Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There is one present vacancy at the Erie County Department of Real Property Tax Services and one vacancy at Erie One BOCES. 

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.

Examples of Duties:

A Supervising Accountant plans, supervises, develops, directs and participats in complex accounting and financial recordkeeping;

Supervises the maintenance of general books of accounts according to established account classifications, including general ledgers and journals;

Supervises and participates in the preparation of financial reports, statements and annual reports reflecting the activities of the department;

Assists the administrator in coordinating external audits by County, State and independent auditors, including preparation of a response to audit recommendations;

Supervises, assigns and reviews the work of accounting and clerical employees engaged in account keeping activities;

Supervises and participates in the installation and maintenance of standardized accounting procedures;

Supervises the processing of vouchers;

Supervises and participates in the preparation of the annual budget;

May supervise and participate in the operation of billing systems;

Consults with department heads on budget requirements and progress.

Qualifications:

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

Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered four (4) year college or university with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or related field, including or supplemented by twenty-four (24) semester credit hours in accounting and four (4) years of experience in accounting* and/or auditing** one (1) year of which shall have been in a supervisory*** capacity.

Notes:

1. Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration or a C.P.A. certificate issued by New York State may each be substituted for one (1) year of the required accounting* and/or auditing** experience, but may not be substituted for the required supervisory*** or administrative**** experience.

2.  *ACCOUNTING – recording, classifying, verifying, reporting and analysis of financial data. Examples of acceptable accounting experience are full-charge bookkeeper**^**, junior accountant and similar positions.  Examples of unacceptable experience are: account-clerical experience and experience limited to posting, maintaining, examining or preparing one or more of the following: voucher register, sales register, cashbook, insurance register, accounts receivable ledger, accounts payable ledger, and any other special journal or subsidiary ledger, or experience preparing income tax returns.

3. **AUDITING- Confirmation and documenting the veracity of data.

4. ***Supervision – Responsible direction and control of subordinate employees.  This involves the assignment of work, approval of work, training, evaluation and discipline of employees.  The supervisory aspects must be an integral part of the job, not incidental or occasional.  

5. ****Administrative experience is defined as the responsible planning, management and control functions of an organization or organizational unit including the development and/or approval of operating policy and procedures. In addition to the supervision of work groups, the administrator is involved in planning, resource allocation, program evaluation and policy formulation.

6. **^**BOOKKEEPER responsible for a full set of financial records including General Ledger and all subsidiaries.

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

8. 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.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

Subjects of Examination: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. General accounting

These questions test for knowledge of the general accounting principles and practices used in the preparation of financial statements, in the recording and reporting of financial transactions, and in financial decision-making. Candidates will be required to demonstrate a current knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Knowledge of computerized information systems as it applies to accounting may be required.

2. General auditing

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and procedures involved in substantiating and examining transactions and financial statements. It will require a knowledge of auditing techniques and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS). Knowledge of the use of computerized accounting or auditing systems as it pertains to auditing may be required. Questions relating to internal controls applicable to manual and computerized accounting systems may be included.

3. Governmental accounting

These questions test for knowledge of the accounting practices employed to provide financial information used in determining and forecasting the condition of governmental units, and used for monitoring governmental performance, in terms of legal, contractual and fiduciary requirements. These questions will test for knowledge of and familiarity with common governmental funds, appropriation and encumbrance accounting, accounting for revenue and expenditures, and other aspects of accounting relating to the governmental sector.

4. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

5. 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.

6. 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.    

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.