Accountant II

The City of Alexandria is located in Northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington, and Fairfax counties. With a population of approximately 150,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a vibrant waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work. About one-quarter of the City's square miles have been designated as a national or local historic district. We proudly embrace our racially and culturally diverse community. If you are interested in working for the progressive City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for the Accountant II position.

An Overview

The City of Alexandria’s Finance Department is looking for an experienced, self-starting, and detail-oriented Accountant II to join our team. As a member of the Accounting Division’s General Accounting team, the Accountant II is responsible for many of the City’s accounting operations and contributing to the maintenance of a complete and accurate general ledger on daily basis. This is a challenging and complex task which will call on the Accountant II to perform general ledger reconciliations, create journal entries, analyze bank receipts, process accounting for fixed assets and other complex transactions, and research and resolve financial issues across the organization. A significant aspect of this work involves use of the City’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Munis. The Accountant II works under the general supervision of the General Accounting Manager.

What You Should Bring

The ideal candidate is a knowledgeable, collaborative, and thorough financial professional who possesses an in-depth understanding of Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) pronouncements, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and a strong facility with complex financial software systems. Additional knowledge, skills, and abilities include:

• Knowledge of the modern theories, principles, and practices of accounting;
• Skill with managing financial business processes in a large, complex organization;
• Ability to prepare accurate, complete, and timely general ledger journal entries and financial reports;
• Ability to manipulate large amounts of data using Microsoft Excel (e.g. pivot tables, vlookup);
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing.

The Opportunity - Examples of Work

• Creates accurate, complete, and timely journal entries in the general ledger;
• Performs reconciliations between the general ledger and the City’s subledgers, bank accounts, and other related financial systems;
• Analyzes, reviews, and resolves financial issues to ensure the accuracy of accounts and adequacy of documentation;
• Analyzes bank receipts and communicates and coordinates with departmental fiscal staff to properly associate funds;
• Prepares monthly fixed asset transactions (additions, disposals, transfers, depreciation);
• Provides technical support and direction to the Accounts Payable team, including reviewing and approving invoices and vendor maintenance requests and preparing accrued expense journal entries; serves as a backup for AP check run processing and void and return check transactions;
• Prepares and submits unclaimed property claims to the state;
• Performs maintenance on the City’s chart of accounts;
• Prepares various exhibits and schedules for the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Comparative Report;
• Performs complex financial research using the City’s ERP system, Munis;
• Performs other related duties, as assigned.

About the Department

The City of Alexandria's Finance Department is a fast-paced, diverse, and customer service focused operation that is responsible for the assessment, collection, and enforcement of all City taxes, the management of cash flow and investments, accounting for and reporting the City’s financial position, processing payroll, executing a fair and competitive procurement environment, assessing all real and personal property in the City, managing the City’s risk and safety programs, and managing the City’s pension plans. The Finance Department has seven divisions and in fiscal year 2022 is operating with a total budget of $13.6 million and 107.25 FTE positions.

The goal of the Finance Department is to treat all employees, citizens, and business owners professionally, with fairness and compassion.

Minimum & Additional Requirements

Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field and two years of experience in professional general ledger accounting work; or an equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Preferred Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field; experience utilizing a complex financial software system (e.g. Munis, Oracle, PeopleSoft, etc.) as part of the day-to-day financial management of a large organization; experience performing complex reconciliations of financial information; experience specifically in local government accounting; a professional certification that is relevant to this position (e.g. CPA, CGFM, etc.); advanced skill with Microsoft Excel (e.g. pivot tables, vlookup).

Notes

This position requires the successful completion of pre-employment background checks including but not limited to a criminal background check.

The expected starting salary range for this position is $60,283.86- $80,752.36 (midpoint of grade), based on qualifications and experience.