Fiscal Analyst 4- Payroll

Effective July 1, 2024 there will be a 3% General Wage Increase.

We are hiring one Fiscal Analyst 4

At the Department of Commerce we strive to be creative, collaborative, and trusted. We identify opportunities to deliver critical funding and services to strengthen communities and aim to promote equity in all aspects of our work. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce is essential to our success, and we work to foster an environment where all individuals are valued and respected. We cultivate an environment in which we continuously learn, and we own our work.

We invite all candidates to join us in our mission to create a diverse and equitable workplace that reflects the richness of the communities we serve. Together, we can build a brighter and more inclusive future.

This position serves as the principle assistant to the Payroll FA5 Supervisor. Within Accounting Services office, Financial Services Division.

Duties:

• Serves as one of the principal assistants to the Payroll Supervisor (FA5), responsible for reviewing and analyzing the daily work and payroll functions of 2 FA2's providing guidance and training to all other payroll staff.

• Responsible for all daily payroll functions including reviewing and analyzing labor, payroll and leave reports and initiating necessary actions for compliance with department policies and procedures, FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act), state laws and rules (WAC's), Collective Bargaining Agreements, etc.

• Analyzes and verifies timesheets (STAR forms) for hours worked, leave without pay, overtime, leave type reported, and authorizing signatures using agency policy, coding manual, and AFRS. Makes corrections if necessary, prior to entry in Human Resource Management System (HRMS).

• Oversees the downloaded data from STAR system, and the formatting that is fed to the Win shuttle report and emails the Office of Financial Management (OFM) for upload to HRMS.

• Responsible for assisting line staff reviewing and processing new employee paperwork into the statewide health care management system (24/7) and statewide HR system HRMS when needed.

• Responsible for oversight in reviewing and approving payroll documents and deduction forms and input items to HRMS, for line staff. Examples include payroll deductions, Internal Revenue Services (IRS) W4 forms, insurance forms, union cards and banking information for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT's) and employee transfers.

• Responsible for fixing any and all IRS tax errors and reporting to FA5. Is primary contact and subject matter expert when there is discrepancies between the IRS and the agency records.

• Oversees the processing of taxable fringe benefits on employees' payroll records so they are entered in the appropriate periods.

• Reviews stipend requests for proper authorization before processing for compensation. Oversees the processing of Commute Trip Reduction payments to employees.

• Conducts workshops and training workshops for personnel, NEO GOV,

• Establishes, integrates, and maintains accounting sub-systems and methods; review internal policy for compliance with OFM standards and procedures. Primary employee point of contact and expert consultant to all agency employees regarding increasingly complex compensation and benefit programs including multiple new shared leave programs to include but not limited to Family Medical Leave, Washington Paid Family Medical Leave, Families First, Reasonable Accommodation, Shared Leave.

• Provides expert consultation to employees, addressing payroll and benefit related concerns, including concerns related to insurance, retirement, work schedules, leave, holiday-pay, overtime, federal taxes, electronic fund transfers, other miscellaneous deductions and other payroll issues.

• Primary point of contact for Health Care Authority (HCA) to ensure benefits are properly provided to employees. Provide supporting information for employee appeals related to benefits and assists in timely resolution.

• Responsible for processing all shared leave donations both from within the agency and to and from other state agencies, currently a complicated and manual process at Commerce. Includes verifying leave balances of donor, using Excel spreadsheets to determine dollar value, converting that dollar value to hours for the recipient and processing journal vouchers to move between cost codes. Manually tracks the usage of the shared leave and at the end of eligible period, calculates value of unused hours and returns to donors by journal voucher.

• Works closely with agency Human Resource (HR) office to identify, communicate and resolve technical issues and errors concerning employee compensation and benefits. Calculates corrections and works with HR to resolve for employees. Corrections may include setting up and manually processing loan payback schedules and withholding from employee paychecks processing underpayments, health adjustments and retirement adjustments.

• Processes garnishment of employee wages as necessary. This includes preparing and sending first and second answers to the Attorney General's office, communicating with the affected employee, making the correct entries into HRMS. Receives and responds to orders to pay by preparing and entering payment documents in AFRS.

• Represents Commerce at monthly Personnel/Payroll Association meetings.

• Serves as the subject matter expert in all payroll functions including retroactive entries into HRMS employee payroll inquires, upper management payroll related questions.

• Is the primary contact for consultation and technical assistance services for payroll policy, procedure and /or regulations.

• Creates and communicates reminders and tips to all employees twice monthly to help ensure compliance. Distributes payroll calendar to employees. Assists with statewide process improvement workgroup analysis, evaluation, and recommendations for change.

• Consults on taxable fringe benefits and questions on federal taxes associated with the benefit.

• Manage Exempt Management/Washington Management Services accelerated leave program.

• Responsible for the financial review, analysis and reconciliation of fiscal data in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, OFM regulations, State Human Resources regulations, HCA, IRS & other federal government regulations and internal agency policies and procedures.

• Responsible for meeting all state and federally imposed payroll deadlines, including monthly, quarterly, annually and year-end and biennial closing. This responsibility is critical to accurate payroll processing.

• Prepares and distributes payroll and related reports to Budget Coordinators and managers to enable monitoring division and program budgets and inform management decision making.

• Reviews and analyzes payroll reports, verifies and corrects accounting data into the Agency Financial Reporting System (AFRS), 24/7 and HRMS.

• Responsible for maintaining all payroll processes with internal controls in place for the day-to-day functions to ensure compliance with complex state and federal regulations and agency policies. Maintains an ongoing working knowledge of payroll requirements, HRMS payroll system and keeps current with any payroll requirement changes.

• Reconciles detailed employee and employer data by reviewing, approving and paying quarterly IRS 941 report, Labor & Industries quarterly reports, DRS retirement reports, Employment Security Department quarterly billings and HCA insurance reports. Researches and corrects discrepancies. Independently prepares and implements journal vouchers to move payroll and related costs, adjusting coding between different programs when needed, and fund level transfers. Processes warrant or EFT cancellations. Posts to journal, Federal tax deposit for employer/employee share of OASI, Medicare and Federal Withholding tax. Reconciles fiscal statements and employee benefits and resolves problems related to employee benefits.

• Runs payroll reports during payroll cutoff, including the Payroll Register, MI coding

• 126, Payroll Simulations, payroll data checks and retirement checks and communicates discrepancies to the appropriate office or individual. Reviews payroll control ledgers such as Payroll Journals, Payroll and Related for accuracy and constancy of labor information to ensure employees are paid correctly.

• Analyzes current duty practices for potential improvements, efficiencies and/or removal of non-value-add tasks. Brings ideas to supervisor and proactively pursues improvements.

• Responsible for providing recommendations on accounting improvements analysis and ideas brainstorming.

Required Qualifications

A bachelor's degree at an accredited institution with at least 18 quarter hours or 12 semester hours of accounting, audit or budget credits. Professional experience may substitute for education, but not for the credit hours.

AND

• 1 year experience processing payroll actions in statewide accounting system

• AFRS.

• 1 year experience processing payroll actions in statewide payroll system

• HRMS.

• Knowledge and recent experience applying Office of Financial Management and SAAM rules and regulations as they relate to payroll processing.

Desired Qualifications and Experience:

• Use the Microsoft Office suite of products including Excel, Word, and Outlook at basic to intermediate levels

• Fiscal Accountability

• Responsibly and accurately, handle the public's money when processing financial transactions

• Consistently follow applicable fiscal guidelines, regulations, principles and standards

• Experience using Financial Toolbox, Enterprise Reporting (ER), Web Intelligence (Webi) reporting tools

• Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality

• Ability to exhibit integrity and honesty

• Demonstrated detail-oriented and analytical thinking

• Demonstrated creative, collaborative and trustworthy behavior

• Ability to provide excellent customer service

• Ability to consistently follow applicable financial rules, regulations, and standards

• Ability to be punctual with regular work performance and use leave appropriately

• Experience using Financial Toolbox, Enterprise Reporting (ER), Web Intelligence (Webi) reporting tools

• Experience with time reporting systems including STAR

To be considered for this position the following are needed:

• A complete and detailed online application.

• A Cover letter (enter online).

• At least three professional references (enter online).

For questions about this recruitment, please contact our recruitment team via email: comrecruitment@commerce.wa.gov  - please reference the job number in your message.Work from Anywhere in Washington State

This position may be located anywhere within Washington State though occasional travel to a Commerce office building or in-state travel to attend events or meetings may be required. If selected, you will need to travel to pick up equipment and receive instruction. Many Commerce employees work remote or have a hybrid schedule.

This recruitment may be used to fill future vacancies over the next 60 days

Technical support is provided by NEOGOV, 855-524-5627 (can't log in, password or email issues, error messages). DES job seeker support may answer general questions regarding the recruiting system at careershelp@des.wa.gov.

Our Commitment to Equal Opportunity

The Washington State Department of Commerce is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application, testing, or interview process or this job announcement in an alternative format may call Human Resources at (360) 725-2650. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call through the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.