Accountant III

City of Portland•1120 SW 5th Ave, OR

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The City of Portland is recruiting to fill current and future Accountant III vacancies across the city. Accountant III positions perform work in the following bureaus: Bureau of Environmental Services, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Portland Parks and Recreation, Portland Permitting & Development, Public Safety Service Area, Portland Bureau of Transportation, and Portland Water Bureau. The Accountant III positions typically perform the most responsible accounting-related functions and have a substantial impact on the integrity of financial systems, reporting, and management decision making. The Accountant III is responsible for accounting, reporting, and financial analysis and is significantly relied upon for accuracy, completeness, and timeliness by City management for decision making purposes. The current vacancy exists in the Public Safety Service Area (PSSA). As the Accountant III, you will serve as the bureau's primary cashier and accounts receivable specialist. This position is responsible for processing customer payments for permits, fees, and other bureau services while providing exceptional customer service to the public and internal stakeholders. The Accountant III works closely with customers at the Development Services Center and collaborates with bureau staff to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant financial transactions.

Requirements

Experience applying Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and government GAAP as dictated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
Experience extracting detailed financial information from an ERP system (currently SAP) for accounting and financial reporting, assembling financial data, and preparing clear, concise, and comprehensive technical documents, reports, illustrations, and other written materials.
Experience effectively communicating both verbally and in writing with all business partners, regardless of their varying levels of accounting knowledge.
Experience applying financial analysis techniques.
Ability to collaborate effectively as a team member while also being capable of working independently without guidance.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a customer-focused environment.

Responsibilities

Gathers and verifies data from financial systems, performs analysis (Excel/statistical tools), and produces reports, charts, and leadership presentations, including ad-hoc requests.
Develops long-range financial projections and analyzes expenditures, revenues, variances, and trends to support management resource allocation.
Reviews and validates vendor invoices, ensures proper coding/approval routing, and maintains accurate records.
Conducts monthly audits of financial documentation and maintains documentation of methodologies/data sources used.
Reviews and closes project accounts, reconciles cost accounting across systems, produces capital asset/funding reports, and manages year-end processes (journal entries, stakeholder deadlines, meetings) to ensure timely submission.
Develops and recommends modifications of accounting control policies, procedures and practices; implements and updates accounting policies and procedures.
Serves as the bureau's primary cashier and accounts receivable specialist.
Processes customer payments for permits, fees, and other bureau services while providing exceptional customer service to the public and internal stakeholders.
Works closely with customers at the Development Services Center and collaborates with bureau staff to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant financial transactions.
Evaluates uncollectible receivables, manages write-off approvals, and leads delinquent account collection efforts.
Tracks project revenues against contracts, monitors aging reports, reconciles payments, and follows up on discrepancies or overdue balances.
Independently creates and issues customer invoices in SAP, verifies accuracy against contracts, and coordinates with City staff to gather billing data.
Monitors outstanding invoices, follows up on payment, escalates significant delays or disputes, and identifies efficiency improvements while maintaining documented work instructions.
Develops and maintains project accounting systems, and capital asset tracking; oversees asset acquisition, maintenance, and disposition; leads internal audits/reconciliations to verify records, ownership, and depreciation.
Reviews, validates, analyzes and records capital project costs, working closely with project managers and other departments to ensure all transactions are recorded accurately.