Financial Analyst | City of North Chicago

COMPENSATION:

$75,000 - $89,785 with 5 years experience in a municipal setting.

NATURE OF WORK:

Performs complex work which involves the examination of accounting and financial information to provide advice and recommendations. Responsibilities focus on the analysis of financial information, audit and budget preparation.  It involves a high degree of complexity. Incumbent operates independently with minimal supervision. 

Prepares budgets to include:

• Develops systems for producing a 1-year operating budget and a 5-year capital budget;
• Assesses capital needs based on life-cycle estimates, engineering evaluations, and maintenance costs;
• Assesses fiscal impacts of alternative budget policy and administrative actions and advises staff and elected officials on those findings;
• Evaluates and prioritizes budget requests;
• Drafts explanatory budget text to explain budget assumptions and background information;
• Leads budgeting process and crafts budget according to best practices standards of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) excellence in budgeting award;
• Compiles and organizes operating budget request information;
• Meets with executive staff to develop annual departmental operating requests, makes recommendations;
• Analyzes and forecasts revenue and expenditure trends;
• • Creates templates for tracking historical operating revenues and expenses;

  • Supports the City’s long-term financial planning

  • • Recommends long-term financial strategies to increases revenues and decrease costs;
    • Develops and updates 10-year cash flow model;
    • Provides technical support for tax exempt bond transactions;
    • Prepares continuing disclosure information for bond reporting;
    • Tracks all financing agreements, including capital leases, intra-city loans/transfers and bank loans;
    • Verifies all debt repayment schedules through recalculation of initial terms on an annual basis;
    • Oversees the City’s Tax Increment Finance Fund (TIF);
    • Prepares annual TIF reporting and oversees TIF revenue collection;
    • Evaluates potential real estate development proposals for costs impacts and revenue potential;
    • Works with the City Treasurer on investment strategy, potential consolidation of external bank accounts and other financial strategies;
    • Tracks all grant agreements and provides regular grant reporting to state and federal funding providers;
    • Tracks all intergovernmental agreements for compliance;
    • Analyzes processes and is current on municipal trends and makes recommendations for budget, fiscal and other improvements such as: outsourcing, consolidation, shared services, early retirement, automated cash collections, etc.
    • Analyzes fiscal operations and makes recommendations for improved efficiency and effectiveness;
    • Works with the City’s Economic and Community Development Department to track industry, employment and property value trends;
    • Supports and models the identified vision, values and behaviors of the organization;
    • Analyzes, evaluates and summarizes complex and technical financial and management records for accuracy and conformance to procedures, rules and regulations;
    • Prepares financial status reports; identified variances and coordinates corrective actions with departments or finance staff, if needed;
    • Adds or makes changes to existing account structure including new classifications, account title changes, summary account changes, etc.;
    • Reviews work performed by others for completion of the City’s audit and other financial reports;
    • Makes recommendations and assists with the development if internal controls and accounting policies and procedures;
    • In collaboration with the Comptroller and Chief of Staff, oversees completion of budget and annual audit;

    • Manages Accounts Receivable (AR) to include:

      • Inputs and ages receivables using City’s AR accounting software module;
      • Prepares monthly bank statement reconciliations;
      • Reviews AR inputs on an annual basis to ensure proper account placement/coding of receivables;
      • Performs year-end reconciliation, annual closeout and final reporting for financial statements;
      • Invoices ARs and performs collections follow-up;
      • Oversees third party collection vendors for contract compliance;
      • Estimates annual AR bad debt expenses and write-offs;
      • Responds to auditor and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for AR information;
      • Verifies all debt repayment schedule through recalculation of initial terms on an annual basis;

    • MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF WORK:

      • Knowledge of City government organization, functions, policies, and rules and regulations;
      • Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Government Accounting, Accounting and Financial Reporting;
      • Modern principles and practices of public finance administration, to include budget preparation and control and revenue projection principles;
      • Proficient computer skills including but not limited to Microsoft Office products and financial operating software systems and databases;

      • Ability to:

        • Accurately interpret and apply federal, state and local policies, laws and regulations;
        • Accurately analyze problems, identify alternative solutions, project consequences of proposed actions and implement recommendations in support of goals;
        • Maintain accurate financial records;
        • Read, interpret documents, and calculate figures;
        • Research system errors or omissions and coordinate corrective action;
        • Work independently, make judgements and decisions;
        • Work efficiently in a fast-paced work environment subject to occasional interruptions;
        • Organize and manage multiple priorities to achieve maximum efficiency and to meet deadlines;
        • Demonstrate strong attention to detail;
        • Maintain effective work relationships with others;
        • Exercise discretion in confidential matters;
        • Apply effective written and oral communication skills to explain, clarify, analyze and resolve sensitive and/or complex accounting information;
        • • Utilize computers, databases and related software and automated equipment to produce worksheets and reports;

          Other

          • Position requires continuous ability to perform basic math, to write, understand, read, and speak English; frequent decision making, independent judgment and/or action, and advanced math skills; and occasional teamwork, customer service, interpersonal skills, creativity, problem analysis, and use of discretion and rare training/supervising;
          • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or a closely related field and four years increasingly responsible professional accounting experience or a combination of experience and training that provides the candidate with the knowledge and skills to perform the job. Municipal accounting or budgeting experience required;