Chief Account Clerk

Modified: December 31, 2018 1:24pm

COUNTY OF ERIE - DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL
invites applications for the position of:

Chief Account Clerk

#64-678 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: $37,081 - $46,692 Annually
Opening Date: December 21, 2018
Closing Date: January 23, 2019
Application fee: $20.00

********************Amendment Issued 12-31-18********************
See below under Residence Requirements.

Residence Requirements:

THERE ARE NO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION IN THIS EXAMINATION. There is one anticipated vacancy at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation.

********************Amendment Issued 12-31-18********************

Residence Requirements for Erie County municipalities or districts (except ECMC):

NOTE: The eligible list resulting from this examination may also be used to fill other appropriate vacancies which may occur in municipalities or districts under the jurisdiction of Erie County Civil Service while this list is active according to the following residence requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY OR AN ERIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT* FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY OR AN ERIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT* AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. Preference may be given to successful candidates who have been residents of the municipality in which the appointment is to be made for one month preceding the date of the certification of the eligible list and who are residents of the municipality at the time of appointment. Non-residents may be required to become a resident of the appointing municipality if local law so states. * Candidates who reside in a school district which, for civil service purposes is administered by the Erie County Personnel Commissioner, but who are not legal residents of Erie County may apply for examination. However they will be certified for appointment only in the school district in which they are legal residents.

Examples of Duties:

Chief Account Clerk supervises and participates in the maintenance of fiscal, budgetary, and accounting records; 

Maintains appropriate ledgers, books of account, registers of vouchers, requisitions, and related records;

Summarizes and journalizes transactions for entry and posting to books of account or computerized bookkeeping;

Audits vouchers and other financial documents for sufficiency of funds, accuracy and completeness;

Prepares financial statements, budget estimates, and analyses of accounts;

Examines financial statements and records prepared or maintained by others;

Takes charge of petty cash fund;

Assigns work and advises small number of clerical workers engaged in similar work;

Maintains office payroll records of leave, attendance, time, deductions, etc.;

Contacts outside agencies, vendors or individuals in connection with the maintenance of financial accounts;

Utilizes computer software such as word processing, spreadsheet and database applications.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

A) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered two (2) year college or university with an Associate's degree in Accounting and two (2) years of business or office experience, at least one (1) year of which must have involved the maintaining of financial records and accounts; or:

B) Completion of two (2) years of study at a regionally accredited or New York State registered two (2) or four (4) year college or university, which included sixteen (16) semester hours in Accounting, and two (2) years of business or office experience, at least one (1) year of which must have involved the maintaining of financial records and accounts; or:

C) Graduation from high school and four (4) years of business or office experience, at least one (1) year of which must have involved the maintaining of financial records and accounts, OR:

D) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A), (B) and (C) above.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants for designated positions in the Department of Social Services that may have access to federal tax information to perform his/her job duties shall be subject to a suitability background check investigation, including FBI fingerprinting, local law enforcement check, and verification check of citizenship/residency. A criminal record does not necessarily disqualify applicants from employment, rather an individualized determination will be made. The cost of the background check will be assumed by the Department of Social Services.

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

Examination date:

March 2, 2019

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

January 23, 2019

A Guide for the Written Test for Higher Level Account Clerical is available at the New York State website: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm . Candidates not having access to a computer or the internet may request copy of the test guide from the municipal civil service office conducting this examination using the contact information found elsewhere on this announcement.

 

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Fundamentals of account keeping and bookkeeping

These questions test for a knowledge of basic principles and practices of account keeping and bookkeeping. The questions test for recognizing account keeping and bookkeeping terms, concepts and relationships; recording financial transactions; and solving elementary problems in account keeping and bookkeeping.

2. Supervision

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

3. Understanding and interpreting tabular material

These questions test your ability to understand, analyze, and use the internal logic of data presented in tabular form. You may be asked to perform tasks such as completing tables, drawing conclusions from them, analyzing data trends or interrelationships, and revising or combining data sets. The concepts of rate, ratio, and proportion are tested. Mathematical operations are simple, and computational speed is not a major factor in the test. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.

4. Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.    

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.