Accounting Technician - Confidential

City of La Mesa•La Mesa, CA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The City of La Mesa has an exciting opportunity for an Accounting Technician (Confidential) in the Finance Department! This is an in-person position, located in La Mesa City Hall. The position works a 9/80 schedule: Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and alternating Fridays 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. La Mesa City Hall is closed on alternating Fridays. Future Scheduled Salary Increases: 5% increase effective July 2026 5% increase effective July 2027 About the Department: The Finance Department is a collaborative and service-oriented team comprised of the Finance Director, three managers, and six professional staff members dedicated to supporting the City’s financial operations and long-term financial health. The department provides a wide range of high-quality services to internal City departments, City employees, and members of the public, with a strong commitment to responsive and excellent customer service. Core responsibilities include accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, purchasing, business licensing, general accounting, budget monitoring, financial planning and forecasting, preparation of the City’s annual operating and capital budgets, and preparation of the annual comprehensive financial report. About the Position: The Accounting Technician (Confidential) performs specialized technical and administrative support with work focused primarily on payroll processing and payroll related accounting functions within the Finance Department. Responsibilities include processing and reviewing payroll transactions, maintaining payroll records, preparing and reconciling quarterly and annual payroll tax returns, balancing payroll reports, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and labor agreements. The position works closely with Human Resources, department representatives, employees, retirement agencies, and benefit providers to support accurate and timely payroll operations. The Accounting Technician (Confidential) is also responsible for maintaining confidentiality of sensitive employee and payroll information and exercising discretion and sound judgement in daily work activities.

Requirements

Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade, including or supplemented by courses in accounting and business practices.
Four years of increasingly responsible experience in the maintenance of financial, fiscal and related statistical records.
Standard office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and related software applications.
Principles and practices of financial record keeping and reporting.
Principles, procedures and methods of technical accounting including payroll, accounts payable, receivables, general ledger, etc.
Basic accounting principles.
Mathematical principles including business mathematics.
Pertinent federal state and local laws, codes and regulations.
Understand, interpret, and apply principles, laws, and procedures involved in fiscal record keeping and accounting functions.
Prepare large-scale payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable and financial reports; maintain ledgers and journals.
Analyze data and draw sound conclusions.
Reconcile financial and bank statements.
Meet firm deadlines.
Collect, compile, and research information and data.
Maintain confidentiality.
Work independently in the absence of supervision.
Operate a calculator quickly and accurately.
Operate a variety of office equipment including a computer and related software applications.
Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Nice To Haves

Experience preparing payroll journal entries, reconciling payroll accounts, and working with payroll and financial software systems is highly desirable.
Public sector payroll experience, including familiarity with retirement reporting, labor agreements, and governmental accounting practices is preferred.
The ideal candidate is organized, proactive, customer service oriented, and able to maintain confidentiality while handling sensitive payroll and employee information.

Responsibilities

Perform difficult and complex technical accounting work involved in the preparation of payroll, accounts payable, fixed asset accounting, accounts receivable, financial reporting and/or budget monitoring.
Utilize various computer programs; enter data, maintain and generate reports from a database or in-house system; create spreadsheets, enter data and generate reports using spreadsheet software; create documents using word processing software.
Prepare and process the City payroll; verify and process time sheets; prepare related reports and journal entries; prepare and distribute W-2 forms and 1099 forms.
Prepare and process the City's accounts payable and file records.
Confer with City departments and individuals regarding changes and corrections.
Provide technical information and instruction to departmental personnel regarding procedures and methods; interpret and explain rules and regulations.
Reconcile bank statements.
Process accounts receivable; prepare invoices; log receipts; coordinate accounts receivable activities with other City departments; prepare the daily bank deposit.
Identify and resolve problems and inconsistencies, determining corrective entries involved in maintaining accounting controls.
Prepare a variety of statements, reports and tax returns from a variety of data and records.
Prepare and submit account information for input into computerized system; reconcile differences between accounting records and computerized reports.
Coordinate accounting activities with other City departments, divisions and sections; provide statistical data upon request.
Prepare, reconcile, balance and submit a variety of monthly, quarterly and annual reports; maintain necessary records and logs.
Respond to inquiries from internal and external sources in a courteous manner; provide information within the area of assignment; resolve complaints in an efficient and timely manner.
Assist in supervision of lower-level accounting clerical staff; provide training in City procedures; answer questions; assist in resolution of more difficult problems.
Perform related duties as required.