2A05
ACCOUNTANT TRAINEE

This is training level accounting work learning to apply the principles and practices of accounting to the recording, adjusting, categorizing, summarizing, and analyzing of financial data in a municipal agency. Employees in this class receive instruction in, and follow city-wide and departmental accounting procedures, directives, and guidelines while receiving increasingly more difficult assignments leading to the full performance level. Work is performed under the supervision of a higher level accountant or administrative superior.

• Learns and applies departmental and city-wide procedures to record financial transactions and data in manual and computerized record-keeping and control files; receives instruction in and/or studies legal requirements and administrative regulations applicable to the City's accounting system; reviews and learns to use forms and report formats required in municipal accounting; monitors the entering of data to manual and computerized records.
• Learns and applies departmental and city-wide procedures, directives, and guidelines used in reviewing accounting source documents, categorizing accounts and financial transactions, summarizing financial data, and adjusting account entries and balancing accounts.
• Receives guidance in researching, compiling, and analyzing financial data concerning account balances, costs and expenditures, and accounts receivable; performs basic statistical analysis to determine trends, estimates, and significant changes; prepares narrative reports to explain findings.
• Identifies and resolves unmatched or questionable account entries and balances by searching source documents and manual and computerized records; carries out file maintenance procedures to adjust computerized accounting records; prepares and annotates records to explain and summarize adjustments.
• Gathers and compiles supporting detail for computing invoices, tax, and public service billings; calculates liabilities; prepares original and adjusted billings; enters billing information into computer and manual files.
• Prepares statements, reports, and invoices for submission to federal, state, and quasi-governmental agencies; summarizes, reconciles, and cross-references city accounting records to special accounting records maintained for funding or oversight agencies.
• Performs related work a required.

KNOWLEDGE OF:
• accounting principles, practices, and procedures
• accounting and accounting related terminology
• arithmetic and statistical principles and practices as commonly applied in the accounting field
• the application of data processing techniques to the maintenance of accounting records
SKILL IN:
• the maintenance of accurate accounting records and their arithmetic and statistical manipulation
ABILITY TO:
• learn the legal regulations and city directives governing the municipal accounting system and to apply them in departmental accounting operations
• examine and analyze financial records
• learn to utilize a personal computer in the maintenance of accounting records and in preparation of reports
• prepare and interpret a variety of accounting statements and reports

EDUCATION
• Completion of a bachelor's degree program at an accredited college or university with major course work in accounting.

• Ability to physically perform the duties and to work in the environmental conditions required of a position in this class.