State of Maryland

An Accountant Lead Specialized is the lead level of advanced accounting work in the areas of cost accounting, systems accounting, federal fund accounting, or bond and loan accounting. Employees in this classification assign, review and approve the work of and train lower-level Accountants performing cost accounting, systems accounting, federal fund accounting, or bond and loan accounting duties.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from an Accountant Supervisor II or other designated administrator.

Positions in this classification are evaluated using the classification job evaluation methodology. The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and the Examples of Work sections in a class specification.

The Accountant Lead Specialized is differentiated from Accountant Advanced in that the Accountant Lead Specialized assigns, reviews and approves the work and trains Accountants Advanced while the Accountant Advanced performs the full range of cost accounting, systems accounting, federal fund accounting or bond and loan accounting duties and responsibilities under general supervision.  The Accountant Lead Specialized is differentiated from Accountant Lead in that the Accountant Lead assigns, reviews and approves the work of and trains lower-level Accountants performing general accounting duties.  The Accountant Lead Specialized is differentiated from the Accountant Supervisor II in that the Accountant Supervisor II has full supervisory responsibility for lower-level Accountants Advanced.  

Assigns, reviews and approves the work of Accountants performing advanced accounting duties;

Trains Accountants performing advanced accounting duties;

Provides advice and guidance to lower-level Accountants in the resolution of complex problems in the areas of cost accounting, systems accounting, federal fund accounting, or bond and loan accounting;

Performs advanced level cost accounting, systems accounting, federal fund accounting, or bond and loan accounting in the preparation of financial records, reports and statements for use by management;

Applies the principles of cost accounting, systems accounting, federal fund accounting, or bond and loan accounting to develop and implement detailed accounting systems not available in general accounting systems;

Reviews and authorizes detailed costs, systems changes, federal fund distributions, or bond and loan records for inclusion in the general accounting system;

Meets with agency management personnel and program managers to discuss and resolve advanced level accounting problems and issues;

Interprets and applies funding source laws and regulations to specific agency fiscal matters; Documents and defends decisions made in the areas of cost accounting, systems accounting, federal fund accounting, or bond and loan accounting;

Analyzes agency organizational structure and functions, as applicable to cost accounting, systems accounting, federal fund accounting or bond and loan accounting;

May design and establish cost finding and reporting measures to identify, record and report the unit cost factors affecting work products and services;

May analyze changes in legislation, available resources, overhead, staffing, and accounting methods and project the effect on the cost of services;

May provide management with the financial basis for recovering actual overhead costs as well as cost and comparative analysis reports for evaluating the effectiveness of cost identification;

May develop and modify data bases from which fiscal staff can extract journal entries, ledger accounts, trial balances and financial statements by computer;

May formulate and recommend installation of specialized automated accounting systems, providing technical guidance and direction to agency and field fiscal staff in the implementation and operation of the systems;

May design data entry forms and prepare computer user manuals to guide agency and field fiscal staff in electronic accounting record-keeping;

May assess the fiscal operations of an agency to identify accounting functions which would benefit from automation;

May test the adequacy of automated accounting systems by evaluating the reliability and effectiveness of internal controls;

May establish and maintain accounting systems for federal fund allocations and reconcile these accounts to internal and external accounting systems;

May monitor the disbursement of federal funds in compliance with State and federal legislation, rules, regulations and policies;

May calculate cash flow and request the draw down of funds to agency accounts;

May prepare periodic reports to federal officials on the financial status, cash flow and indirect costs associated with distributing federal fund allocations;

May ensure the appropriate documentation and accounting records for long term loans financed through interest-bearing bond offerings;

May determine the interest payments on bonds to be paid to bond holders based on factors such as maturity date of the offering, tax advantages of calling in the bond early and the amortization schedule of payments;

May establish and maintain accounting records for combined bonds and loans with differing maturity dates, interest rates payments and amortization methods;

May prepare periodic reports to federal government officials on bond and loan activities and accounting for federal housing subsidies allocated for housing programs;

May analyze liquidity, financial performance, yields in investment, loans and debt;            

May prepare bond cash flow analysis;            

May make revenue and expenditure projections for loan programs;            

May oversee the work of Fiscal Accounts Technicians, Fiscal Accounts Clerks and related support personnel;

Performs other related duties.  

Class Descriptions are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies.  Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.  

A Class Description provides information about the Nature of Work, Examples of Work, General Requirements and Acknowledgements for a classification in the Skilled Service in which all positions have been designated Special Appointments.  Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities, specific  Minimum Education and Experience Requirements; Special Requirements; and recruitment and testing procedures are set by the using agency.  

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential).  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, Annotated Code of Maryland, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.