Accountant III

Accountant III

Stanislaus County's Behavioral Health & Recovery Services (BHRS) is seeking an experienced accounting professional to join our team as an Accountant III. This position performs advanced professional accounting work in support of complex financial operations and plays a key role in ensuring the integrity of financial reporting, regulatory compliance, and fiscal accountability.

The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys solving complex financial problems, and is comfortable working with large volumes of financial data to support critical business decisions. The Accountant III is the advanced journey level class in the Accountant series. At this level, professionals perform complex, technical accounting or auditing work, work with sophisticated accounting systems, and prepare reports for the Chief Executive Office and/or department/program managers. Individuals in this role work independently and take responsibility for the most complex and technical professional accounting work. This position oversees assigned accounting activities and may supervise other professional, paraprofessional, and clerical staff. The Accountant III differs from the Accountant II in that professionals at this advanced level handle more challenging financial and accounting work, exercise greater independence and professional judgment, and may lead or supervise staff performing accounting tasks.

Tentative Recruitment Schedule

Application Deadline: August 14, 2026

Written Examination: August 21, 2026

Oral Examination: Week of August 31, 2026

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, the recruitment process, or need assistance with your application, please contact View phone number on click.appcast.io or View email address on click.appcast.io.

Establish, review, revise and supervise the maintenance and control of fiscal record keeping functions and systems within a division/large department, performing field work as required;

Examine/analyze complex fiscal record keeping systems and procedures in departments in order to make recommendations for improvements, to determine compliance with codes/ordinances or to prepare reports;

Assist in the preparation and coordination of County budgets, financial statements and annual audits;

Financial consultant with administrative and program managers;

Consult with program managers and supervisors on budget and monitor financial reports;

Review laws, legislation and policies to determine impact on procedures and to provide guidance in the performance of auditing, accounting and fiscal work;

Provide technical and functional supervision over clerical, paraprofessional and professional accounting staff;

Represent the County and department at multi-jurisdictional meetings and coordinates work with other County and non-County agencies; and

Prepare, design, implement and report to management fiscal impacts on special projects.

Knowledge

• Governmental, auditing, accounting and budgeting methods principles and practices;
• Internal Audit and Consulting Standards;
• Fiscal record keeping systems and functions;
• Principles of supervision and training;
• Financial management systems and management information systems and principles;
• Computer systems and their application to accounting and reporting functions; and
• Working knowledge of the laws, ordinances and regulations governing the financial operation of the County and its departments.

Skills/Abilities

• Plan, direct, coordinate and review the work of professional and clerical accounting staff;
• Effectively analyze and evaluate accounting problems, and develop appropriate data and recommendations in the preparation of reports and statements;
• Develop and organize accounting systems for application to electronic data processing;
• Research, study and apply various Federal, State and local codes and ordinances to assure legal compliance;
• Establish and maintain effective internal and external working relationships;
• Communicate well both orally and in writing, and interpret fiscal policies, practices and methods to governmental officials and department heads;
• Interpret and analyze computer data and material, define problem areas and draw logical conclusions; and
• Maintain and prepare complex reports and financial statements.

We recognize your time is valuable, please only apply if you meet the following required qualifications.

Education/Experience

Pattern I

• Bachelor of Arts degree with major or work in Accounting, Finance, Public Administration, Business Administration, or Economics; AND
• One (1) year of experience performing complex accounting work or other tasks equivalent to a Stanislaus County Accountant II.

Pattern II

• The equivalent of 24 semester units of college coursework in Business Administration, Accounting or a closely related field; AND
• Three (3) years' experience performing complex and highly responsible technical accounting work required in the maintenance of fiscal and statistical records. One of the three years' experience must be equivalent to a Stanislaus County Accountant II and must include: journal entries, posting ledgers, trail balances and reconciliations to establish and maintain accounting books and records.

Proof of education is required for verification purposes at the time of application. Applicants who are unable to submit proof must call View phone number on click.appcast.io to make other arrangements. Failure to submit proof will result in disqualification.

Desirable Qualifications

• Three (3) or more years of accounting experience in a large, complex public agency or private organization (500+ employees or $50M+ annual budget); AND
• Three (3) or more years analyzing and reconciling large financial data sets using advanced Excel; AND
• Three (3) or more years advanced Microsoft Excel proficiency, including PivotTables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, Power Query, and complex formulas; AND
• Three (3) or more years of experience managing, reconciling, or reporting expenditures across multiple federal, state, local, or grant funding sources ("braided funding"), including ensuring compliance with differing funding restrictions and cost allocation requirements.

Applications cannot be submitted later than 5:00 p.m. on the final filing date. Make your online application as complete as possible so a full and realistic appraisal may be made of your qualifications. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed application.

Attaching your resume and cover letter are an optional feature for those who wish to do so in addition to completing the required application. Information on your resume and cover letter will not substitute for the education, work experience and required fields on the County application. The online County application is the primary tool used to evaluate your job qualifications.

Examination Process

• Application Review and Screening. Applications are carefully screened based on information provided. Those who submit incomplete applications that lack relevant qualifications or do not submit all required documents will not be invited to move on.
• Written Examination. Applicants will be invited to participate in a written exam that tests knowledge for the position.
• Oral Examination. Applicants are invited to a panel interview in which they will be evaluated by County subject matter experts.
• Eligible Lists. Candidates who pass the examination will be placed on an eligible list for that classification. Eligible lists are effective for six months but may be extended up to eighteen months.

General Information

Classification Information

Unless otherwise provided, this position is part of the Classified Service of the County and is assigned to the Mid Management/Supervisory bargaining unit for labor relations purposes.

Individuals who are in a full-time classification position are required to serve a twelve-month probationary period, which may be extended an additional six months, for a total of eighteen months.

Incumbents may also be subject to overtime, standby, callback, weekend, holiday, and shift assignments as identified in their MOU (Memorandum of Understanding).

The Job Task Analysis provides information detailing the physical and functional demands of the classification. For the complete job task analysis, visit the Risk Management website at under the "Disability" tab.

Note: The eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, part-time and full-time vacancies throughout Stanislaus County.

Recruitment Accommodations

Arrangements may be made to accommodate disabilities and religious convictions. Applicants requiring testing accommodations are required to complete and submit the Testing Accommodations Request Form prior to the test administration date. Special arrangements for religious convictions should be included in the "Additional Information" section of the application form.

General Qualifications

• Pass County-paid pre-employment job-related background investigation.