Senior Accountant

The Senior Accountant (Senior Financial Reporting Compliance Advisor) provides leadership and in-depth expertise to contribute to the planning and delivery of comprehensive corporate internal compliance and accounting for Strathcona County. This position leads the analysis and reconciliation of the general ledger to support the integrity of financial information and ensure that financial data and processes are compliant with policies, procedures, and Public Sector Accounting Standards. In addition, this position plays a key role in providing oversight of financial functions for the entire organization by completing monthly compliance reviews, overseeing the interface processes and employee expenses auditing, and through ownership of the ERP’s general ledger and chart of accounts. Assisting the Manager, Financial Reporting, this position provides leadership, conceptual thinking, and analytical skills to provide the advice, expertise, consultation, and training that support the integrity and reliability of the organization’s financial information through ensuring compliance with policies and accounting standards.  

This posting is for one temporary full-time position up to 12 months

Key Responsibilities:

• Act in a leadership role, overseeing the logic and design of the chart of accounts to support financial data usability and integrity 
• Ensure organization accounting activity is coordinated, complete, accurate, timely, etc.  
• Provide expert knowledge of the organization’s general ledger  
• Make decisions to resolve issues affecting the general ledger to ensure that operational needs are balanced against multiple reporting requirements and data integrity 
• Develop and analyze system generated reports for operational or compliance reporting and to detect, investigate and address inconsistencies 
• Compile, interpret and analyze financial information from the general ledger to determine reasonableness and investigate/resolve unexpected or unusual findings 
• Develop and implement systems and processes to monitor the integrity of diverse financial transactions 
• Act as a corporate compliance advisor in departmental financial system implementation, operations, and monitoring 
• Oversight and responsibility for GST reporting – and other required CRA reporting – for the County  
• Ensure that the compliance reports promote an ethical work environment and a positive process of continuous improvement 
• Collaborate with department leaders and other relevant parties to ensure financial reporting, procedures, and standards effectively address the diverse needs across the organization
• Oversee regular audits of employee expenses to ensure compliance with policies and accounting standards, and provide support in troubleshooting any issues that arise Participate in system upgrade project teams as a subject matter expert and assist in developing and coordinating and/or performing upgrade testing 
• Act as main support for any general ledger related user inquiries or concerns across the organization 
• Supervise the Financial Reporting Compliance Advisors 
• Support the external financial statement audit process 

 
Qualifications and Skills  

• A related degree along with 7 years of experience, or a related diploma with 9 years of experience 
• A CPA designation is a requirement 
• Experience in a municipality or with public sector accounting standards is an asset 
• Comprehensive understanding of relevant federal, provincial, and municipal legislation 
• Strong understanding of risk assessment and the ability to evaluate and make informed judgment calls regarding whether certain issues or transactions warrant further investigation. 
• Extensive knowledge of appropriate internal controls in areas of finance and experience in implementing effective internal controls within an organization 
• Excellent communication and presentation skills to present formal reporting and supporting analysis in written and oral presentations to Executive Team, Directors, and senior department representatives 
• Strong knowledge of integrated ERP systems and the proven ability to work within those systems to efficiently track data transactions, manipulate large amounts of data and identify risk 
• Strong leadership skills to facilitate the sharing of information, training, and implementation of process changes 
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to summarize financial analyses to be clearly understood by all users 
• Excellent project management skills to prioritize a number of concurrent tasks 

 
Conditions of Employment

• Submission of a Satisfactory Criminal Record Check 

Who We Are:

Strathcona County is a specialized municipality located in the heart of Alberta. Our vision is to become Canada’s most livable community, where our workplace culture and identity are supported by our people plan and values of integrity, respect, safety, collaboration, and accountability.  
Why Join Strathcona County: (depending on position)

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package, which includes:
  • Extended health and dental coverage   
  • Health and wellness spending account   
  • Life and disability insurance
  • Retirement and pension programs 
  • Earned day off program
  • Employee and family assistance program
• Commitment to employee development, through internal and external training and development opportunities
• Well-being programs and a safety culture focused on physical and psychological health in the workplace

Equivalencies of education and experience may be considered. This role may be eligible to participate in our hybrid work program. 

This competition may be used to fill future vacancies for similar positions within the next 6 months. 

Strathcona County is committed to an inclusive, respectful, and equitable workplace that represents the community we serve. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds who can contribute diverse perspectives and experiences.
We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.