State of Maryland

A Public Utility Auditor is the full performance level of work examining, analyzing and auditing public utilities to determine compliance with generally accepted accounting principles and provisions of federal and State laws and regulations.  The Public Service Commission has jurisdiction over companies that offer gas, electric, water, telephone or telecommunication services or are engaged in the transportation of passengers in the State of Maryland.  Employees in this classification audit the financial records of these companies in order to gather financial and accounting information needed by the Public Service Commission when setting public utility rates.  Employees in this classification do not supervise Public Utility Auditors or lower-level Accountants.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from the Director or Assistant Director of Accounting Investigations.  Technical guidance may be received from a Public Utility Auditor Senior.  The work may require travel throughout the State to perform on-site audits of public utilities.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Public Utility Auditor is differentiated from the Public Utility Auditor Senior in that the Public Utility Auditor Senior assigns, reviews and approves the work and trains lower-level Public Utility Auditors and Accountants while the Public Utility Auditor performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Assists the Director in developing appropriate revenue requirements for public utilities under Public Service Commission jurisdiction through the performance of audits and other financial analyses of the utilities’ accounting records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and the accounting, rate-making and regulatory policies adopted by the Public Service Commission for those public utilities;

Analyzes and audits public utility financial statements, revenue requirement calculations, cost allocation manuals, rate tariffs, fuel costs, customer billing, rules of conduct and distribution rate of return reporting in order to gather the financial and accounting information necessary to monitor public utility rates;

Performs various operational and financial desk and on-site field audits and prepares relevant reports and testimony for the Commission;

Determines the reasonableness of fuel, purchased power and purchased water costs recovered by an electric, gas or water utility through the performance of audits and other financial analyses and recommends any necessary corrections to the Commission in the form of written testimony, comments or exhibits;

Assists the Director in determining the appropriate allocations of costs between affiliates and of common expenses incurred for more than one utility service;

Reviews and analyzes financial statement data to determine financial viability of telephone, electric and natural gas service provider applications;

Assists the Director in determining appropriate staff settlement positions in Commission proceedings based on sound ratemaking theory and past Commission practices;

May respond to inquiries from management, technical staff, utilities and customers regarding regulatory accounting matters;

May testify or appear before the Commission to present rate, operational, financial, accounting or other information;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the principles and practices of accounting and auditing;

Knowledge of the nature and purpose of utility regulation;

Skill in using automated data processing information systems, personal computers and software to include spreadsheet and data base applications;

Skill in preparing, analyzing and interpreting financial reports, statements and data;

Skill in expressing ideas and conclusions clearly and concisely;

Ability to interpret federal and State public utility tax and other financial related rules and regulations;

Ability to reach logical conclusions;

Ability to understand the theory and practice of public utility accounting and auditing;

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with representatives of public utility companies and with employees of the Public Service Commission.

Education:   A Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or other business related field from an accredited college or university with 30 credit hours in accounting and auditing.

Experience: Two years of professional experience in accounting or auditing with a public utility company or utility regulatory agency.

Notes: 

1. Candidates may substitute experience in general accounting and auditing, at the rate of two years of general accounting and auditing experience for one year of the required experience.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in tax examining classification or tax examining specialty codes in the accounting and budget group field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience and education.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential).  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.