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Putnam County

Personnel Department

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNT CLERK

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS This is important account keeping work involving responsibility for the frequent exercise of independent judgment in planning and administering account keeping activities on a moderately large scale or involving responsibility for independently performing the more difficult and complex account keeping tasks.  Work is performed in accordance with general instructions regarding the objectives, policies and procedures of the office to which assigned. Detailed clerical operations are usually reviewed in a general manner while action or questions of policy are closely checked by the supervisor. Direct supervision is exercised over the work of subordinate clerical employees. Performs related work as required.

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES: (Illustrative only)

  • Supervises and/or carries out a variety of difficult and complex account keeping procedures;
  • Supervises or carries out classification of receipts, expenditures, and cash-flow, including deposits, departmental enclosing, and budget appropriations in accordance with established standard classifications;
  • Reviews authorizations of expenditures for conformance with established rules and policies;
  • Supervises and reviews a variety of complex financial documents relating to receipts and expenditures, ensuring proper classification, distribution and posting of items into a variety of accounts according to established rules, procedures and policies;
  • Supervises, reviews, tracks, audits and monitors verification and reconciliation of complex account keeping records and reports for a variety of accounts to ensure arithmetical and clerical accuracy, completeness and proper extension;
  • Posts figures to appropriate accounts, makes all necessary adjustments in balances   and verifies and reconciles balances; renews status of accounts as adjustments are made and takes appropriate action as authorizing payment, issuing checks, receipts for monies received, or preparing bills, as needed;
  • Processes or supervises processing of investments, collateral funds, bond holdings, and similar accounts;
  • Prepares or supervises the preparation of complex daily, weekly and monthly financial or statistical summary reports, which may be compiled into required New York State and Federal reports or claims for state or federal reimbursement;
  • Compiles and prepares labor, material and operation costs records and other fiscal statements, as needed;
  • Processes, sorts, indexes, records and files a variety of control records and reports, or supervises the process;
  • Prepares in final format, accounting and financial statements, payrolls, statistical tabulations and data, form letters, memoranda, vouchers, reports, requisitions or data from various equipment as the source material;
  • Prepares and processes, or supervises the preparation and processing of contracts with service providers, rental agreements, etc., as needed;
  • Prepares funds for deposit into book accounts, reconciles accounts and prepares reports from information;
  • Provides information orally or in writing in response to inquiries on status of accounts;
  • Assigns work, reviews and records work done and instructs new employees in detail in the specialized account keeping and clerical work;
  • Conducts routine correspondence on matters where policies and procedures are well defined;
  • Operates computing, calculating, check writing and other office machines;
  • May prepare or supervise preparation of employee payrolls including all tax deductions, union dues, garnishes, direct deposits, and related processes, as assigned;
  • May prepare and process, or supervise the preparation and processing of employee benefits such as health insurance, dental and eye care, retirement pensions, worker’s compensation, as assigned;
  • May prepare and process, or supervise the preparation and processing of payments and reports relative to employee benefits such as insurances, labor unions, credit unions, and pension funds, as assigned;
  • May assist in budget preparation, securing budget estimate data, forecasting and conducting budget studies, as assigned;
  • May collect taxes, issue tax receipts and prepare related reports, as assigned;
  • May perform incidental typing;
  • Performs a variety of related activities as required.

Typical Work Activities are intended only as illustrations of possible types of work that might be appropriately assigned to an incumbent of this title. Work activities that do not appear above are not excluded as appropriate work assignments, as long as they can be reasonably understood to be within the logical limits of the job.

FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS, ABILITIES & PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS:   Comprehensive knowledge of methods used in keeping financial accounts and records; thorough knowledge of office terminology, procedures, routine and equipment; thorough knowledge of business arithmetic and English; certain assignments may require knowledge of double entry bookkeeping; ability to plan, lay out, and supervise the work of clerical assistants; ability to follow complex oral and written directions; ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships; good judgment; initiative; integrity.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Either

  1. Graduation from high school or a comparable diploma, and four (4) years of clerical experience, two (2) years of which shall have involved maintaining financial accounts and records in a responsible capacity; or
  2. Five (5) years of experience in clerical experience, three (3) years of which shall have involved maintaining financial accounts and records in a responsible capacity; or
  3. An equivalent combination of training and experience as indicated in (a) and (b) above.

SUBSTITUTION NOTE: Post-secondary level coursework in accounting, business administration, or a close related field may be substituted for up to two (2) years of the required experience indicated above on the basis of thirty (30) college credits per year of experience.

PLEASE NOTE: Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education.

 

8/81; 10/85; 10/88; 9/97; 8/07; 7/08; 1/09; 11/22; 11/23; 5/24

Competitive Class

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Mission Statement

Our mission is to administer, in a fair and equitable manner, the provisions of New York State Civil Service Law and Putnam County Civil Service Rules with respect to the offices and employments in the classified service of Putnam County and the civil divisions therein, which include the towns, villages, school districts, libraries and special districts.

It is Putnam County Personnel Department’s responsibility to ensure Putnam County taxpayers of a public workforce qualified for their jobs pursuant to the principles of selection according to merit and fitness as set forth in Article 5, §6 of the New York State Constitution.

  • Paul Eldridge

    Personnel Officer