Accountant

Accountant Position

Looking for more than routine accounting work? Join the City of Wausau and put your financial expertise to work supporting the services that keep our community running. As an Accountant, you'll analyze financial data, prepare reports, ensure compliance with governmental accounting standards, support audits, improve financial processes, and partner with departments across the organization. Every day brings a variety of meaningful work with opportunities to solve problems, collaborate with others, and make a lasting impact on our community. Starting annual salary $65,644.80 or higher depending on qualifications and excellent benefits!

Essential duties and responsibilities include:

1. Perform comprehensive professional accounting functions, including preparing, maintaining, analyzing, verifying, and reconciling complex financial transactions, statements, records, and reports to ensure accuracy of the City's financial records and general ledger.
2. Prepare required financial, statistical, compliance, and year-end reports, such as PSC reports, annual financial schedules, tax returns, and internal and external reporting for City and enterprise fund operations.
3. Train and support staff on accounting procedures, revenue and utility billing processes, cash handling, job costing systems, and related software, providing technical guidance and resolving complex transaction or billing issues.
4. Monitor and reconcile cash collections, point-of-sale systems, utility billing systems, subsidiary ledgers, and bank activity, ensuring accurate and timely processing of revenue and payment activities.
5. Manage and maintain fixed asset accounting and inventory records, including asset additions, depreciation, reconciliations, and compliance with GASB standards.
6. Support entity accounting and audit work, including developing workpapers, preparing supporting schedules, and assisting with year-end closing activities.
7. Coordinate activities related to collections and customer accounts, troubleshooting complex issues, supporting software upgrades, and ensuring regulatory and procedural compliance.
8. Administer specialized systems such as job costing systems, purchase card programs, room tax accounting, parking, utility billing, and state debt collection or tax intercept functions, ensuring accurate administration, documentation, and compliance.
9. Serves as back-up for professional financial and accounting activities particularly in the areas of the City's payroll and timekeeping systems; including processing, reviewing, researching and analyzing financial data and transactions.
10. Serves as back-up for utility billing. Including learning and maintaining efficiency in the utility billing process. Such as account set-up and cycles, payment processing, reading imports, and reporting.

Minimum requirements include:

• Education and experience: Bachelor's degree in Accounting with a minimum of four (4) years of progressively responsible professional accounting experience; or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• Knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), governmental accounting standards (GASB), financial reporting requirements, and internal controls applicable to municipal government.
• Knowledge of financial management practices including general ledger accounting, account reconciliation, fixed asset accounting, budgeting, payroll, utility billing, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and cash management.
• Knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, policies, and procedures related to governmental accounting and financial administration.
• Skill in analyzing financial information, identifying discrepancies, researching issues, and developing accurate and practical solutions.
• Skill in preparing clear, accurate, and timely financial reports, schedules, reconciliations, and supporting documentation.
• Ability to interpret and apply accounting principles, City policies, contractual provisions, and regulatory requirements while exercising sound professional judgment.
• Ability to organize and prioritize multiple assignments, manage competing deadlines, and maintain a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with employees, department representatives, elected officials, auditors, vendors, financial institutions, regulatory agencies, and the public.
• Ability to explain financial processes and procedures, provide technical guidance and training to staff, and resolve complex accounting or customer service issues.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with coworkers, departments, outside agencies, vendors, auditors, and the public.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise discretion when working with sensitive financial and personnel information.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook, along with the ability to learn and effectively use financial management, payroll, utility billing, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Workday software experience is desirable.
• Ability to utilize independent judgment, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills to improve processes, ensure compliance, and support departmental goals.

The employee must possess the ability to work under safe and comfortable conditions where exposure to environmental factors is minimal and poses little to no risk of injury. Normal mental and visual attention is required. Light physical demands to include bending, twisting, turning, and light lifting. Ability to coordinate eyes, hands, feet and limbs in performing skilled movements such as rapid keyboard use.

Important! All applications must completely filled out and have a resume attached in the "Attachments" section of the application. Applications that are not complete and do not have the required attachment will not be considered. When completing References section, include 3 professional references with current and valid email addresses. References will not be contacted unless a candidate becomes a finalist for consideration or a conditional offer of employment is extended and accepted. Special accommodations: The City of Wausau will make arrangements to furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary and reasonable to afford an individual with a disability the opportunity to participate in the recruitment process. Please notify the Human Resources Department or phone View phone number on click.appcast.io to request special accommodations prior to the application deadline.

The City of Wausau is an Equal Opportunity Employer.