Accountant or Senior Accountant

Accountant or Senior Accountant

The Metropolitan Council's Regional Administration Division is accepting applications for an Accountant or Senior Accountant. This position is eligible for a hybrid (both remote and onsite) telework arrangement. The candidate's permanent residence must be in Minnesota or Wisconsin. The Metropolitan Council, the regional government for the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area, plans 30 years ahead for the future of the metropolitan area and provides regional transportation, wastewater, and housing services. The Finance and Operations department delivers agency-wide financial, administrative, and operational services to efficiently and effectively honor the mission, priorities, and standards of the Council and its divisions.

How your work would contribute to our organization and the Twin Cities region: The Accountant is part of the Treasury team in Regional Administration Finance. The Treasury team oversees Council wide banking, investments, and debt management. The position will be responsible for daily banking and cash management processes, reconciling bank accounts, banking and investment reporting, and accounting for banking, hedging, and investment transactions. The position will execute daily banking transactions and transfers and perform daily cash flow analysis and reconciling. This role interacts with all divisions as well as external banking, investment, and custody partners. The position also produces monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting, reconciliations, and journal entries for banking, hedging and investment portfolios.

What you would do in this job

• Monitor and record bank account activity daily ensuring adequate balances.
• Maintain required collateral on all bank accounts.
• Enter manual wire and ACH payments into the banking system for payment.
• Upload check and ACH payment files to the banking system daily.
• Prepare journal entries to record banking transactions in the general ledger.
• Process stop payments and ACH returns; execute various cash transfers and payments; and prepare corresponding journal entries.
• Monitor and reconcile banking and custodian statements and fees.
• Maintain the cash flow projection model, which forecasts Council-wide operating cash flow one year into the future. Record daily cash activity into cash flow model. Analyze cash flow projections and discuss with the department Director any adjustments needed to ensure adequate cash flow.
• Download monthly statements and analytics reports from investment brokers, banks, OPEB Trust manager, and hedge partners; reconcile to internal investment software and general ledger; then prepare journal entries to record market values, gain/loss, balances, accruals, etc.
• Oversee the Council investment software program and accurately record all investment and hedging transactions - purchases, sales, and called securities.
• Assist with monthly investment reporting.
• Assist with other accounting and reporting in the Treasury department as needed.
• Assist with Investment Review Advisory Committee meetings.
• Assist other Finance Departments as needed with banking.

What education and experience are required for this job (minimum qualifications)

Any combination of completed education (in accounting or related field) and experience in an accounting environment.

• Accountant: Bachelor's degree and zero to two (0-2) years of experience.
• Associate degree and two to four (2-4) years of experience.
• High School/GED and four to six (4-6) years of experience.
• Senior Accountant: Bachelor's degree and three (3) years of experience.
• Associate degree and five (5) years of experience.
• High School/GED and seven (7) years of experience.

What additional skills and experience would be helpful in this job (desired qualifications):

• Experience with PeopleSoft financials systems.
• Investment experience, preferably fixed income.
• Banking or treasury management experience.
• Governmental accounting experience.
• Knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) evidenced by accounting theory and practice coursework in accounting or related field degree curriculum.
• Skills in math sufficient to perform calculations of ratios, identify and reconcile variances, and allocate balance across several accounts.
• Problem solving ability sufficient to identify and reconcile account balances using reports, queries, spreadsheets and available tools and information.
• Skills in communicating verbally and in writing sufficient to deliver financial information to co-workers, division program staff, and state/federal agencies.
• Skilled with email, word processing, presentation and spreadsheet computer applications.
• Ability to read, analyze and interpret policies, procedures, professional documents, and reporting requirements and apply to job responsibilities.
• Prioritization skills to meet work deadlines.

What you can expect from us:

1. We offer the opportunity to make a difference and positively influence the Twin Cities metropolitan area. 2. We encourage our employees to develop their skills through on-site training and tuition reimbursement. 3. We provide a competitive salary, excellent benefits and a good work/life balance. More about why you should join us!

Additional information

Accountant: Union/Salary Grade: AFSCME/Grade F FLSA Status: Non-Exempt Safety Sensitive: No Full Salary Range: $36.43 - $59.13 hourly / $75,774.40 - $122,990.40 annually Senior Accountant: Union/Salary Grade: AFSCME/Grade G FLSA Status: Exempt Safety Sensitive: No Full Salary Range: $39.41 - $63.91 hourly / $81,973.00 - $132,933.00 annually The responsibilities listed are typical of the positions included in the job classification; however, not all duties are necessarily performed by each specific position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties of the position. Regular attendance is an essential responsibility. What steps the recruitment process involves: 1. We review your minimum qualifications. 2. We rate your education and experience. 3. We conduct a structured panel interview. 4. We conduct a selection interview. Once you have successfully completed the steps above, then: If you are new to the Metropolitan Council, you must pass a background check which verifies education, employment, and criminal history. A driving record check and/or physical may be conducted if applicable to the job. If you have a criminal conviction, you do not automatically fail. The Metropolitan Council considers felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor convictions on a case-by-case basis, based on whether they are related to the job and whether the candidate has demonstrated adequate rehabilitation. If you are already an employee of the Metropolitan Council, you must pass a criminal background check if the job you're applying for is safety-sensitive, is a supervisory or management job, is in Finance, Information Services, Audit, or Human Resources departments, or has access to financial records, files/databases, cash vouchers or transit fare cards. A driving record check and/or physical may be conducted if applicable to the position. IMPORTANT: If you make a false statement or withhold information, you may be barred from job consideration. The Metropolitan Council is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and veteran-friendly employer. The Council is committed to a workforce that reflects the diversity of the region and strongly encourages persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community, individuals with disabilities, women and veterans to apply. If you have a disability that requires accommodation during the selection process, please email View email address on click.appcast.io.