation to identify and select alternatives.
• Ability to apply principles of persuasion and/or influence over others in coordinating activities of a project, program, or designated area of responsibility.
• Ability to read a variety of informational documentation, directions, instructions, and methods and procedures.
• Ability to write reports with proper format, punctuation, spelling and grammar, using all parts of speech.
• Ability to exercise judgment, decisiveness and creativity in situations involving the evaluation of information against sensory, judgmental, or subjective criteria, as opposed to that which is clearly measurable or verifiable.
• Ability to utilize a wide variety of reference, descriptive, advisory and/or design data and information.
• Ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; ability to calculate decimals and percentages; may include ability to perform mathematical operations involving basic algebraic principles and formulas, and basic geometric principles and calculations.
• Ability to inspect items for proper length, width, and shape, visually with job-related equipment.