Westlands Water District

Fresno, CA

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Accounting Technician

Bargaining Unit: Office and Clerical Employee Unit
Salary Code: 16
Fair Labor Standards Act Designation: Nonexempt
Revision Date: January 23, 2023

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Under general supervision, performs a variety of paraprofessional/technical work involving the application of technical principles and procedures in support of the District’s financial, accounting, and human resources operations and services; and performs related work as required. Accounting Technician is a skilled level classification. This classification focuses on the technical aspects of the work involved in the District’s financial accounting records, District’s payroll, receiving, and processing payments from the District’s customers and/or accounts payable tasks. Individuals in this classification exercise sound judgment in determining appropriate actions to take following established policies and procedures, are expected to complete assignments with minimal supervision, keeps supervisors appraised of the status of pending assignments and deadlines, and are given increased responsibility to complete assignments.

The Accounting Technician is a single confidential position classification. Confidential means that the employee in this classification is privy to decisions of District Management affecting employeremployee relations. The Accounting Technician differs from other clerical classifications in that while the Accounting Technician may perform general clerical activities, the majority of their time is involved in accounting technician paraprofessional/technical tasks, which are more complex, and the job duties and responsibilities is on the command application of technical knowledge and interpretation.

EXAMPLES OF WORK PERFORMED:

The information below is meant to serve as examples of the job duties and responsibilities for this classification. This list is neither inclusive nor exclusive, but indicative of several types of duties performed.

  1. Greets visitors, operates office equipment, including 10-key adding machines, computers, copy/fax machines, printers, multi-lined telephone system, including transferring, or referring calls and answering questions, in a courteous, efficient and timely manner.
  2. Receives and records cash or check payments from customers and prepares check receipts and assists with the preparation of daily bank deposit.
  3. Performs the District’s payroll tasks.
  4. Reviews and processes accounts for proper payments, charges, and statements; makes adjustments when necessary and performs accounts payable tasks.
  5. Posts financial transactions, including distributing costs of payments to various accounts; posting to accounts, journals, and ledgers; and making adjustments to accounts.
  6. Audits charges, including checking and verifying codes and fees for compliance to laws, rules, ad/or regulations.
  7. Reviews accounts for proper payments, charges, statements; makes adjustments to accounts and resolves discrepancies between payments, receipts, or accounts.
  8. Prepares or assists in processing customer orders and reconciliation of their account(s).
  9. Obtains information from the public including vendors, and other departments, as well as provide information concerning accounts, contracts, budgets, and financial transactions.
  10. May receive, assemble, adjust, and process data for use in the preparation of customers monthly invoicing.
  11. May translate to serve the public needs. Translating may be in oral or in written form.
  12. May perform other clerical tasks including typing, filing, processing, and maintaining records, composing and editing reports and correspondence and delivering or picking up materials.
  13. Performs other duties as assigned.

CLASSIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Education and Experience

Any combination of equivalent education and experience that has led to the acquisition of the knowledge required by the position. A typical way of acquiring the knowledge would be:

Completion of one (1) year of college (30 semester units) including course work in business administration, accounting, human resources, or a closely related field and three (3) years of experience in a technical position performing bookkeeping, accounting, human resources in an agricultural water district, customer service work involving handling financial accounts, or any combination thereof.

Knowledge of:

  • Operations, services, and activities of the department to which assigned.
  • Departmental policies, rules, regulations, and procedures.
  • Federal and state laws applicable to payroll function, deliveries of agricultural, municipal, and industrial water.
  • Accounting practices, principles, and procedures.
  • Principles and practices of effective customer service.
  • Modern office practices, procedures, and terminology.
  • Computer technology and design software as applied to perform assigned tasks.
  • Bookkeeping methods and terminology, billing procedures, along with cash and check handling.
  • Payroll functions and procedures.
  • Accounts payable, accounts receivable and maintaining general ledgers.
  • Alphanumeric filing systems and established practices of financial and statistical record keeping.
  • Proper English usage, grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Skills/Abilities to:

  • Understand, interpret, and apply department policies, rules, regulations and procedures.
  • Maintain confidentiality concerning financial and employee files.
  • Review detail with a high degree of accuracy.
  • Operate computerized accounting, spreadsheet, and word processing programs, and email at a highly proficient level.
  • Operate a multi-lined phone system and other office machines.
  • Alphabetize, file, and maintain various records.
  • Ability to organize work and set priorities.
  • Work independently and in a team-oriented environment.
  • Effectively multi-task and consistently meet changing and challenging deadlines.
  • Understand and carry out oral and written instructions.
  • Establish and maintain effective working relationships at all organizational levels and with the public.
  • Maintain a high degree of initiative, maturity, integrity, and exercise good sound judgment.

WORKING CONDITIONS

  • Lifting of supplies and materials from time to time up to 30 pounds.
  • Busy open office environment.
  • Faced with interruptions and noisy work environment.
  • Exposure to computer screens.
  • Spends long hours sitting and using office equipment.

STANDARD REQUIREMENTS

  • Depending on assignment, possession of a valid California Class C Driver’s License with a driving record acceptable to the District’s automobile insurance provider is required.