State of Maryland

A Revenue Field Auditor Lead/Advanced is the lead or advanced level of work conducting financial and compliance revenue field audits independently or as part of an audit team within one or more of the specialized fields of revenue production administered by the Comptroller of Maryland. These specialized fields and tax types may include sales and use tax, admissions and amusement tax, boxing and wrestling tax, withholding tax, motor vehicle fuel tax, International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA), alcohol tax, tobacco tax, other tobacco products tax, unclaimed property, tire fee, bay restoration, public debt tax, and any other revenue levy authorized by the legislature. Employees in this classification train and provide technical expertise to lower-level Revenue Field Auditors and may function as Lead Auditor, Advanced Auditor or as a Lead and Advanced auditor.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from a Revenue Field Auditor Supervisor or Revenue Administrator. The work may require travel in the State of Maryland and throughout the country to perform on-site audits of commercial taxpayers.

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

The Revenue Field Auditor Lead/Advanced is differentiated from the Revenue Field Auditor II in that the Revenue Field Auditor Lead/Advanced assigns and reviews the work of lower-level Revenue Field Auditors and/or performs complex audits involving multiple tax types and tax auditing areas while the Revenue Field Auditor II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision. The Revenue Field Auditor Lead/Advanced is differentiated from the Revenue Field Auditor Supervisor in that the Revenue Field Auditor Supervisor has supervisory responsibility for lower-level Revenue Field Auditors.

As Lead Auditor, assigns and reviews the work of lower-level Revenue Field Auditors and support staff;

As Advanced Auditor, performs large complex audits involving multiple tax types and tax auditing areas, such as audits of cash based businesses, purchase analyses, inventory auditing, audit projections including statistical sampling methods, audits that contain elements of fraud and/or gross negligence, audits of other governmental jurisdictions, the analyzing of Federal and State Income Tax returns, provide expert testimony in hearings and tax court proceedings;

Trains lower-level Revenue Field Auditors in the techniques of audit investigating, audit reporting, and audit methods and procedures and may cross train other Revenue Field Auditors on one or more areas of tax auditing;

Functions as primary Auditor when working as part of an audit team;

Assists in developing audit leads;

Holds conferences with taxpayers and their representatives regarding audits and recommends corrective actions;

Prepares clear and concise work papers to document audit findings;

Performs special audits and investigations;

Assists in determining the procedures, methods, approaches and techniques to implement an audit program;

Conducts interviews, discussions and conferences with taxpayers or their representatives to verify facts, obtain explanations for apparent deficiencies, and recommend corrective actions or to explain results of audit findings;

Conducts limited financial and compliance field audits of tax returns to determine accuracy, adequacy and compliance with reporting regulations;

Audits various commercial accounting systems and records at a taxpayer’s location to determine effectiveness of their internal controls regarding tax compliance;

Analyzes and interprets financial records of taxpayers to ascertain business functions and their relationship to the business’s tax reporting procedures;

Interprets and applies the State’s revenue laws to various business situations, by utilizing generally accepted auditing principles and procedures;

Utilizes various auditing techniques, such as sampling and frequency distributions, to ascertain tax compliance;

Provides advice and assistance to accountants or other business representatives during the audit;

Responds to inquiries from representatives of commercial entities regarding their tax obligations;

Advises representatives of commercial entities regarding acceptable accounting systems and internal control procedures for adherence to State revenue laws;

Applies tact and discretion when dealing with controversial issues with taxpayers;

Prepares manual and electronic schedules of audit findings;

Prepares narratives regarding audits of commercial entities;

Presents and explains the results of audit findings to taxpayers and their representatives;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of generally accepted accounting and tax auditing principles, standards and procedures relating to commercial entities;

Knowledge of business administration and management practices;

Knowledge of laws and regulations pertaining to the area(s) of tax concentration;

Skill in analyzing records, reports and other business and financial documents noting details and facts pertinent to the audit assignment;

Skill in determining compliance with or deviations from the provisions of statutes;

Skill in investigating civil and criminal tax fraud cases;

Skill in presenting audit findings and testifying in tax court proceedings;

Skill in preparing accurate and concise audit work papers;

Skill in communicating ideas and information;

Skill in personal computer applications for auditing purposes;

Ability to assign and review the work of lower-level Revenue Field Auditors;

Ability to perform complex audits involving multiple tax types;

Ability to provide technical advice and direction to lower-level Revenue Field Auditors;

Ability to perform independent audits and large, complex audits;

Ability to make good audit decisions and complete audit assignments in a timely manner with minimum changes made to completed audits by the supervisor;

Ability to determine compliance with or deviations from the provisions of the auditing statutes or regulations;

Ability to analyze records and other business and financial documents pertinent to an audit assignment;

Ability to prepare audit work papers and reports with minimal error rate;

Ability to use information technology systems, personal computers and software related to auditing;

Ability to present audit evidence via scheduled work papers and reports;

Ability to understand, interpret and apply revenue laws and regulations;

Ability to comprehend the accuracy and adequacy of accounting systems and other financial data in order to determine tax compliance;

Ability to understand financial and other relationships between related and unrelated commercial entities and individual officers and employees;

Ability to advise commercial entities, entrepreneurs and specialists on accounting methods and systems to facilitate audits;

Ability to apply tact and discretion in the handling of controversial issues with taxpayers;

Ability to work independently or as part of an audit team;

Ability to accept working in field conditions on a regular basis at business locations in the State of Maryland and throughout the country;

Ability to communicate effectively.

Experience: Seven years of experience, three years of experience performing revenue field auditing or outside tax auditing and an additional four years of experience examining, analyzing and interpreting accounting systems, records and reports by applying generally accepted accounting principles or professional auditing experience.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute additional two years of experience examining, analyzing and explaining accounting systems, records and reports by applying generally accepted accounting principles or professional auditing experience for one of the three years of experience performing revenue field auditing or outside tax auditing.

2. Candidates may substitute the possession of a successful completion certificate from the Comptroller Business Management Certificate Program for the four years of experience examining, analyzing and interpreting accounting systems, records and reports by applying generally accepted accounting principles or professional auditing.

3. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificate for five years of  the required experience.

4. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with six credit hours in accounting and fifteen credit hours in related courses (e.g., business finance, economics, business administration, information technology) and three years of experience performing revenue field auditing or outside tax auditing for the required experience.

5. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Master’s degree in accounting from an accredited college or university for five years of the required experience.

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

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 from collective bargaining. Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and therefore, all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.