Accounting Assistant I/II/Senior

Accounting Assistant I/II/Sr

The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package that includes general salary increases, merit increases, educational incentives, bilingual incentives, flexible workweek, telework schedule, vacation accrual, annual leave redemption, sick leave, deferred compensation, health plans, flexible spending accounts, pension plan, holidays, and additional benefits such as tuition reimbursement, disability plans, employee assistance program, life insurance, and wellness program.

Ventura County is located on California's "Gold Coast," approximately 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles and 20 miles southeast of Santa Barbara. The County includes 42 miles of coastline which is home to the following cities and points of interest: Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura as well as national protected areas such as parts of the Angeles National Forest, Channel Islands National Park, and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Ventura County's beauty and weather combined with a wonderful quality of life are among the many reasons our residents choose to call Ventura County "home."

The position is an Accounting Assistant I/II/Sr under immediate (I) or general (II) supervision, receiving training and learning to perform the more routine duties (I) or performing the full range of duties (II) in the maintenance and processing of financial transactions, and entry/retrieval of data and/or information into manual or technology systems; functional areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to cash receipts and disbursements, accounts receivable, billing, accounts payable, payroll, fixed asset accounting, and revenue distribution.

Distinguishing characteristics: Each successive level in the Accounting Assistant series is distinguished by scope of independence and responsibility. The level of the position within the series is commensurate with the complexity of the assigned tasks. If appointed at the lower level (I), incumbents may be promoted to the higher level (II) without further examination upon meeting the minimum requirements, demonstrating satisfactory performance, and in accordance with business needs of the department.

Accounting Assistant I ($23.00 - $32.20 hourly) - This is the entry-level classification in the Accounting Assistant series, where the emphasis is on learning the fiscal operations and processes in the assigned fiscal program area(s), and on conducting duties and responsibilities that are limited in nature. Initially, under close supervision, incumbents perform the more routine duties while learning the assigned program area's fiscal policies, procedures, systems, operations and practices. As experience is gained, and over a period of time, incumbents will assume the increasingly responsible duties associated with the full journey level of the series.

Accounting Assistant II ($25.55 - $35.78 hourly) - This is the fully experienced/journey-level classification in the Accounting Assistant series, competent to independently perform the full range of duties assigned to the classification. This classification is distinguished from incumbents in the lower level of the series by the performance of the full range of duties and the relative independence with which they perform their duties by applying their working knowledge of fiscal policies and procedures to different work situations, and referring only non-procedural questions to their supervisor. This classification is distinguished from the Sr. Accounting Assistant in that positions assigned to the advanced journey level classification perform the most complex work assigned to the series, requiring a specialized technical or functional expertise.

Senior Accounting Assistant ($28.11 - $39.36 hourly) - This is the advanced journey level in the Accounting Assistant series; positions at this level perform the most complex duties and responsibilities assigned to the series, exercising a significant level of independent judgment in the performance of their duties; work assigned to this advanced level requires a specialized technical or functional expertise beyond the journey level, such as processing complex transactions which require a specialized knowledge of multiple operational factors; positions may also be assigned functional, technical and lead supervisory duties over lower level staff when such assignments are a formal organizational responsibility, supervising at least three subordinate staff members.

Various Accounting Assistant I/II/Sr are represented by the Service Employees' International Union (SEIU) and are eligible for overtime compensation.

Depending on the level, duties may include but are not limited to the following:

• Learns to receive, review, and verify (I) or receives, reviews and verifies (II/Sr) claims, invoices, and payroll documents for authorization of expenditures, accuracy of amounts and accounts charged, and conformance to rules and procedures.
• Learns to perform (I) or performs (II/Sr) posting functions by hand or on the computer by inputting accounting or payroll data to appropriate accounts, journals, or ledgers.
• Receives cash, warrants and checks from individuals or revenue sources; applies credit to the proper subsidiary ledger account; balances the cash register and forwards deposits to the proper accounting area for deposit with County Treasurer.
• Performs simple arithmetical computations (I/II) to verify money collected, claims amounts, time attendance hours, supply inventories, etc. May perform more complex calculations (Sr) (e.g., back pay, revenue/costs distribution, welfare aide entitlement) by examining the individual case records, integrating multiple rules and regulations, and comparing outcomes using different methods of calculation.
• Logs and codes data according to prescribed accounting procedures; retrieves documents from files and sets up new files as requested.
• Pre-audits the work of others (e.g., time and work reports, child support payments, payroll, welfare payroll) to ensure proper coding, account classification, cost and fund distribution, and compliance with state or federal guidelines and procedures (Sr only).
• Learns to compare (I) or compares (II/Sr) data on the documents with back-up information in order to substantiate claims.
• Provides receipts by filling out a receipt form or endorsing checks in order to provide payee with proof of payment.
• Sorts, batches and files financial, statistical, or fiscal data/records.
• Learns to compile, verify, and calculate (I) or compiles, verifies, and calculates (II/Sr) the appropriate charges to clients/users for services/goods rendered; prepares invoices to provide details on charges.
• Learns to verify (I) or verifies (II) the signatures of persons authorizing the expenditures by maintaining and reviewing the index files.
• Balances the subsidiary ledger totals to the Auditor-Controller's financial status reports; prepares periodic detail and summary reports on account status as requested (Sr only).
• Plans, leads, schedules, assigns, reviews and monitors the work of clerical staff in assigned program area (Sr only).
• Researches outstanding warrants and claims; follows up with the parties involved and takes corrective actions to resolve the problems; prepares journal vouchers to adjust the accounts accordingly (Sr only).
• Provides oral and/or written reports to supervisors as required by abstracting data from various agency accounting and statistical records (Sr only).
• Edits daily operational reports for discrepancies or rejects; prepares adjustment entries to reconcile with the master control accounts (Sr only).
• Troubleshoots on computer system errors, provides system maintenance support for the unit, and creates/modifies the file structure to enhance report generation (Sr only).
• Assists the supervisor in the compilation of workload statistics and supplemental reports requested by state, federal and local agencies (Sr only).
• Other related duties as assigned.

These are entrance requirements to the exam process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list. Education, training and experience which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills and abilities. An example of qualifying education and experience includes:

• Accounting Assistant I: No prior work experience is required.
• Accounting Assistant II: Two (2) years of experience in financial, statistical, or fiscal record keeping; or one (1) year as an Accounting Assistant I with the County of Ventura.
• Senior Accounting Assistant: Four (4) years of experience in financial, statistical, or fiscal record keeping; or two (2) years as an Accounting Assistant II with the County of Ventura. Education/Experience Substitution: Three (3) units of college-level accounting coursework OR twelve (12) units of college-level general coursework may be substituted for up to one (1) year of the required experience. If you are substituting education for experience (up to one year), verification of college-level coursework is required. Transcripts or grade reports from an accredited college or university which reflect the date your degree was conferred and passing grades in the required subject areas must be submitted to County of Ventura, Human Resources within three (3) business days of the recruitment closing date. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. If you submit a hard copy with a paper application, be sure it's a copy. Whatever you submit will not be returned to you. To attach a PDF scanned copy to an online application, use the Add Attachment(s)