**********************Application Fee Waiver**********************

Employees of Erie County CSEA collective bargaining unit shall have all fees associated with County provided promotional civil service examinations waived.

Residence Requirements:

THIS EXAMINATION IS OPEN TO ALL QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES OF ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENTS, SCHOOL DISTRICTS, TOWNS AND VILLAGES. Successful candidates will be eligible for appointment only in municipality/jurisdiction in which they were employed at the time of the written test. One vacancy is anticipated at  the Erie County Department of Social Services.   Salaries vary among jurisdictions.

Examples of Duties:

A 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:

QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE FOR TAKING THE TEST FOR ERIE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICTS, TOWNS AND VILLAGES: Candidates must be permanently employed in the competitive class and must be serving and have served continuously on a permanent or contingent permanent basis in the competitive class for 12 months immediately preceding the date of the written test in the position of Senior Account Clerk or Senior Account Clerk Typist.

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:

None.

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.

INFORMATION FOR PROMOTION CANDIDATES

Unless otherwise indicated, the eligible list resulting from this examination will have a duration of four years and will not supersede existing promotional lists, if any.

RATINGS REQUIRED:  Test is rated on a scale of 100 with a passing mark at 70.  Test instructions may further divide the tests into parts and set minimum standards for each part.

Points will be added to scores of candidates who achieve a passing mark as follows: Seniority:  For each year of service in the classified service:

Less than 1 year……………………..................…0 points

1 year up to 6 years…………….…........................1 point

Over 6 years up to 11 years.....………......….........2 points

Over 11 years up to 16 years….…........….........…3 points

Over 16 years up to 21 years………..................…4 points

Over 21 years………………………..................…5 points

VETERANS:  Disabled and non-disabled veterans as defined in Section 85, New York State Civil Service Law, will have 5 and 2.5 points, respectively added to their earned scores if successful in the examination.  You must claim these credits when you file application but you have an option to waive them any time prior to appointment.  If you have already used these credits for a permanent position in NYS, you may not claim them again.

**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.