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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
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POSITION DESCRIPTION FOR JOB POSTING |
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Position Number: 00131919 |
Description Activated On: 1/29/2026 1:35:14 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 executive accounting 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. This is a training position based on a minimum of one-year training plan that includes formal, informal, and on-the-job training designed to develop technical and program-level knowledge, competency and experience in the Commonwealth accounting functions. Assists in providing professional analysis, control, and guidance in government financial and budgetary accounting and reporting. Assists in ensuring ongoing governmental transparency, legal and fiscal accountability, and appropriate use of Commonwealth resources. |
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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. Initiatives: • Assists Accountant 3 with activities involving accounting, reporting, and cash management functions. • Assists in the development of improved methods to perform the federal accounting and reporting functions of assigned grants, which includes analyzing current functions and recommending improvements such as automation. • Assists in the design, production, and modification of worksheets and reports. • Assists in the review of governing federal legislation and fiscal requirements to determine appropriate action to be taken by Comptroller Operations and provide advice and guidance to appropriate departmental personnel. • Advises Department of Human Services’ financial and program management personnel of proper federal accounting practices, methods, and procedures. • Assists in the review and posting of parked accounting adjustments for the team’s business area if journal entry is correct, legal, and appropriate. Grants Management: • Helps to ensure that revenue codes are established to enable the correct disposition of federal cash received for all assigned grants. • Assists in establishing Funding Source Master Records, Commonwealth Level Grant Master Records, Grant Master Records, and Internal Order Records within SAP Grant Accounting, which includes determining appropriate titles, budget categories, appropriation and organizational spending authorities, and numbering structures. • Assists in the establishment of cash management procedures to achieve Comptroller Operation’s policy to minimize the time elapsing between disbursement and fiscal reporting requirement. • Helps to implement and maintain procedures to ensure that federal revenues for each grant are specifically identifiable. • Assists in the processing of federal draw requests using the appropriate federal sites. • Assists with daily billing request processing through SAP’s Grants Management module. • Assists in the review of grant agreements between the commonwealth and federal grant or agencies. • Maintains rules and regulations under which federal funds are awarded and monitors compliance of these rules for all assigned grants. • Assures that federal grant matching requirements, which vary by grant, are being met and verifiable in the accounting records, federal expenditure reports, and internal spreadsheets. • Assists in the preparation of analysis and projections to provide adequate lead time for grant program managers to alter spending patterns and avoid grant deficits and allow grant program managers and financial personnel enough time to adjust grant spending or file grant budget revisions, and thereby prevent unacceptable program and budget category levels of expenditures and commitments. • Assists in the preparation of federal financial reports quarterly, semi-annually, or annually as required by grant award, legislation, or applicable regulations. • Maintains grant and report files, including notice of grant award and copies of all reports submitted or correspondence with federal grant management personnel. • Assists in the verification of assigned grant totals on the yearly Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. Operations Management: • Assists in establishing and maintaining appropriate account code structures to record commitment and expenditures data that is an essential component for compliance with state and federal requirements. • Assists in the review of Memorandums of Understanding between commonwealths’ agencies, and reviews contracts between the commonwealth and local governments, education institutions, non-profit organizations, and Services Delivery Areas. • Prepares for supervisor approval, adjustment documents to correct revenue, expenditures, and encumbrances for the proper maintenance of accounting information by grant, program activity, and cost category. • Assists with analyzing various grant accounting reports to ensure proper distribution of expenditures for the preparation of monthly and quarterly reports. • Assists in the preparation of financial reports, accrual statements, expenditure reports, budgetary projections, and special analyses that are provided to commonwealth and federal program and financial management personnel. • Works with the Accountant 3 to ensure that grant ending invoices are received, required closing transactions are recorded, and grant close out and final reports are submitted accurately and on a timely basis. • Assist in the review and analysis of accounting records and reports by grant and internal order number for accuracy, propriety, and conformance with applicable federal and commonwealth regulations. • Assist in calculations, accounting analyses and accounting reconciliations. Reports and interprets results of analyses and reconciliations. Communications: • Advises Commonwealth Program Offices of accounting policies, methods, and procedures that are required by the applicable federal grantor agencies and the commonwealth. • Reads and applies the guidance provided by Comptroller bulletins and directives, management directives and administrative circulars. • Assists in the review, evaluation, revision, and/or development of procedures to assure that preventive measures are taken to preclude violations of grant restrictions. General: • Utilizes Microsoft Office Suite and related software such as Excel, Access, Word, Teams, and Outlook. • Assists with monthly reconciling of the Federal Accounts Receivable with the Fund Balance Report. • Utilizes Commonwealth servers, Federal drawdown and reporting systems, and other computer software applications. • Performs other duties as required. Note: This position has Mission Essential Functions detailed in OB’s COOP Plan. |
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. Works under the direct supervision of the Accountant 3 in the Human Services Unit of General Accounting. All pertinent information, directions, instructions, and supervision is received through meetings with the Supervisor, Section Manager or Division Chief for General Accounting. Written procedures are issued by applicable federal and commonwealth agencies and personnel and day-to-day activities are the responsibility of the incumbent. |
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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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