Principal Accountant

• Merit Increases New employees are eligible for an initial 5 merit increase within the pay range upon completion of at least 1040 hours (approximately 6 months) assuming work meets satisfactory standards. Subsequent merit increases within the pay range will be upon completion of each additional 2080 hours (approximately one year) from the initial merit increase.
• Educational Incentive An educational incentive of 2.5 for completion of an associates degree 3.5 for completion of a bachelors degree OR 5 for completion of a graduate degree.
• Bilingual Incentive Based on agency needproficiency levels by exam are $.69 per hour (Level I) $1.00 per hour (Level II) or $1.32 per hour (Level III).
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Pay A premium of $.47 per hour for a maximum of 80 compensated hours per biweekly pay period will be paid to employees in this classification who possess and maintain a valid current CPA license or certificate.
• Flexible Workweek/Telework Schedule We support work life balance by offering compressed work (e.g. 9/80 and remote hybrid telework schedules for some positions subject to organizational needs and satisfactory performance.
• Vacation Accrual New regular fulltime employees shall accrue approximately 14 days of vacation a year for the first 10400 hours or 5 years of service; vacation accruals increase atand 20 years of service topping out at 26 days a year and 400 hours of vacation hours banked.
• Annual Leave Redemption After 14560 hours of continuous County service an employee may elect to cash in or redeem up to 80 hours of vacation accrued in the same year after using 80 hours of vacation in the preceding 12 months.
• Sick Leave Full time regular employees accrue 3.08 hours of sick leave per biweekly pay period with an advance at hire of 40.04 hours which will be balanced at the completion of 13 biweekly pay periods.
• Deferred Compensation Eligible to participate in the Countys 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3.00 match on your 401(k) contributions.
• Health PlansFull time employees are given a flexible credit allowance of up to $25558 annually to offset the purchase of medical dental and/or vision insurance for you and your dependents.
  • Employee only $509 per biweekly pay period
  • Employee plus one dependent $779 per biweekly pay period
  • Employee plus family $983 per biweekly pay period
• Flexible Spending AccountsPretax benefit towards eligible medical dental and vision care and/or dependent care expenses.
• Pension PlanParticipation in the Countys defined pension plan which has reciprocity with CalPERS.
• Holidays 12 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.
• Additional Benefits Tuition Reimbursement Disability Plans Employee Assistance Program Life Insurance Wellness Program.

Ventura County is located on Californias Gold Coast approximately 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles and 20 miles southeast of Santa Barbara. The County includes 42 miles of coastline which is home to the following cities and points of interest: Camarillo Fillmore Moorpark Ojai Oxnard Port Hueneme Santa Paula Simi Valley Thousand Oaks and Ventura as well as national protected areas such as parts of the Angeles National Forest Channel Islands National Park and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Ventura Countys beauty and weather combined with a wonderful quality of life are among the many reasons our residents choose to call Ventura County home.

The County of Ventura employs nearly 10000 staff members who serve Ventura County residents all of whom have unique experiences and perspectives. Each of us has a responsibility to support diversity equity inclusion and belonging in the workplace and in our communities. Our County is proud to have a diverse workforce and providing a respectful and inclusive workplace is a priority and aligns with the Countys values.

The following duties are considered characteristic but not inclusive and are examples only. Specific assigned duties may differ depending on the needs of the department/agency.

• Performs a variety of duties in supervising the operations services and staff within an assigned department or agency fiscal program; plans directs and supervises the work of professional technical and clerical fiscal staff engaged in fiscal transactional processes reconciliation and balancing of fiscal accounts; budget development and financial reporting.
• May plan organize and direct fiscal activities within smaller department/agency settings; areas of responsibility include staff supervision and operational oversight; budget development and monitoring and preparing financial statements.
• Participates in the selection and evaluation of staff; provides training and employee development; determines the most effective use of resources.
• Completes performance evaluations and conducts regular conferences with employees to discuss their performance; documents performance and attendance problems; discusses corrective or disciplinary action with management and/or Human Resources; takes corrective or disciplinary action.
• Conducts a review of staff work and performs quality control; ensures that staff are performing their work in compliance with County and program rules regulations policies and procedures.
• Develops staffing schedules to ensure sufficient coverage for operations; approves time off; verifies and approves time cards; communicates schedule changes to management and staff.
• Advises and consults with management concerning the development of departmental operating and program budgets revenue producing or debt service proposals as well as the accounting and financial implications of existing and projected departmental activities.
• Collects and analyzes financial information; prepares and oversees the preparation of periodic and ad hoc accounting and financial reports including but not limited to the quarterly reports monthly financial reports payroll reports and internal service funds reports.
• Prepares and monitors the budget in assigned program area; calculates expenditures and revenues; analyzes budget variances and presents reports to executive management.
• Performs fiscal auditing and compliance activities for diverse programs receiving local state and federal funding; ensures programs are compliant with funding entity and County rules and regulations.
• Performs funding allocation analysis and ongoing audits of multiple grant subrecipients to ensure their fiscal and program compliance.
• Interprets and applies laws and regulations governing assigned operations
• Manages assigned grant programs including a review of monthly program reports and communications with all service providers/grantees on fiscal and program operations.
• Provides technical expertise and information to auditors local state and federal agencies supervisors managers and others regarding assigned functions.
• Develops and oversees implementation of financial policies and procedures in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the Countys Administrative Manual.
• May serve as business case owner for implementation of fiscal management systems including modules for enrollment and claims payments developing payment processes report development and related systems elements; performs quality control testing for system integrity.
• Reviews financial documents such as ledgers reports vouchers purchase orders and invoices to ensure that proper cost centers are charged that expenditures and revenues are recorded in the proper classification and that purchases and other transactions by the department are proper in accordance with their approved budget; determines the level and appropriateness of yearend closing accruals prepayments deferrals depreciation or adjustments.
• Assists in rate setting for product lines and services.
• Performs related duties as assigned.

These are entrance requirements to the exam process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
Any combination of education and experience which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge skills and abilities. An example of qualifying education and experience includes:

EDUCATION
Completion of a Bachelors degree with at least eighteen 18 semester units of collegelevel accounting coursework including two 2 semesters of Intermediate Accounting; AND Five 5 years of progressively responsible professional accounting experience one 1 year of which must be at the lead or supervisory level; OR two 2 years as a Senior Accountant for the County of Ventura.

Education/Experience Substitution:
Professional level accounting experience may be substituted for up to two 2 years of undergraduate education on a yearforyear basis provided the candidate possesses at least eighteen 18 semester units of collegelevel accounting coursework including two 2 semesters of Intermediate Accounting.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Verification of accounting coursework completed is required.
• Depending on position may require the possession of or the ability to obtain prior to appointment and maintain a valid California driver license.

• Attach the transcripts or grade reports to your application
• Email the transcripts to
• Mail to Human Resources 800 South Victoria Avenue L#1970 Ventura CA 93009

• Masters degree in Business Administration
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license

FINAL FILING DATE: This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore apply as soon as possible if you are interested in it. Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.

FIRST REVIEW:A first review of applications is anticipated to occur on or around January 17 2025 and subsequent reviews may be conducted until sufficient applications are received to meet business needs.

To apply online please refer to our web site at If you prefer to fill out a paper application form please callfor application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources 800 South Victoria Avenue L1970 Ventura CA 93009.

Information for Transfer Candidates:If presently permanently employed in another merit or civil service public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a merit or civil service style examination then appointment by Lateral Transfer may be possible. If interested please clickhere for additional information.

Note: It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications. A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this exam AT THE TIME OF FILING. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the recruitment and hiring process to assist in determining qualifications for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in removal of the application from further consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION qualifying: All applications will be reviewed to determine whether the stated requirements are met. Applicants meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the examination process.

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATION:A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge skills and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence. Responses such as See Resume or Refer to Resume are not acceptable and may disqualify an applicant from further evaluation.

ORAL EXAMINATION 100:A jobrelated oral examination will be conducted to evaluate and compare participating examinees knowledge skills and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job. Examinees must earn a score of seventy percent 70 or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

NOTE:If there are three 3 or fewer qualified applicants an examination may not be conducted. Instead a score of seventy percent 70 will be assigned to each application and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.

ELIGIBLE LIST:Applicants successfully completing the exam process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one 1 year.

The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixedterm) Intermittent and Extra Help vacancies.

SELECTION INTERVIEW:When a position becomes available applicants are referred to the employing department for interviews beginning with the highest scoring applicants moving down the list from the top until the available positions are filled.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough preemployment post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment education criminal background information and driving record is required for this position.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all regardless of age ancestry color disability (mental and physical) exercising the right to family care and medical leave gender gender expression gender identity genetic information marital status medical condition military or veteran status national origin political affiliation race religious creed sex (includes pregnancy childbirth breastfeeding and related medical conditions) and sexual orientation.

It is an objective of the County of Ventura to achieve a drugfree work place. Any applicant for county employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal is inconsistent with the law of the State the rules governing Civil Service and the special trust placed in public servants.

CONTACT INFORMATION: For further information about this recruitment please contact Kim Mariscal by email at or by telephone at.