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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
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POSITION DESCRIPTION FOR JOB POSTING |
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Position Number: 00107162 |
Description Activated On: 2/18/2026 4:25:01 PM |
Position Purpose: Describe the primary purpose of this position and how it contributes to the organization’s objectives. Example: Provides clerical and office support within the Division to ensure its operations are conducted efficiently and effectively. This Accountant 3 position within the Office of the Budget’s (OB) Bureau of Accounting and Financial Management (BAFM) is responsible for the oversight and review of enterprise-wide accounting completed by agencies to ensure adherence to Governmental Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), federal grant accounting and reporting requirements, legislative and regulatory fiscal requirements, Commonwealth financial management directives, and budgetary internal controls. The position is expected to provide technical accounting expertise and guidance to Commonwealth agencies to foster state-wide fiscal accountability and transparency to safeguard Pennsylvania’s financial resources. The incumbent in this position reports to the Manager of the Financial and Budgetary Accounting Unit and is responsible for the maintenance of various master data into SAP. It is also responsible for the review and analysis of comptrollers’ monthly accounting reports to ensure that they reconcile to Treasury Department and SAP records. This position develops complex budgetary basis financial statements and is involved in certain functions, as assigned, of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) financial statement development and reporting. This position serves as the lead accountant for Cost Allocations (CA). Cost allocation processes include secondary cost element determinations, reimbursement/transfer activity, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) preparation and SAP R/3 and Business Warehouse (BW) transactions and reporting. Guidance is also provided on certain accounting related matters to professional accountants at all levels in the Division. This position also functions as a communication link between Comptrollers Office personnel and State Treasury personnel to resolve accounting problems of mutual concern. |
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Description of Duties: Describe in detail the duties and responsibilities assigned to this position. Descriptions should include the major end result of the task. Example: Types correspondence, reports, and other various documents from handwritten drafts for review and signature of the supervisor. This position has Mission Essential Functions detailed in OB’s COOP Plan. 1. Responsible to effectively and efficiently provide guidance to the Cost Allocation team and provide customer service (i.e. guidance, research and development, problem solving and adherence to customer needs) to Commonwealth agencies and external customers. 2. Participates as a coordinator in unique projects to improve cost allocation business processes and outputs. 3. Assigns work to the cost allocation team. 4. Operations Management – Specific to business area/program assignments, the Accountant 3 is expected to demonstrate adequate management and control of CA processes, including general invoices, all jobs, pre-notifications, recurring jobs and interfaces. 5. Preparation & prenotification, if applicable, of all jobs/billings not prepared by the Commonwealth agencies. This may include analyzing agency information, SAP R/3 and BW reporting on a monthly and quarterly basis. 6. Daily PACES/SCDU reimbursements. 7. Verify automatic billings/postings and attach documentation. 8. Provide customer service and answer agency questions regarding cost allocations. 9. Compile and enter Due To/Due From information into database for inclusion within the ACFR. 10. Run reports and prepare financial schedule for the Statewide Indirect Cost Allocation Plan (SWCAP). 11. Maintains and keeps current procedures and check lists related to all cost allocation business processes. 12. Shares responsibility as an account code custodian in the entry and maintenance of master data to the SAP Accounting System. This position is responsible for the entry of general ledger accounts, contingent SAP funds, cost centers, and non-grant internal orders, as well as the maintenance of the grant crosswalk table, revenue code crosswalk table, cost center crosswalk table, and the GL Validation table. The ability to accurately analyze master data needs, have knowledge of budgetary and financial accounting principles, and timely response to master data requests make this function of vital importance to the ongoing operations of the Commonwealth. 13. Responsible for the review and verification of the comptrollers’ monthly SAP Fund/Revenue Reconciliation reports. The reconciliation process is a detailed verification at the SAP Fund level, and involves the analysis of complex accounting transactions in order to resolve monetary differences that occur between SAP and Treasury. To correct Treasury errors, this position prepares or directs the preparation of adjustment transactions. This position also ensures that all known adjustment transactions are reflected in the accounting records for the following month. Reconciliation requires knowledge of governmental accounting and the ability to analyze accounting and general ledger transactions and their relationship to the accounting systems used by Treasury and Revenue Accounting. This function is dependent upon the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with all parties. 14. Shares responsibility as part of the Bureau of Accounting & Financial Management’s (BAFM) Financial and Budgetary Accounting Unit in the Commonwealth’s fiscal year-end closing process. Assistance is provided to comptroller personnel to ensure that established policies and procedures are followed. This position provides guidance to other staff accountants during closing. 15. Responsible for the annual preparation of financial information regarding Commonwealth’s General and Special Funds requested by OA Human Resources. This entails the analysis and verification of General Fund and Special Fund Expenditures obtained from the SAP accounting system. 16. Responsible for the data entry of SAP Funds to version 999 of the Funds Management (FM) module in the SAP accounting system. This function includes the input of approved appropriations and executive authorizations. Information to be entered at the appropriation level is approved by the Governor’s Budget Office (GBO) and issued via Expenditure Symbol Notification (ESN) letters. The entry of SAP Funds and the posting of appropriations requires a knowledge of FM accounting transactions and the relationships between the SAP accounting system and Treasury. 17. Responsible for verifying the accuracy and completeness of out-of-scope Agency lapses submitted to BAFM. Also responsible, after GBO approval, for posting the lapses to the SAP accounting system. 18. Shares responsibility for the production of the monthly Status of Appropriations (SOA) for the General and Special Funds. Reviews the status files produced from the Business Warehouse prior to placing them on the Governor’s Budget Office internet site. The status is reviewed with regard to current appropriation amounts and prior balances carried forward to ensure that previous months’ ESN letters have been posted and that balances carried forward from the previous year remain accurate. 19. Serves as a back-up for any weekly payroll errors that occur after hours to make the needed master data changes so that payroll processing can continue. |
Decision Making: Describe the types of decisions made by the incumbent of this position and the types of decisions referred to others. Identify the problems or issues that can be resolved at the level of this position, versus those that must be referred to the supervisor. Example: In response to a customer inquiry, this work involves researching the status of an activity and preparing a formal response for the supervisor’s signature. This Accountant 3 will be afforded substantial weight and consideration in making recommendations on matters such as: Escalation and reporting of critical issues Assigning work to cost allocation team members Communicates on a regular basis with other employees of the Financial Accounting Division regarding the maintenance of master data, and the preparation of financial worksheets and statements. This position also communicates with the Treasury Department, Department of the Auditor General, Office of Attorney General, PHEAA, and other Comptroller Office bureaus concerning discrepancies in reports submitted for review. |
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Requirements Profile: Identify any specific experience or requirements, such as a licensure, registration, or certification, which may be necessary to perform the functions of the position. Position-specific requirements should be consistent with a Special Requirement or other criteria identified in the classification specification covering this position. Example: Experience using Java; Professional Engineer License Experience: Licenses, registrations, or certifications: 1. N/A 2. N/A 3. N/A 4. 5. 6. |
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Essential Functions: Provide a list of essential functions for this position. Example: Transports boxes weighing up to 60 pounds.
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