Accountant

JOIN THE CITY OF ORANGE AS AN ACCOUNTANT!

Under general supervision, performs professional accounting work, including auditing, analyzing, and verifying fiscal records and reports, preparing financial and statistical reports, providing information to City staff regarding accounting practices and procedures, and reconciling general ledger accounts; assists in preparing the City's annual budgets; prepares year-end audit reports and schedules; and performs related work as required.

Recruitment Process:

To be considered for this opportunity, interested and qualified applicants must submit a complete online application no later than 11:59 p.m. on May 20, 2026. Qualified candidates will be invited to take a virtual written exam. Following the written exam will be a panel interview and department selection interview. Please save the following tentative dates:

Recruitment Closes:

May 20, 2026

Written Exam:

May 21-24, 2026 Panel interviews: Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Department Selection Interviews:

Week of June 15th Examples of Duties Management reserves the right to add, modify, change, or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job. Provides responsible professional and technical assistance in the administration and implementation of the City's financial, auditing, and accounting programs. Prepares a wide variety of financial and statistical reports, including year-end reporting, budgetary reports, assisting in the preparation of the Comprehensive Annual Finance Report (CAFR), and preparing other legal documents and management analysis. Monitors expenditures, revenues, and budget allocations to determine the City's financial status and prepares custom reports, graphs, and schedules as needed. Prepares journal entries and reconciles general ledger and subsidiary accounts related to postings from payroll, accounts payable, cash receipts, and accounts receivable; prepares monthly financial statements, including distributing monthly revenue and expenditure reports to departments; prepares numerous monthly financial reports. Interprets, explains, and applies general and governmental accounting/auditing principles and procedures, laws, and regulations affecting the financial operations of municipal government. Analyzes and reconciles expenditure and revenue accounts, including bond accounts; reviews and processes appropriation transfer requests between accounts; reconciles bond statements and bank statements to the general ledger. Participates in and assumes responsibility for various departmental programs including financial statements, general ledger, monthly statements, and special projects accounting; conducts and prepares special studies and reports. Records and maintains appropriate controls for fixed assets, including City-owned vehicles and land; assists in the City's purchase orders and accounts payable system, auditing and financial analysis, grant accounting, and special reports. Maintains and monitors the City's grant funds and ensures compliance with rules and regulations governing the use of each grant. Receives and tracks property tax payments; ensures that property tax bills are remitted to the proper City departments for payment authorization. Tracks Capital Improvement Program expenditures and allocates funds to the appropriate Capital Improvement Project account. Performs annual audit of the City's water inventories; conducts on-site inspections of inventories, records current levels, and reconciles any discrepancies. Assists in the coordination of the annual audits. Assists with investments, portfolio management, cash management, debt management, new financing, annexations and subdivisions, and revenue and expense projections. Participates in the compilation and preparation of the annual budget, including assisting other departments with budget preparation, providing personnel cost projections and estimated grant revenues and expenditures, monitoring expenditures to ensure compliance with adopted budget, and assisting in publication of the budget. Attends meetings, conferences, workshops, and training sessions, and reviews publications to remain current on principles, practices, and new developments in the field of accounting. Performs other duties as assigned.

Typical Qualifications Knowledge of:

Modern principles, practices, and methods of public and governmental accounting and financing, including program budgeting and auditing and their application to municipal operations. General principles and practices of data processing and its applicability to accounting and municipal operations. Applicable Federal, State, and local laws, regulatory codes, ordinances, and procedures relevant to municipal financial operations. Principles and practices of business organization and public administration. Record keeping principles and procedures. Modern office practices, methods, and computer equipment and applications related to work, including word processing and spreadsheet software. English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation. Techniques for providing a high level of customer service by effectively dealing with the public, vendors, contractors, and City staff.

Ability to:

Analyze financial data and draw sound conclusions. Prepare clear, complete, and concise financial statements and reports. Interpret, apply, explain, and ensure compliance with Federal, State, and local policies, procedures, laws, and regulations. Make accurate arithmetic, financial, and statistical computations. Enter and retrieve data from a computer with sufficient speed and accuracy. Prepare clear, complete, and concise financial statements and reports. Establish and maintain a variety of filing, record-keeping, and tracking systems. Understand and carry out a variety of complex instructions in a responsible and independent manner. Organize and prioritize a variety of projects and multiple tasks in an effective and timely manner; organize own work, set priorities, and meet critical time deadlines. Operate modern office equipment including computer equipment and specialized software applications programs. Use English effectively to communicate in person, over the telephone, and in writing. Use tact, initiative, prudence, and independent judgment within general policy, procedural, and legal guidelines. Establish, maintain, and foster positive and harmonious working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Education and Experience:

Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be: Equivalent to graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in accounting, finance, business or public administration, or a closely related field and one (1) year of professional accounting experience. Public sector accounting experience is highly desirable. Supplemental Information Must possess mobility to work in a standard office setting and use standard office equipment, including a computer; vision to read printed materials and a computer screen; and hearing and speech to communicate in person, before groups, and over the telephone. This is primarily a sedentary office classification although standing in work areas and walking between work areas may be required. Finger dexterity is needed to access, enter, and retrieve data using a computer keyboard or calculator and to operate standard office equipment. Positions in this classification occasionally bend, stoop, kneel, reach, push, and pull drawers open and closed to retrieve and file information. Employees must possess the ability to lift, carry, push, and pull materials and objects weighing up to 25 pounds.

Disaster Service Worker:

All employees of the City of Orange are designated by both State law and City ordinance to be "Disaster Service Workers." In the event of a declared emergency or any undeclared emergency or natural disaster that threatens the life, health and/or safety of the public, employees may be assigned to assist rescue and relief workers. Such assignments may be in locations, during hours and performing work significantly different from the employees' normal work assignments and may continue through the recovery phase of the emergency.

Environmental Elements:

Employees work in an office environment with moderate noise levels, controlled temperature conditions, and no direct exposure to hazardous physical substances. Employees may interact with upset staff and/or public and private representatives in interpreting and enforcing departmental policies and procedures.

City Mission, Vision, and Values:

Incumbents in all City positions are expected to exhibit the behavior characteristics reflected in the City's Mission, Vision, and Values statements in the performance of their duties: The City of Orange is committed to excellent service for our residents, businesses, and visitors. As an organization, the City of Orange is the leader in delivering the highest level of service to meet current and future needs of the community. The City's values include Teamwork, Accountability, and Excellence.