Finance Analyst I/II/Senior

WHAT WE OFFER

Educational Incentive - An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate's degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate's degree.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Incentive – An incentive of 5% of base pay may be paid for an active CPA Certification. An incumbent may receive the educational Incentive or the CPA Incentive whichever is higher. Both cannot be received at the same time.

Bi-lingual Incentive - Incumbents may also be eligible for bilingual incentive depending upon operational needs and certification skills.

Vacation Accrual – New regular, full-time employees shall receive advanced annual leave credit of 7 biweekly pay periods; this advancement shall be balanced upon completion of 7 biweekly pay periods of service or upon earlier separation. The first 5 years of service annual leave accrues at 8 hours per payment period; beyond 5 years of service it increases to 11.08 hours per pay period with a maximum balance of 880 hours.

Annual Leave Redemption - The ability to "cash in" or redeem up to 100 hours of vacation accrued in the same year after using 80 hours of vacation in the preceding 12 months.

Deferred Compensation - Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3% match on your 401(k) contributions.

Health Plans – You are afforded a flexible credit allowance for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans. Plan Year 2022 includes tier one for employee only is $497 per pay period, tier two for employee plus one is $622 per pay period and tier three for employee plus family is $737 per pay period.

Flexible Spending Accounts - Choice of participation in the Flexible Spending Accounts which increase spending power through reimbursement of pre-tax dollars for IRS approved dependent care and health care expenses.

Pension Plan - Both the County and employees contribute to the County's Retirement Plan and to Social Security. If eligible, reciprocity may be established with other public retirement systems, such as PERS.

Holidays - 11 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.

The Position:

The Accounts Payable Division is responsible for all centralized aspects of County Accounts Payable including: vendor maintenance, payments to vendors, employee reimbursements; purchase order approval; travel credit card administration; timely and accurate Federal and State reporting; Board Letter and complex contract review; Vendor Self Service financial administration; and construction contract withholding for subcontractor Stop Notices. The Division’s goal is to provide essential services for accurate and timely payments to 10,000+ vendors Countywide.

Under general direction of the Accounts Payable Manager, conducts studies to evaluate existing fiscal controls, accounting standards, accounting systems, financing requirements and/or legislative impact for the Accounts Payable Section of the Auditor-Controller's Office. Performs countywide oversight duties and coordinates multi-agency fiscal programs/systems. Develops recommendations/strategies to address financial systems or structural accounting issues and options. Coordinates the implementation of new/upgraded accounting/financial systems or programs that cross over multiple agencies.

The ideal candidate possesses:

• Governmental accounts payable practices, procedures, and standards;
• Working knowledge of large automated financial systems;
• The ability to act as team lead and play a major role in a large project implementation;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications such as Excel and Word;
• Considerable experience in project management;
• Strong analytical skills; and,
• A desire to continually expand his/her knowledge in the areas of accounting and computer systems.

Positions are allocated to the various levels in this series on the basis of diversity and complexity of special projects/studies assigned.

Financial Analyst I: Conducts simple to moderate fiscal studies that are limited in scope and complexity. Work typically involves a well-defined segment of a major system, or is guided by well-precedented projects.

Financial Analyst II: Conducts fiscal studies that are difficult in nature requiring an in-depth and practical knowledge of a technical field and skill in applying this knowledge to the analysis and development of new solutions, methods, approaches or procedures.

Senior Finance Analyst: Conducts the most complex fiscal studies that require a significant level of independent judgement requiring a specialized technical or functional expertise including performance of duties in a project management capacity. Supervisory duties over lower level staff may also be included.

APPROXIMATE SALARY:

Financial Analyst I: $2,652.22 to $3,626.91 biweekly
Financial Analyst II: $2,946.91 to $4,125.67 biweekly
Senior Finance Analyst: $3,241.60 to $4,538.24 biweekly

The Financial Analyst I/II/Senior is a Management exempt classification and is not eligible for overtime compensation. Incumbents in these classifications are eligible for benefits at the MB-4 level.

The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular, Temporary, Fixed-term, Intermittent, or Extra Help vacancies within the Auditor-Controller Department. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy within the Accounts Payable Section.

The position(s) will be filled at the Financial Analyst I, II or Senior level depending on the qualifications of the individual(s) selected and the business needs of the department.

NOTE: If appointed at the lower level, incumbents may be promoted to the higher level without further examination upon meeting the minimum requirements, demonstrating satisfactory performance, and in accordance with the business needs of the department.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Conducts complex and time-sensitive review of Board letters and contracts;
• Manages and evaluates daily, monthly, and annual work processes, systems, and procedures for efficiency of workflow and conformance to accounting principles. This may include manual and automated accounting systems, budget projection systems, as well as e-commerce platforms;
• Assists departmental management in the ongoing maintenance of accounting information systems;
• Prepares comprehensive calculations, evaluations, and data analysis and makes recommendations to management;
• Develops reports of system transactions and statistics;
• Evaluates internal controls and security of new and existing automated accounting systems to ensure adherence to internal control standards;
• Assists in development and implementation of new/upgraded systems to ensure proper integration with other financial accounting systems or compliance with Federal and State standards;
• Interacts with centralized information technology staff to resolve issues and problems related to accounting transactions;
• Trains County department employees in the operation of accounting systems;
• Researches and analyzes changes in legislation including Internal Revenue Service, Franchise Tax Board, Employment Development Division, and California Department of Tax and Fee Administration guidelines;
• Evaluates and reviews accounting policies and reporting systems for large County agencies or groups of agencies for compliance with regulations and reporting requirements;
• Regularly interfaces with vendors, contractors, and department accounting staff;
• Performs other duties as required.

In addition to the above duties, the Senior Finance Analyst may also perform the following duties:

• Plans, supervises and reviews the work of assigned accounting and programming staff in managing, developing or modifying systems or procedures.
• Advises and coordinates with departments/agencies on new accounting structures, internal controls, and reporting requirements;
• Evaluates countywide fiscal/accounting impact and recommends policies, systems and procedures to implement the changes;
• Coordinates the development of written policies, procedures and desk manuals, and develops training materials;

TYPICAL QUALIFICATIONS

These are entrance requirements to the examination and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on the eligible list.

EDUCATION, TRAINING and EXPERIENCE

Any combination of education and experience which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. The required knowledge, skills, and abilities can also be obtained by a Bachelor's degree with: 1) at least eighteen semester units of accounting coursework including upper-division Managerial Accounting; and 2) six units of upper-division coursework in the business administration field, AND,

Financial Analyst I: Four years (4) of progressively responsible professional experience as an accountant, auditor, or analyst which included responsibilities for the evaluation of financial accounting systems, accounting program analysis, or assisting with implementation of automated information systems.

Financial Analyst II: Five years (5) of progressively responsible professional experience as an accountant, auditor, or analyst which included responsibilities for the evaluation of financial accounting systems, accounting program analysis, or assisting with implementation of automated information systems; OR one (1) year as a Financial Analyst I for the County of Ventura.

Senior Finance Analyst: Six years (6) of progressively responsible professional experience as an accountant, auditor, or analyst, one (1) year of which must be at the Project Leader level overseeing the design and implementation of financial accounting systems, accounting program analysis, or automated information systems; OR two (2) years as a Financial Analyst II for the County of Ventura.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Must possess or maintain a valid California driver’s license
• Accounts payable processing experience
• Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel
• Well-developed skills in time management and setting priorities
• Verification of accounting coursework completed (transcripts or grade reports) is required before placement on an eligible list.

DESIRED:

• Experience in Accounts Payable in a public sector environment *Experience with purchase orders and contracts
• Experience in project management
• Experience in supervising staff

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

Considerable knowledge of:

• Large financial systems;
• Accounts Payable operations and activities;
• Laws and regulations affecting governmental accounts payable operations;
• Fiscal monitoring and control methods; and
• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles:

• Applying financial principles and regulations within Accounts Payable; *Reconciling financial statements;
• Developing clear and concise fiscal reports and related documents;
• Use of computers, Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, and Access and related technology including software applications specific to work performed;

Ability to:

• Learn and perform complex analytical and critical examination of accounts payable operations and
  activities;
• Exercise sound judgment;
• Understand interrelationships among financial records and documents;
• Analyze financial/accounting data and draw logical conclusions;
• Analyze and evaluate administrative and abstract accounting concepts and procedures;
• Understand, interpret, and apply professional and procedural requirements.
• Interpret and apply professional principles and standards.
• Evaluate and reconcile financial data from multiple accounting systems;
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse group of people and work effectively with accounting staff Countywide;
• Conduct meetings to obtain agreement, resolve issues and transfer knowledge in areas of responsibility;
• Train users in the operation of financial systems;
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing;
• Review, analyze and interpret changes in legislation.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

FINAL FILING DATE: Applications must be received by the County of Ventura, Human Resources Division, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 29, 2022.

To apply on-line, please refer to our web site at www.ventura.org/hr. If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit your application to County of Ventura, Human Resources Division, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.

Sufficient information must be provided under the Education/Work Experience portions of the application and supplemental questionnaire to thoroughly and accurately demonstrate your qualifications to determine eligibility. A resume may be attached to supplement your responses in the above sections; however, it may not be substituted in lieu of completing the application.

NOTE: If presently permanently employed in another merit or civil service public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a merit or civil service style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. If interested, please click here for additional information.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE – qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this exam at the time of filing. This questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in the application being removed from consideration.

APPLICATION SCREENING – qualifying: Candidates' applications, resumes, or other required documentation will be evaluated on a comparative basis against pre-established criterion. Those individuals whose materials best indicate possession of the stated requirements, may be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.

TRAINING and EXPERIENCE EVALUATION: A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded by or replaced with a score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence. Candidates must earn a score of seventy percent
(70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

ORAL EXAMINATION – 100%: A job-related oral examination may be conducted to evaluate and compare participating candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job. Candidates must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an examination will not be conducted. Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.

ELIGIBLE LIST

Candidates successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year. The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular, Temporary, Fixed-Term, Intermittent, or Extra Help vacancies. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy in the Auditor-Controller's Office.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information and driving record is required for this position.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Lorin Calderon by email at lorin.calderon@ventura.org or by phone at (805) 654-2959.

Finance Analyst I/II/Senior Supplemental Questionnaire

Please respond to the following questions. Your responses will give us additional information about your experience and background related to this position, and will be used in the selection process. Please be as concise and specific as possible; clarity of expression and ability to follow instructions will be considered in the evaluation process.

1. To meet the minimum requirement for this position, you must show that you have taken at east 1) eighteen semester units of college-level accounting coursework including upper-division Managerial Accounting; and 2) six units of upper-division coursework in the business administration field. Please indicate how you meet this requirement. List all accounting courses you have taken. Include the course title, the number of semester or quarter units, and the name of the accredited college or university attended. Failure to provide this information in detail will result in your application being removed from consideration.
   
2. You are required to submit transcripts to verify the successful completion of the required course work for this recruitment. Please indicate the method of submission by selecting one of the options below: NOTE: Mailed transcripts must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.
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   A copy of my transcripts is attached to my on-line application.
   I will mail or deliver a copy of my transcripts to County HR as outlined in the job posting.
   
3. Indicate your level of proficiency (beginner, intermediate or advanced) with Microsoft Word and Excel, and describe examples of documents created and/or functions performed with each of these tools. If you have no experience with one or more, please identify the tool and state "none."
   
4. Which statement best describes your full-time progressively responsible professional experience as an accountant, auditor, or analyst, which included responsibilities for the evaluation of financial accounting systems, accounting program analysis, or assisting with implementation of automated information systems? NOTE: Full-time experience is defined as 40 hours or more per week. If you work part-time, your work experience will be prorated based on the number of hours you work per week.
   
   I do not have this type of experience.
   3 years or less
   More than 3 years but less than 4 years;
   More than 4 years but less than 5 years; More than 5 years but less than 6 years;
   6 years or more
   
   5. Describe your Accounts Payable experience, including your experience working with purchase orders and contracts. Please include the following details:
   · employer name
   · time frame (start and end dates in mo/yr format)
   · hours worked weekly
   · your title and description of duties
   If you do not have this type of experience, please type, "No experience."
   
   6. Describe in detail your experience with large automated financial systems and include the name of the financial system. Give examples and be specific as to the types of transactions processed, reports used, and any analytical procedures applied using the system.
   If you do not have this type of experience, please type, "No experience."
   
   7. Describe your experience in system implementation, analysis and testing of transactions.
   If you do not have this type of experience, please type, "No experience."
   
   8. Describe your experience interpreting and implementing changes in legislation.
   If you do not have this type of experience, please type, "No experience."