State of Maryland

A Fiscal Accounts Technician I is the intermediate level of work reconciling agency accounting systems to fiscal control systems or developing automated spreadsheets, ledgers and reports or identifying budget trends and recommending budget realignments. Employees in this classification do not supervise other Fiscal Accounts Technicians or Fiscal Accounts Clerks.

Employees in this classification receive moderate supervision from a Fiscal Accounts Technician Supervisor, a professional accountant or other designated administrator.

Positions in this classification are evaluated using the classification job evaluation methodology. This method compares the position’s assigned duties and responsibilities to the job criteria defined in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Fiscal Accounts Technician I and Fiscal Accounts Technician II are differentiated on the basis of degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees. The Fiscal Accounts Technician I performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed while the Fiscal Accounts Technician II performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision.

Examines financial data to identify interrelationships and trends and devises procedures to increase the reliability and usefulness of the data;

Designs report formats and summarizes financial data in periodic and special reports;

Meets with professional fiscal staff and program managers to discuss and resolve accounting and budgetary issues;

Provides technical guidance and direction concerning fiscal policies and procedures to fiscal clerical staff in various units of an agency;

May reconcile agency accounting systems to fiscal control systems on a periodic basis by comparing the reports of the two accounting systems, locating and researching differences, tracing discrepancies to source documents, making necessary adjustments and maintaining an audit trail;

May develop, update and implement automated spreadsheets, ledgers and reports for use by other fiscal staff including layout and user instructions using accounting software packages;

May assist in budget preparation by compiling prior necessary data and calculating current funding requests based on agency needs and adjustments for inflation and other variables;

May review budget submissions or financial statements from other agencies or grantees for completeness, accuracy and compliance with established procedures and regulations;

May maintain appropriations ledgers or grant ledgers and approve expenditures based on compliance with established guidelines and fund availability;

May recommend and process budget modifications, budget supplements and budget amendments;

May prepare budget projections by compiling and reviewing past and current budget data and estimating future budget needs;

May prepare grant status of funding reports and request the drawdown of funds;

May assist in the training of subordinate Fiscal Accounts Clerks and clerical support staff;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the capabilities and applications of commonly used automated accounting software packages;

Knowledge of governmental budget methods and procedures related to expenditure projection and monitoring;

Knowledge of the principles and practices of bookkeeping;

Knowledge of the organization of common books of accounts and the process of monitoring financial records;

Skill in researching discrepancies in accounting and budgetary data and making necessary adjustments;

Skill in using automated accounting software packages;

Ability to identify interrelationships and trends in financial data and reports;

Ability to implement automated accounting software packages;

Ability to set up and maintain spreadsheets and ledgers;

Ability to develop report formats and prepare financial reports;

Ability to communicate effectively;

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with agency fiscal staff, program managers, grantees and representatives of fiscal control agencies.

Education: Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate.

Experience: Three years of experience reviewing, verifying, recording, adjusting and balancing financial transactions.

Notes:

1. Experience calculating and recording financial, statistical or other numerical data may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for the required high school education.

2. Six credit hours in accounting from an accredited college or university may be substituted for one year of the required experience.

3. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience in Financial Clerical/Finance Technicians classifications or specialty codes in the financial field of work at a rate of one year of military experience 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 assigned to Bargaining Unit B, Administrative, Technical and Clerical classes.  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are exempt from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.  

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation.  An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime, as provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.  

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series. NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance level in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series, an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.