Account Clerk Typist

Modified: February 22, 2021 4:31pm

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

Account Clerk Typist

#42-251 - Open Competitive (open to the public)

Salary: Salaries Vary
Opening Date: February 19, 2021
Closing Date: March 17, 2021
Application fee: $15.00

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.

A promotion examination will be held at the same time as this examination. The list resulting from the promotion examination will be used first but appointments from this open competitive examination are anticipated. Use of the list may be suspended after it is one year old for any position which it is practical to fill through a new promotion examination.

The eligible list resulting from this examination WILL supersede Eligible List #42-187, held on July 14, 2018.

The eligible list resulting from this examination will be used to fill present and future vacancies in Erie County Departments, Towns, Villages, School Districts and Special Districts. In each case, certification may be limited to legal residents of the jurisdiction in which the vacancy exists. The salary range for Erie County Departments is $32,159 - $38,990 annually. Salaries vary among the other jurisdictions.

Examples of Duties:

An Account Clerk-Typist performs specialized clerical tasks and keyboarding in connection with the maintenance of financial account and records;

Prepares and keyboards vouchers, purchase orders and requisitions;

Maintains registers of simple account distributions according to standard procedures; posts by hand or machine, transactions, charge accounts or entries necessary for the balancing of accounts;

Inspects, examines or credits simple accounts according to departmental procedures for accuracy and conformance;

Balances accounts by adding machine or Microsoft Business Office Suite and reconciles totals against individual accounts;

Reconciles bank statements and makes deposits, maintains related files on requisitions, orders, vouchers and amounts;

Prepares and keyboards related reports for transmittal to other departments;

Operates an alpha-numeric keyboard to transcribe data directly to a computer;

Receives cash and check payments tendered in person and by mail;

May assist in the maintenance of payroll records;

Utilizes enhanced computer systems and equipment in the completion of assigned clerical tasks.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must meet 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 supplemented by a course in keyboarding or computer business applications; or:

B) Completion of a minimum of 60 semester credit hours at a regionally accredited or New York state registered two (2) or four (4) year college or university which included sixteen (16) semester credit hours in Accounting, supplemented by a course in keyboarding or computer business applications; or:

C) Graduation from high school supplemented by a course in keyboarding, or computer business applications, and one (1) year of experience maintaining financial records and account or:

D) Five (5) years of office experience, one (1) year of which involved keyboarding or computer business applications and the maintenance of financial records and accounts; or:

E) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (D).

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.

Under current New York State Law, candidates seeking employment with school districts in New York State will be required to undergo fingerprinting and a criminal history background check prior to appointment. A processing fee may be required.


Notes:

1. Information regarding completion of a keyboarding course should be entered in section #10 of the application. Candidates must indicate the keyboarding course completed and the school/institution attended. It is not necessary to provide transcripts or official documentation at the time of application, but verification may be required at a later date. Failure to provide the above information will result in disqualification.

2. One year of office clerical experience, which included typing, may be substituted for the required typing course.

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

4. 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:

April 17, 2021

Applications Must Be Postmarked or Hand Delivered By:

March 17, 2021

The New York State Department of Civil Service is making a copy of A Guide to the Written Test for the Entry-Level Account / Audit Clerical Series available on its web site at https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm . In addition, a copy of this test guide can also be obtained at our local civil service office. You may obtain a copy by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope (size
required to accommodate the guide – manila 10" x 13") to the Erie County Personnel Department, 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY 14202 or by picking one up in person at Room 604.

Subjects of Examination:

Subject of Examination: Written test designed to test for knowledge, skills and/or abilities in such areas as:

1. OPERATIONS WITH LETTERS AND NUMBERS: These questions test your skills and abilities in operations involving alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting. The questions require you to follow the specific directions given for each question which may involve alphabetizing, comparing, checking and counting given groups of letters and/or numbers.

2. ARITHMETIC COMPUTATION WITH CALCULATOR: These questions test for the ability to use a calculator to do basic computations. Questions will involve addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. You may also be asked to calculate averages, to use percents, and to round an answer to the nearest whole number. 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.

3. ARITHMETIC REASONING: These questions test your ability to solve an arithmetic problem presented in sentence or short paragraph form. You must read the problem, understand the situation presented, decide what must be done to solve it, and apply the appropriate arithmetic operation(s) in the appropriate order in order to determine the correct solution. Knowledge of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division is necessary. Questions may also involve the use of percents, decimals, and fractions. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solarpowered 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 $15.00 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.