Accounting Specialist

**Our Story**:
Committed to fostering opportunities for current and future generations, the Region of Waterloo is an inclusive, thriving, and sustainable region of connected rural and urban communities with global reach. Our mission is to serve, engage and inspire, by delivering quality services to a diverse population of 630,000+, while creating a healthy, collaborative environment of learning, respect, and innovation.

This is a place where employees are valued and recognized for their talents and contributions to our success. Our employees take pride in making a difference in people's lives through the work that we do. We are looking for people like you to help make it happen.

**The Role**:
Assists in the preparation of operating budget and capital plan for client program areas. Provides support and service for debenture financing and sinking fund investments. Reconciles debenture and sinking fund accounts. Prepares journal vouchers to record source revenue reporting into corporate financial system. Reconciles the Region’s general bank account and assists with cash flow projections.

**Duties/Responsibilities**:
Assists in the preparation of operating/capital budgets for client program areas, including budget analyses, documents, summaries, and projections. Assists the Financial Analyst in the preparation of base operating budgets and proposed capital plans for review/approval by client. Prepares, reviews, and revises budget documents per client input/corporate direction.

Prepares monthly/annual journal entries to allocate interdepartmental/corporate program charges, as required. Investigates and corrects errors in the general ledger, as requested. Generates reports to monitor actual expenditures/revenues against approved budgets. Assists Financial Analyst to forecast operating expenditures/revenues and identify possible variances. Assists in the monthly financial reporting process. Prepares information used in reports.

Processes progress payments for capital construction. Ensures approvals and costs are allocated to correct accounts and monitors budgets. Administers liens placed on regional properties and ensures the Region’s protection against same. Monitors and administers holdback accounts for construction contracts and obtains client approval for release.

Assists to determine year-end financing requirements and tangible capital asset requirements for capital projects and applies financing (e.g., debentures, reserve funds). Prepares year-end documentation and contributes to annual Ministry Financial Information Return (FIR), and the Region’s financial statements, including sinking fund financial statements.

Assists with administration of divisional systems (e.g., retail management software, point of sale terminals, debenture database, water billing). Troubleshoots issues, runs reports, and provides user support/training and manuals. Recommends system improvements to management.

Assists client program areas with revenue reporting, including research, analysis, monitoring of processes, and recommendations. Assists with reconciliation of monthly sales and revenue information from systems/terminals and bank accounts; and provides calculations and analysis. Assists with Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance and cash flow projections.

Assists to administer the debenture debt repayment program. Analyzes, verifies, and reconciles debenture transactions in accounting system monthly. Investigates and responds to questions from other Finance staff regarding debenture debt accounting entries. Communicates debenture payment requirements to area municipalities as required.

Assists with documentation processes for regional debenture issues on behalf of the Region and area municipalities. Analyzes, verifies, and reconciles debenture issuance activities, and communicates final costs to client program area financial analyst and area municipalities. Completes reports and audit confirmations relating to debt payments.

Assists with sinking fund program administration. Analyzes, verifies, records, and reconciles sinking fund investment transactions (from purchase date to maturity) and fund contributions. Coordinates sinking fund investment purchase documentation. Prepares investment schedules, cash flow projections, year-end schedules, financial statements, and annual FIR schedules.

Assists client program areas with revenue accounting. Verifies monthly revenue against bank accounts and prepares journal vouchers (JVs) to record source revenue into financial system. Investigates discrepancies and responds to questions regarding the same.

Reconciles employee loan accounts. Prepares reports and schedules of arrears; records and calculates interest into financial system. Reconciles float and liability accounts for client program areas.

Performs reconciliation functions for the Region’s general bank account. Reconciles general bank account cheques cashed from the bank using the Region’s accounting system.