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Senior Accountant/Accountant Trainee (NY HELPS)

**Department:** Finance

**Location:** Albany, NY

Apply by: All applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm on Sunday, October 26, 2025. Applications received after 5:00 pm will not be considered.

_Please attach your academic transcripts to your application so we can confirm that you have the appropriate required credit hours._

Position Summary

The Finance Department is seeking to fill a total of three (3) Senior Accountant/Accountant Trainee vacancies. These positions will work under the direction of an Associate Accountant and will perform duties related to financial management operations and may be required to supervise subordinate staff.

One vacancy exists in each of the following units:

+ **Finance Systems** - Assist with improving financial processes, support the new ERP system and implement finance software.

+ **Financial Accounting & Reporting** - Provide support for multiple financial reports, OPEB accounting and account reconciliation reviews.

+ **Payment Integrity** - Assist in identifying pension overpayments, ensure controlled processes for payments and perform compliance testing.

NY HELPS Program Information

+ This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS).

+ For the duration of the NY HELPS Program, this title may be filled via a non-competitive appointment, which means no examination is required but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications, and any specialized requirements, of the title for which they apply.

+ At a future date (within one year of permanent appointment), it is expected employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination.

Minimum Qualifications

EITHER: 1) Reachable on the Civil Service eligible list; OR 2) Eligible for reassignment by virtue of having permanent competitive service as a Senior Accountant (SG-18); OR 3) Eligible for transfer under the provisions of the Civil Service Law by virtue of having one year of permanent competitive service in an appropriate title.

To be appointed via the NY HELPS program, you must meet the following minimum requirements:

The position of Accountant Trainee is a two-year traineeship leading to a salary grade 18 (Senior Accountant). The first year of the traineeship is equated to a Grade 14. The second year of the traineeship is equated to a Grade 16.

Accountant Trainee 1** **(Grade 14):

Either 1.** A bachelor's degree in accounting, auditing, or taxation; **OR

**2.** A bachelor's degree with 24 semester credit hours in accounting, auditing, or taxation courses.

Accountant Trainee 2** **(Grade 16):

Either 1.** A bachelor's degree in accounting, auditing, or taxation **OR** a bachelor's degree with 24 semester credit hours in accounting, auditing, or taxation courses **AND** one year of professional experience in accounting/auditing or financial internal or field auditing, where you were responsible for the full range of activities in the design and/or review, analysis and management of accounting systems, resulting in the preparation of, or recommendations on, financial statements in accord with generally accepted accounting principles; **OR

**2.** A master's or higher degree in accounting, auditing, or taxation may substitute for one year of experience.

Senior Accountant** **(Grade 18):

Either 1.** A bachelor's degree in accounting, auditing, or taxation or a bachelor's degree with 24 semester credit hours in accounting, auditing, or taxation courses **AND** two years of professional experience in accounting/auditing or financial internal or field auditing, where you were responsible for the full range of activities in the design and/or review, analysis and management of accounting systems, resulting in the preparation of, or recommendations on, financial statements in accord with generally accepted accounting principles; **OR

2.** A master's or higher degree in accounting, auditing, or taxation **AND** one year of professional experience in accounting/auditing or financial internal or field auditing, where you were responsible for the full range of activities in the design and/or review, analysis and management of accounting systems, resulting in the preparation of, or recommendations on, financial statements in accord with generally accepted accounting principles; **OR

**3.** A currently valid Certified Public Accountant license and registration issued by New York State.

**(NOTE:** Courses such as business law, economics, statistics, and most finance courses, although taken as part of an accounting curriculum, cannot be counted toward the 24 semester credit hours.)

(Experience **NOT** considered qualifying are activities restricted to teaching, bookkeeping, maintaining/auditing payroll records or accounts receivable/accounts payable, or preparing tax returns.)

Preferred Qualifications

+ Relevant professional licenses and certifications (e.g. Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Fraud Examiner)

+ Experience performing similar duties

+ Demonstrates accountability

+ Desire to continuously improve processes

+ Desire to learn new skills and grow professionally

+ Excellent verbal and written communication skills

+ Ability and willingness to work directly with internal and external stakeholders

+ Ability and willingness to provide excellent customer service

+ Ability to think critically

+ Exceptional attention to detail

+ Well organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities

+ Independent and demonstrates initiative

Work Modality

Currently we have a hybrid work schedule which may be subject to change in the future.

Job Duties

The duties of the Senior Accountant/Accountant Trainee include, but are not limited to, the following:

Finance Systems Unit

+ Evaluate current business processes and systems for improvement, automation, and efficiency

+ Research new accounting/finance technology and systems to improve operations

+ Act as subject matter expert for the implementation of new/improved finance-related technology and systems

+ Build and maintain a strong knowledge of the automated accounting systems used by NYSTRS

+ Gather and communicate operational and functionality needs to business analysts, project managers, and IT developers

+ Liaise with customer departments to identify ways to better integrate processes to increase compliance and efficiency

+ Submit Finance Department IT demands

+ Track and update the Finance Department-s portfolio of IT projects and demands

+ Maintain documentation for finance systems and assist in providing training to end-users

+ Coordinate or assist in testing changes to Finance Department systems and processes

+ Perform operational accounting duties, including journal entries and account reconciliations

Financial Accounting & Reporting Unit

+ Accounting activities related to the System-s OPEB trust fund

+ Journal entries

+ Accounting for fixed and intangible assets

+ Review of journal entries before they are posted to the general ledger

+ Account reconciliation, review, and tracking

+ Preparation of quarterly and annual financial statements for the System and the System OPEB trust fund

+ Assist with the preparation and issuance of external financial reporting, including the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, OPEB Basic Financial Statements, GASB 68 Report, MWBE Financial Report, Popular Financial Report, and annual NYS Department of Financial Services annual filing

+ Assist with the annual independent financial statement audit

+ Preparation and presentation of financial information and reports for internal use and management decision-making

+ Coordinate user access to the software used for financial reporting

Payment Integrity Unit

+ Manage and monitor unpaid retirement benefit account balances

+ Manage and monitor unclaimed and abandoned funds account balances

+ Work with multiple units and/or departments throughout the month to ensure members and/or beneficiaries are properly identified before sending payments

+ Conduct due diligence needed to locate a member with whom we-ve lost contact or believe to be deceased

+ Process Death Match results

+ Collaborate with the Finance Operations and Payroll Units within Finance to ensure that funds are released in an appropriate and timely manner

+ Maintain statistics related to various death reporting mechanisms NYSTRS employs

+ Approve changes made to supplier records

+ Assist with administration of the procurement card program

+ Create and maintain standard operating and desk procedures for the Payment Integrity Team

Salary Grade

This position is a Grade 14/16/18

Salary Range

+ **Grade 14** -$61,237 - $79,900

+ **Grade 16** -$68,439 - $89,298

+ **Grade 18** -$76,378 - $99,656

Job Type

CSEA/Civil Service

EEO STATEMENT

At NYSTRS, diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral to our mission of providing our members with a secure pension and exceptional customer service. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable culture where all diversity is valued and recognized as a source of strength and enrichment across all operations.

NYSTRS is proud to provide equal opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender expression or identity, national origin, age, ability and disability status, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy status, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class. We are committed to being a workplace that attracts, supports, and retains talented individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences while championing equal opportunity across recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

All applications to NYSTRS should be done via our** **website (https://nystrs.hrmdirect.com/employment/job-openings.php?search=true&dept=-1&city=-1&state=-1)** **. NYSTRS will never ask you to submit private information via email or direct you to submit private information to another site as part of our recruitment process.