County Controller
: Job Details :

Compensation Range$152,838.40 - $193,606.40Job Description SummaryUnder general direction of the Chief Financial Officer, provides financial, accounting, and analytical services for the Accounting Division of the Finance Department. This includes utilizing knowledge of and continually educating himself/herself on generally accepted accounting principles and governmental accounting standards, preparing the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), preparing the Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR), supervising the accounting process for the county, providing financial information and accounting expertise to county departments, providing oversight of the decentralized accounting functions of the county, assisting in the coordination of the county's banking and credit card acceptance process, participating in the development of accounting system interfaces, supervising staff in the Accounting Division, and performing additional duties as required. The decentralized environment of the county means some accounting functions of the county are located within other departments and are not directly supervised by the Controller. Therefore, strong interpersonal skills, tact, and the ability to build cooperative working relationships are essential skills the Controller must possess and utilize on a daily basis.Job DescriptionLeadership and Strategic Direction - 30%

• Provides leadership and sets strategic direction of the Accounting Division of the Finance Department to achieve the county's goals and to implement the work plan of the Finance Department.
• Supervises the staff in the Accounting and Payroll Division, including special assignments, work review, staff development, hiring, performance reviews, and firing.
• Ensures that staff in the division are cross-trained and empowers staff to continually take on more responsibility in the audit.
• Works with and mentors staff to ensure continual professional development and knowledge.
• Maintains consistent, timely, and effective communication with staff to ensure the division's objectives are being met.
• Ensures that new practices, processes and procedures are implemented appropriately for the new financial software system.
• In all areas of responsibility, the Controller strives for constant continuous improvement, both internally within the Finance Department and externally in interactions with other departments and the public, through use of new technologies and accounting procedural changes.

Reporting - 30%

• Prepares the county's ACFR and coordinates the annual external audit. This includes the following:
• Updates job knowledge of and implements accounting processes and auditing regulations, including Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Governmental Accounting Standards.
• Coordinates the year-end accounting process with both internal staff and staff in other county departments by providing year-end training sessions, monitoring year-end task lists for departments and individuals, and developing and monitoring appropriate deadlines for task completion to keep the process on time.
• Ensures Accounting Division staff are cross-trained, when appropriate, and are able to perform a variety of tasks involved in ACFR preparation.
• Prepares and/or coordinates the preparation of the ACRF in a timely manner.
• Prepares and/or coordinates the preparation of all work papers for the external audit.
• Acts as liaison to the external auditors, including providing them with necessary information and materials, orienting them to county staff and facilities, and providing them with the ACFR which they audit.
• Prepares all documentation needed for Board of County Commissioner approval of the audit.
• Responsible for the production of a PAFR Submits PAFR to the GFOA Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award. Oversees the printing and distribution of the PAFR to numerous persons and organizations.

Maintaining Internal Controls - 30%

• Monitors internal controls related to the work performed by others inside and outside of the department. If necessary, works with others inside and outside the department to help improve internal controls of the county.
• Ensures follow up and implementation of external audit recommendations.
• Coordinates the county's banking and credit card acceptance setup and procedures with the assistance from appropriate staff. This includes the following:
• Assists departments to analyze and develop banking and credit card procedures and processes.
• Acts as the secondary county liaison with the banking institutions and the primary county liaison with the credit card processors. Helps troubleshoot problems with deposits or any other problems that arise.
• Monitors and trains county departments on grant management, ensuring the county complies with all A-133 requirements.
• Responds to financial requests for information from county departments. This includes the following:
• Provides expertise in areas such as grant accounting, explaining financial reports, reconciling general ledger accounts, and recording complex accounting entries.
• Provides general accounting assistance to various personnel of the county.
• Provides coordination between budgetary and accounting functions.
• Monitors and approves accounting transactions and performs the monthly close of the accounting system. Ensures the proper review of all journal entries is performed.
• Maintains the general ledger and transaction code structures in the accounting system.

Workday Implementation - 10%

• Work with the Chief Financial Officer to lead the implementation of the Workday ERP system.
• Interface with Weld County IT, Human Resources, and Workday implementation consultants to solve problems, improve functionality, and create system enhancements.
• Provide testing for Workday modules.

Required QualificationsRequired Education

• Bachelor's Degree Accounting

Experience Qualifications

• 5 years governmental accounting or auditing experience.
• 5 years supervisory experience, demonstrating strong leadership and mentoring skills.

Preferred Education

• Master's Degree Accounting or related field

Preferred Experience

• Experience in compiling a full ACFR for a local government.
• Experience with the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting program.
• Experience with governmental accounting in a computerized, decentralized environment.
• Experience in working with or as an external auditor.
• Experience with making internal presentations.

Skills and Abilities

• The ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, with members of work groups, regardless of the size of the work group or the level of staff in the work group.
• The ability to clearly express key findings or implications of financial data to executive level staff, elected officials, and the public.
• The ability to make effective presentations to any audience.
• The ability to gain credibility with the audience whether the audience is within finance or outside of the department.
• The ability to assess, prioritize, and communicate division activities and issues to staff and management, as appropriate.
• The ability to be politically astute, tactful and diplomatic when working with all internal and external customers.
• The ability to understand and explain complex accounting standards in lay terms and make policy and accounting recommendations that best serve the organization.
• The ability to lead, mentor, and train staff and assume responsibility of the Accounting Division work in support of the Controller.
• The ability to provide challenging and stretching tasks and assignments for staff.
• The ability to create a climate where people want to do their best, understanding the importance of their work.
• Practices and is a role model for the values of the county. The ability to ensure all employees role model these values and to address situations if the values are not exhibited by staff.
• The ability to promote teamwork and respect among all fellow employees, and customers.
• The ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting all deadlines.
• Flexibility to adapt to change.
• Thorough understanding of governmental accounting standards.
• Strong mathematical skills.
• Experience with computerized accounting and email applications.
• Proficient with spreadsheet and word processing software.
• Working knowledge of database software.
• Acute attention to detail and demonstrated problem solving skills.
• Demonstrated research skills.
• Well-organized and independent with effective time management skills.
• Strong customer service skills with courteous and effective communication skills.

Licenses and Certifications

• Candidate must pass criminal background check prior to employment start date. Required
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Preferred
• Other governmental accounting certifications. Preferred

This position is exempt from the minimum wage and overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act and is therefore ineligible for overtime pay.Weld County provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.