Accountant Trainee/I

Accountant Trainee/I

The County of Riverside's Housing and Workforce Solutions Department is seeking a qualified Accountant Trainee/I to join the Workforce Development Division in Riverside. This position will report to the office full-time. The Accountant Trainee/I supports departmental fiscal operations by managing and monitoring grant budgets, tracking both expenditures and revenue, and preparing monthly fiscal reports for submission to the State. This position assists with year-end financial reporting and ensures the accuracy and completeness of vouchers so that payments can be processed the following business day. The role requires strong attention to detail, the ability to work with financial data, and effective communication with internal and external stakeholders. This position will require the incumbent to travel to offsite locations to pick up checks on their assigned day. Most competitive candidates will have prior experience with Microsoft Excel (including formulas and pivot tables), Microsoft Access (creating and managing data tables), PeopleSoft Financials, and supporting fiscal operations in a public sector agency. The Accountant Trainee is a natural progression underfill for the Accountant I. Incumbents are eligible to promote to the Accountant I class after obtaining a satisfactory performance evaluation and meeting the education and experience requirements. Failure to promote to the Accountant I will result in incumbents either being returned to their former County job classification or new hires being released prior to the end of their initial probationary period. The Accountant I is a natural progression underfill for the Accountant II. Incumbents are expected to promote to Accountant II after obtaining one year of experience as an Accountant I, meeting the education requirement and obtaining a satisfactory performance evaluation. Failure to promote to the Accountant II class will result in incumbents being returned to their former County classification or new hires being released prior to the end of their probationary period.

Salary Range:

Accountant Trainee - $30.8042 - $42.7377

Accountant I - $32.4984 - $45.0880

Meet the Team! Housing and Workforce Solutions (HWS) provides services that enhance the lives and wellbeing of the county's most vulnerable constituents and consists of the following Divisions: Housing Authority of the County of Riverside (HACR), County of Riverside Community and Housing Development (CHD), Riverside County Workforce Development (WD), Community Action Partnership of Riverside County (CAP), and the Office of Homeless Services (OHS). All 5 of these Divisions work in a collaborative and integrated approach to decrease poverty, provide homelessness prevention and services, increase the supply of affordable housing, and administer federal and state programs that address these issues.

Examples Of Essential Duties

Accountant Trainee - $30.8042 - $42.7377

• Review and recommend recordkeeping controls for fiscal units.
• Examine and verify fiscal recordkeeping systems and procedures.
• Examine and verify fiscal documents (e.g., vouchers, warrants, requisitions, purchase orders, receiving records, and invoices).
• Prepare trial balances, reconciliations, work sheets, and schedules.
• Prepare basic accounting, statistical, and narrative reports.
• Classify and distribute income and expenditures to proper accounts.
• May assist in the preparation and maintenance of the budget and internal controls.

Accountant I - $32.4984 - $45.0880

• Establish, review, revise, and maintain controls on fiscal record-keeping functions.
• Examine and analyze fiscal record-keeping systems and procedures.
• Examine, analyze, and verify fiscal documents (e.g., vouchers, warrants, requisitions, purchase orders, receiving records, and invoices).
• Prepare trial balances, reconciliations, work sheets, and schedules.
• Prepare or assist in the preparation of a variety of accounting, statistical, and narrative reports.
• Review, evaluate, and may assist in the preparation and maintenance of the budget and internal controls.
• Prepare or assist in the preparation of recommendations for the installation of new or revised accounting cost systems, procedures, and records.
• Review the classification and distribution of income and expenditures to proper accounts.
• Develop routine rates or cost models.

Minimum Qualifications

Accountant Trainee - $30.8042 - $42.7377

Education: Completion of 60 semester or 90 quarter units from an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or another field of study that included at least 18 semester or 27 quarter units in accounting, finance, auditing, taxation, financial reporting, business finance, financial statement analysis, or external and internal reporting, or closely related coursework.

Experience: Two years of paraprofessional accounting experience equivalent to the County of Riverside Accounting Technician classification series.

Knowledge of: Basic accounting principles and practices; governmental accounting systems, procedures, and regulations; general business law terminology; general budgeting methods and the interrelationships of internal and external recordkeeping systems; accounting systems and procedures containing such items as expenditures, revenues, general ledger, and related accounting procedures; legal requirements of County contracts, agreements, minute orders, and resolutions.

Ability to: Learn the principles and procedures of governmental accounting; analyze data, define problem areas, and draw logical conclusions; examine and verify records; maintain and monitor control totals of primary accounting record sources and summarize and assimilate into reports and other accounting documents; communicate effectively both orally and in writing; establish effective working relationships.

Accountant I - $32.4984 - $45.0880

OPTION I Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in accounting, or another field of study that included at least 18 semester or 27 quarter units in accounting, finance, auditing, taxation, financial reporting, business finance, financial statement analysis, or external and internal reporting, or closely related coursework.

OPTION II Certification: Possession of a valid certificate as a Certified Public Accountant or Certified Internal Auditor.

OPTION III Education: Completion of 90 semester or 135 quarter units from an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or another field of study that included at least 18 semester or 27 quarter units in accounting, finance, auditing, taxation, financial reporting, business finance, financial statement analysis, or external and internal reporting, or closely related coursework.

Experience: One year equivalent to the County of Riverside Accountant Trainee classification.

OPTION IV Education: Completion of 90 semester or 135 quarter units from an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or another field of study that included at least 18 semester or 27 quarter units in accounting, finance, auditing, taxation, financial reporting, business finance, financial statement analysis, or external and internal reporting, or closely related coursework.

Experience: Three years of paraprofessional accounting experience equivalent to the County of Riverside Accounting Technician classification series.

ALL OPTIONS Knowledge of: Accounting principles and practices; general business laws and budgeting methods.

Ability to: Analyze data, define problem areas, and draw logical conclusions; understand and apply the principles, laws, and procedures involved in the accounting and auditing functions; examine and verify records; maintain records and prepare accounting, statistical, and narrative reports; establish and maintain effective working relationships; communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

EQUIVALENT TO ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN refers to functioning primarily as a key assistant to a professional accountant or other management staff in a large organization; performing difficult and complex paraprofessional accounting work that required the use of a wide range and variety of basic accounting principles and procedures in the establishment and maintenance of an accounting system for a large organization; performing highly responsible and complex work in specialized/technical reviews; having final approval and control of complex and varied accounting records, accounts, or claims.

EQUIVALENT TO SUPERVISING ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN refers to the planning, coordinating, and supervising of a large fiscal support unit in a large organization; performing a variety of program and administrative support duties for higher level positions, which may have included the research, analysis, and interpretation of complex legislation or codes, and the development of related financial program and/or operational changes.

License: Possession of a valid California Driver's License is required.