Principal Accountant (Finance)

The Riverside County Probation Department has an opportunity for a Principal Accountant in Riverside. The incumbent will develop and monitor budgets, work with grants and legislation, monitor and ensure compliance with accounts payable/receivable, procurement, and audit compliance, supervise other professional accountants, and perform other related duties as required. Seeking candidates with experience in developing and monitoring budgets. Experience utilizing Microsoft Excel, Access, and Power BI is preferred.

The Principal Accountant is the first management level classification in the professional Accountant series and reports to a manager or director level position. When used in operating departments, it is characterized by its emphasis on management of a large and diversified accounting division with a sizable staff, including subordinate lead or supervisory professional and fiscal clerical accounting positions, which have responsibility over various accounting functions or projects. In a division of the Auditor-Controller's Office, this class directs difficult accounting or auditing work involving the fiscal activities of several County departments and assists in the management of various functional units within the division.

The Principal Accountant is distinguished from Supervising Accountant classification in that the latter is the full supervisory level in the series and is further distinguished from the next higher level of Chief Accountant in that the latter has major division head responsibility in the Auditor-Controller's Office.

This class has been deemed eligible for the Performance Recognition Plan as set forth under Article 3, Section 311(C) of the County Management Resolution. Program eligibility requires employees to be in a leadership position, manage other employees or programs, and have significant influence on the achievement of organizational objectives.

Advancement to the next level if obtained by competitive selection through an open recruitment.

Meet the Team!

The Riverside County Probation Department is a progressive criminal justice agency that believes in continuous improvement, searching and applying evidence-based and best practices, using measurable outcomes to evaluate programs, and doing our utmost to fulfill our mission and make Riverside County a safe and law-abiding community for its citizens. We recognize the value of a qualified, professional, dynamic, and diverse workforce and in building an organization that reflects the progressive community we serve.• Plan, organize, direct, and coordinate through subordinate supervisors the establishment, review, revision, and daily operation of a departmental accounting function or a major division of the Auditor-Controller's Office.

• Determine how the departmental or division accounting management program should be structured and how accounting principles should be applied.

• Supervise specialized audits in the Auditor-Controller's Office of the fiscal records and accounting procedures in various County departments, divisions, and agencies.

• Participate in the selection, training, and evaluation of subordinate professional accounting and fiscal clerical personnel; coordinate accounting functions with data processing systems.

• Evaluate, develop, recommend, and coordinate implementation of computer applications to accounting systems and procedures.

• Supervise and participate in the development and maintenance of systems forms for fiscal transactions, recordkeeping and budgetary controls; supervise and perform analysis of complex fiscal recordkeeping systems and procedures.

• Provide technical guidance, direction, and training to subordinate staff performing complex accounting and auditing work, including computer applications.

• Review laws, legislation, and policies to ensure compliance and to determine impact on accounting procedures and recommend changes where appropriate.

• Coordinate the work of subordinate staff with other sections, departments, or outside fiscal intermediaries; assist in the budget preparation process.

• Confer with and advise department and other officials on a variety of accounting and budgetary matters. OPTION IEducation: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in accounting, or another field of study that included at least 18 semester or 27 quarter units in accounting, finance, auditing, taxation, financial reporting, business finance, financial statement analysis, or external and internal reporting, or closely related coursework. (One year as a professional accountant with the County of Riverside may substitute for the 18 semester or 27 quarter units of specialized coursework.)

Experience: Three years as a professional accountant, including one year in a supervisory or lead capacity over other professional accountants.

OPTION IICertificate: Possession of a valid certificate as a Certified Public Accountant or Certified Internal Auditor.

Experience: Three years as a professional accountant, including one year in a supervisory or lead capacity over other professional accountants.

ALL OPTIONSKnowledge of: The principles and techniques of supervision; the theory, principles, and practices of general and governmental accounting, budgeting, and auditing; state and local codes, rules, and regulations influencing County fiscal operations; data processing systems and their application to accounting operations; the methods of developing systems forms for various types of accounting records and reports; the principles, methods, and techniques of public administration, personnel, and business office management.

Ability to: Plan, organize, and direct a complex accounting or auditing program; evaluate and supervise the work of subordinate staff; apply legal and administrative accounting policies to general County accounting systems; analyze data, draw logical conclusions, and recommend effective courses of action; communicate effectively in oral and written form; establish and maintain effective working relationships.Education/Required Documents Guidelines: Upload a copy of any official/unofficial transcript(s), degrees, and/or related employment documents to your NeoGov account. If your education was completed outside of the United States, you will need to provide a copy of your Foreign Education Equivalency evaluation from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE).

Contact

If you have any questions regarding this position, please contact Brittney Mathis at bmathis@rivco.org or 951-955-5358.