Internal Auditor IV

Position Summary

The County is seeking a detail-oriented and analytical General Ledger Accountant to support the County's financial operations, internal controls, and accounting compliance. This position is responsible for maintaining and reconciling general ledger accounts, assisting with financial reporting, supervising internal audit activities, and providing backup support for payroll functions.

A key responsibility of this position will be reviewing and auditing user access and security roles within the County's accounting system. The successful candidate will help ensure that system access is appropriately assigned based on job responsibilities, that incompatible duties are identified and addressed, and that user access is periodically reviewed and documented in accordance with County policies and internal control standards.

This position requires sound accounting judgment, strong attention to detail, discretion with confidential financial information, and the ability to work effectively with departments throughout County government.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

General Ledger & Financial Accounting

• Maintain and review general ledger accounts and related accounting records.

• Prepare and post journal entries, adjustments, accruals, and other accounting transactions.

• Perform monthly and year-end account reconciliations and investigate discrepancies.

• Assist with the preparation of financial statements, schedules, and management reports.

• Review transactions for accuracy, completeness, proper coding, and compliance with County policies.

• Assist with year-end close procedures and the preparation of supporting documentation for the annual financial audit.

• Research accounting issues and recommend appropriate corrections or process improvements.

• Assist with monitoring and maintaining the County's chart of accounts and accounting procedures.

Internal Audit & Internal Controls

• Supervise and coordinate internal audit activities designed to evaluate financial processes, internal controls, compliance, and operational effectiveness.

• Develop and maintain internal audit procedures, work programs, and documentation.

• Conduct or oversee reviews of County departments, financial processes, cash handling, purchasing, accounts payable, revenue collection, and other areas of financial risk.

• Identify control weaknesses, recommend corrective actions, and monitor implementation of audit recommendations.

• Prepare audit findings, reports, and management recommendations for review by County leadership.

• Assist with evaluating County policies and procedures to ensure appropriate segregation of duties and effective internal controls.

• Maintain organized and confidential audit workpapers and supporting documentation.

Accounting System User Access & Security Audits

• Perform periodic audits of user accounts, security roles, and access permissions within the County's financial/accounting system.

• Review user access to ensure permissions are appropriate for each employee's job responsibilities.

• Identify excessive, outdated, inappropriate, or conflicting system permissions.

• Evaluate system access for appropriate segregation of duties, including potential conflicts between functions such as creating vendors, processing invoices, issuing payments, posting journal entries, and approving transactions.

• Review employee transfers, promotions, terminations, and other personnel changes to ensure accounting-system access is promptly modified or removed.

• Maintain documentation of periodic user-access reviews, findings, approvals, and corrective actions.

• Coordinate with department managers, Human Resources, Information Technology, and system administrators as necessary to resolve access issues.

• Assist with establishing and maintaining standardized procedures for requesting, approving, modifying, and terminating accounting-system access.

• Monitor privileged or administrative system access and report unusual or inappropriate access to appropriate County management.

• Recommend improvements to accounting-system security controls and user-role structures.

• Support external auditors by providing documentation related to system access, internal controls, and user-role reviews.

Payroll Backup

• Serve as a backup resource for the County's payroll function.

• Assist with payroll processing, payroll reconciliations, and related accounting entries as needed.

• Review payroll-related reports for accuracy and completeness.

• Assist with resolving payroll discrepancies and responding to payroll-related accounting questions.

• Provide coverage for payroll responsibilities during employee absences, vacations, or other periods of need.

• Maintain confidentiality of employee compensation and payroll information.

Other Responsibilities

• Assist with special financial projects, process-improvement initiatives, and management analyses.

• Provide accounting guidance and support to County departments.

• Respond to questions regarding accounting policies, procedures, transactions, and internal controls.

• Assist with external, state, and federal audits as assigned.

• Maintain knowledge of applicable governmental accounting principles, County policies, and regulatory requirements.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a closely related field.

• [Three (3) to five (5)] years of progressively responsible accounting experience.

• Experience with general ledger accounting, account reconciliation, and financial reporting.

• Experience evaluating or maintaining internal controls.

• Strong understanding of segregation of duties and financial-system access controls.

• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.

• Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound professional judgment.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and other standard office software.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in county, municipal, state, or other governmental accounting.

• Experience supervising or coordinating internal audits.

• Experience auditing accounting-system user roles and permissions.

• Experience with ERP or governmental financial-management systems.

• Experience with payroll processing or payroll accounting.

• Knowledge of governmental accounting principles and practices.

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), or other relevant professional certification.

• Experience with system access controls, information security controls, or IT general controls.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

The successful candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong knowledge of general ledger accounting principles and practices.

• Knowledge of internal auditing principles and internal control frameworks.

• Understanding of segregation of duties and role-based access controls.

• Ability to identify financial and operational risks and develop practical recommendations.

• Ability to analyze accounting-system permissions and identify potential conflicts or excessive access.

• Ability to interpret financial data and investigate unusual transactions or discrepancies.

• Ability to establish priorities and meet deadlines with minimal supervision.

• Ability to communicate effectively with employees, department heads, management, auditors, and other stakeholders.

• Ability to handle sensitive financial, payroll, and personnel information with discretion.

• Strong organizational skills and the ability to maintain detailed audit documentation.

Working Conditions

This position primarily performs duties in an office environment and requires extensive use of computers, accounting systems, spreadsheets, and other financial software. Occasional travel to County departments or other locations may be required to conduct internal audits or perform financial reviews.