Ulster
County Personnel Department
Civil
Service Examination Announcement
FILING
FEE $20.00
#67479 ACCOUNTANT
OPEN-COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION
LAST DATE FOR FILING
APPLICATIONS: November 23, 2011
EXAMINATION DATE: January 7, 2012
SALARY:
The starting salary is currently listed at $25.01 per hour.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates must meet the following
requirement(s) on or before the date of the examination:
Possession of a Bachelor's Degree in
Accounting or substantially similar field from a regionally accredited or New
York State registered college or university including or supplemented by 18
semester credit hours in accounting and one (1) year of full‑time paid
post‑degree accounting experience.
WHERE COLLEGE IS A REQUIREMENT, YOU
WILL BE EXPECTED TO SUBMIT COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS NO LATER THAN JANUARY 23,
2012 OR YOU WILL BE UNCONDITIONALLY DISQUALIFIED. IF COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS ARE ALREADY ON FILE
WITH OUR OFFICE, INDICATE THIS ON YOUR APPLICATION. ONCE SUBMITTED, COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS WILL BE
HELD ON FILE IN OUR OFFICE FOR A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS. TRANSCRIPTS NEED
NOT BE OFFICIAL COPIES; HOWEVER, THEY MUST CONTAIN ALL INFORMATION
NECESSARY TO QUALIFY YOU FOR THIS POSITION.
NOTE:
If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational
institution outside of the
APPLICATION REVIEW
TOLERANCE POLICY
For
the purposes of this policy, "tolerance" shall mean the leeway given
regarding work experience when reviewing an application. Applicants lacking a
small amount of work experience when applying for promotional or
open-competitive examinations may qualify under the following conditions:
1) Candidates
will be given a maximum tolerance of one (1) month.
2) Tolerance will be given only when the
minimum qualification requires one or more years of work experience.
3) Tolerance Policy does not apply
to education or licensure/certification requirements. (See particular
examination announcement for "Anticipated Eligibility" information).
4) Tolerance Policy does not apply
where required work experience is set forth by law or rules.
5) Tolerance Policy does not apply
to enable applicants to meet residence requirements.
For
more information regarding Tolerance Policy, please contact our office at (845)
340-3550.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:
An employee in this class has responsibility for the performance of
complex accounting duties in an office of Ulster County Government. The work is performed according to general
guidelines with a minimum of supervision required. Supervision is exercised over the work of
account clerical staff as needed. Does related work as required.
SUBJECT OF EXAMINATION:
Written test will cover knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such
areas as:
1. General accounting
These questions test for knowledge of
the general accounting principles and practices used in the preparation of
financial statements, in the recording and reporting of financial transactions,
and in financial decision-making. Candidates will be required to demonstrate a
current knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Knowledge
of computerized information systems as it applies to accounting may be
required.
2. General auditing
These questions test for knowledge of
the principles and procedures involved in substantiating and examining
transactions and financial statements. It will require a knowledge of auditing
techniques and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS). Knowledge of the
use of computerized accounting or auditing systems as it pertains to auditing
may be required. Questions relating to internal controls applicable to manual
and computerized accounting systems may be included.
3. Governmental accounting
These questions test for knowledge of
the accounting practices employed to provide financial information used in
determining and forecasting the condition of governmental units, and used for
monitoring governmental performance, in terms of legal, contractual and
fiduciary requirements. These questions will test for knowledge of and
familiarity with common governmental funds, appropriation and encumbrance
accounting, accounting for revenue and expenditures, and other aspects of
accounting relating to the governmental sector.
4. Preparing written material
These questions test for the ability
to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs
logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information
in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You
must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given
paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four
suggestions, the best order for the sentences.
5. Supervision
These questions test for knowledge of
the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling
the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts
covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as
assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work
standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural
change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism,
morale, and discipline.
6. Understanding and interpreting
tabular material
These questions test your ability to
understand, analyze, and use the internal logic of data presented in tabular
form. You may be asked to perform tasks such as completing tables, drawing
conclusions from them, analyzing data trends or interrelationships, and revising
or combining data sets. The concepts of rate, ratio, and proportion are tested.
Mathematical operations are simple, and computational speed is not a major
factor in the test.
The New York State Department of Civil
Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates
may find information in the publication "How to take a written test"
helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm.
CALCULATORS:
"Unless specifically prohibited, candidates are permitted to use
quiet, hand‑held, solar or battery powered calculators. Devices with typewriter keyboards, ‘Spell‑Checkers’,
‘Personal Digital Assistants’, ‘Address Books’, ‘Language Translators’,
‘Dictionaries’ and any similar devices are prohibited."
USE OF CALCULATORS IS RECOMMENDED
FOR THIS EXAMINATION.
*FEES*:
Send your check or money order for twenty dollars ($20.00) (made payable
to
EXCEPTION TO FEE REQUIREMENT: An exception to the processing fee will be
made for persons receiving Supplemental Social Security payments or public
assistance (Safety Net Assistance or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families),
provided Foster Care or certified Workforce Investment Act of 1998 eligible
through a state or local social service agency, and for those who are currently
unemployed. Individuals wishing to claim
this waiver of fee on the basis of Supplemental Social Security, Safety Net
Assistance or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, must certify on their
application, under number 20 Remarks, that they are receiving public assistance
and must indicate the type of assistance they are receiving, the agency
providing the assistance and their case numbers. Persons claiming this waiver
through Foster Care or Workforce Investment Act of 1998 Certification must
specify the program and name of their contact agency. Persons claiming this
waiver, who are currently unemployed must certify on their application, under
number 20 Remarks, that they are currently unemployed and must provide
documentation that they are receiving unemployment benefits or other unemployment
documentation deemed appropriate by the Ulster County Personnel Officer. Such claims are subject to later
verification and, if not supported by appropriate documentation, are grounds
for barring appointment.
Applications may be obtained at the
For those applications submitted in
person on the last file date, please submit no later than 4:30 PM. All
applications must be in our office no later than 5:00 PM on the last file date.
Applications postmarked by the last file date will also be accepted.
This
examination is being prepared and rated by the New York State Department of
Civil Service in accordance with Section 23‑2 of the Civil Service
Law. The provisions of the New York
State Civil Service Rules and Regulations dealing with the rating of
examinations will apply to this test.
CRIMINAL
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION POLICY: In accordance with Ulster County Local Law
Number 14 of 2007, a criminal background check (including fingerprinting) will
be initiated by the Ulster County Personnel Department upon initial employment
or re-hire to Ulster County positions, and conducted by the New York State
Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), the New York State Office of
Court Administration, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Verification Information System (IMAGE Program), or any law enforcement agency.
SPECIAL NOTE: All public agencies are required by law to
provide full and equal opportunities for minorities, women and to people with
disabilities. All qualified candidates are encouraged to compete without regard
to race, creed or national origin. Applicants requesting special testing
arrangements as a Saturday Sabbath Observer, alternate test date candidate (in
accordance with Alternate Test Date Policy), or an active member of the
military away from the area on the scheduled test date must clearly indicate
this fact on the application. All such requests must be supported by
appropriate documentation.
VETERANS: Non-disabled and disabled veterans
who wish to claim additional credits must request a Veterans Credits
application from our office. This form must be completed and submitted along
with a war service (DD214) form prior to the establishment of the
resulting eligible list. Veterans credits may only be added to a passing score
and may only be used for appointment once. Candidates currently in the
armed forces may apply for and be conditionally granted veteran’s credits. Any candidate who applies for such credits
must provide proof of military status to receive the conditional credits. You
may not claim additional Veterans Credits after the eligible list has been
established. It is the candidate’s responsibility to request the Veterans
Credits application forms and submit these forms and any required supporting
paperwork before the eligible list is established.
ADDITIONAL CREDITS FOR CHILDREN OF
FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY:
In conformance with section 85-a of the Civil Service Law, children of
firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty shall be entitled
to receive an additional ten points in a competitive examination for original
appointment in the same municipality in which his or her parent has
served. If you are qualified to
participate in this examination and are a child of a firefighter or police
officer killed in the line of duty in this municipality, please inform this
office of this matter when you submit your application for examination. A candidate claiming such credit has a
minimum of two months from the application deadline to provide the necessary
documentation to verify additional credit eligibility. However, no credit may be added after the
eligible list has been established.
APPLYING FOR CIVIL SERVICE
EXAMINATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS WHEN
EXAMINATIONS ARE SCHEDULED ON SAME DATE: If you have applied for any other Civil
Service examinations for employment with New York State or any other local
government jurisdiction, you must make arrangements to take all the
examinations at one test site.
If you have applied for both State
and Local government examinations, you must make arrangements to take
all your examinations at the State examination center by calling (518)
457‑7022 no later than two weeks before the test date.
If you have applied for other local
government examinations, call or write to each Civil Service Agency to make
arrangements. You must make your request
for these arrangements no later than two weeks before the date of the
examinations. You must notify all local
government civil service agencies with whom you have filed an application of
the test site at which you wish to take your examination(s). For this examination call (845) 340‑
3531 OR write to Ulster County Personnel Department,
*If candidates have not received
notification of this examination within four (4) days of the examination, they
should contact this office immediately.
#67479
ORIGINAL COPY: YELLOW
ISSUED: October 24, 2011