Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Auditor-Appraiser III

Recruitment #17-2715-01

Introduction

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE BULLETIN

THIS IS A REOPENING OF AN EXISTING EXAMINATION.  IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY APPLIED (OR STARTED AN APPLICATION) FOR THE AUDITOR APPRAISER III, READ THIS ENTIRE BULLETIN. THERE ARE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO REAPPLY FOR THIS RECRUITMENT. THIS IS A REOPENING OF AN EXISTING EXAMINATION.

The scores and dispositions of candidates for this examination will be merged with previous exam participants. If you have previously submitted an application and choose to reapply, your new score/disposition will replace your current disposition.  A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application.  In order to reapply for this position, please contact the examination analyst at anna.montoya@acgov.org to have your previous application released back to you.   This list may be cancelled at any time without notice to candidates.

APPLY IMMEDIATELY AS THIS RECRUITMENT MAY CLOSE AT ANY TIME. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.

DESCRIPTION



THE DEPARTMENT
The primary mandated services of the Assessor's Office include: locate and identify the ownership of all taxable property in Alameda County; determine the taxability of all property; determine the re-appraisability of property changing ownership or having new construction added; annually assess all real estate in accordance with the provisions of Article XIIIA of the State Constitution (Proposition 13); annually assess all taxable personal property at its fair market value; determine and apply all legal exemptions against these assessments; and surrender an accurate assessment roll to the Auditor's Office prior to July 1st each year. To learn about other major functions of the Assessor's Office please visit the Assessor’s website at: http://www.acgov.org/assessor/

The Assessor’s Office is currently seeking to fill three Auditor-Appraiser III vacancies to contribute enthusiastically to its mission to provide timely and accurate appraisal services in a manner resulting in fair and equitable treatment for all Alameda County taxpayers. With a proposed staffing level of 175.47 full‐time equivalent positions, this team of professionals provides mandated assessment services performed in accordance with the California Constitution, Revenue and Taxation Code, Government Code, and State Board of Equalization guidelines and directives.

THE POSITION
In the Office of the Assessor, under general supervision, the Auditor-Appraiser III performs audits, as required under California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 469, of books, records of businesses and makes appraisals of business personal property and trade fixtures of the most complex businesses for assessment purposes. Auditor-Appraisers III spend the majority of their time performing audits of books and records and appraisals of business personal property and trade fixtures of the largest and most complex businesses. In the performance of these audits and appraisals, incumbents may be required to travel throughout the United States.

IDEAL CANDIDATE
In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a track record of success in the following areas:

  • Prepared for advancement by developing a sufficient depth of technical and professional knowledge and skills.
  • A demonstrated expertise in the theory, methodology, practices and procedures involved in the appraisal of business personal property and trade fixtures.
  • A proven track record of consistently managing time and resources to appropriately prioritize and complete goals and objectives.
  • Ability to identify and understand complex problems and concepts, apply logical thinking and quantitative methods of gathering and analyzing information, make decisions and exercise good judgment.
  • Exceptional organization skills with the ability to prioritize tasks, work on multiple projects simultaneously and meet critical deadlines, while maintaining high standards for quality.
  • Adjusting, maintaining and managing effectiveness even when experiencing changes in work responsibilities and deadlines
  • Effective oral and written communication skills.
  • Strong computer and software skills

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Either I  
The equivalent of two years of full-time experience in the class of Auditor-Appraiser II in the Alameda County classified service (non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts),  

Or II  
The equivalent of two years of full-time experience in the office of a California Assessor or the office of the California State Board of Equalization at the level equivalent to Auditor-Appraiser II in the Alameda County classified service (non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts), which included the performance of R&TC Section 469 audits and other audits of books and records and appraisals of business fixtures for ad valorem tax purposes,  

OR III  
The equivalent of four years full-time professional experience as an auditor or accountant preparing financial statements and managerial reports, which must have included two years full-time experience preparing and reviewing audited financial statements and tax returns.  

In addition to meeting one of the qualifying patterns listed above, all candidates must meet the following: 

Possession of a current, valid, permanent or an inactive permanent appraiser’s certificate issued by the California State Board of Equalization.  

OR  

Be eligible for issuance of a temporary appraiser’s certificate by the State Board of Equalization upon hire.

A Bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting, or a Bachelor’s degree with a specialization in accounting meets the educational requirement under R&TC Section 670 & 673 for issuance of a temporary appraiser’s certificate.   AND   Education requirement specified in R&TC Section 670(d) to perform audits under R&TC Section 469.   Possession of a Bachelor’s degree with a major in accounting from an accredited college or university, or   Possession of a Bachelor’s degree, with a specialization in accounting, defined as a minimum of 18 units in accounting courses that included 6 units of basic/introductory accounting and 6 units of intermediate accounting, together with 3 units of auditing, and/or 3 units of federal/state tax, and/or 3 units of cost accounting, and/or 3 units of advanced accounting (The unit requirements herein are expressed as semester units. Equivalent quarter units are acceptable. Courses in business law, economics or related areas do not satisfy the requirements of R&TC Section 670(d)).,

or  

Possession of a license to practice as a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California.  

Special Requirements  

1.    As to appointees who do not already possess a current, valid, permanent or temporary appraiser’s certificate issued by the California State Board of Equalization, continued employment after appointment to this classification is contingent upon (a) the California State Board of Equalization’s acceptance of the appointee’s qualifications and the Board’s issuance of a temporary appraiser’s certificate, and (b) upon the Board’s acceptance of the individual’s qualifications to perform audits under R&TC, Section 469.  

2.      In addition to qualifying for a temporary appraiser’s certificate issued by the California State Board of Equalization at the time of appointment, must pass an appraiser’s certification examination administered by the California State Board of Equalization within twelve months of appointment to this classification.  

3.      Continued employment in this classification, beyond the twelve months specified in Special Requirement “2” above is contingent upon the appointee passing the certification examination and obtaining a permanent appraiser’s certificate as hereinabove described.  Failure to obtain the permanent certificate within one year will be cause for termination of employment.  

4.      Possession of a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator’s License.  Incumbents are required to furnish their own automobile to use on the job.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed in the “Examples of Duties” section of this specification.

Knowledge of:

· General accounting and auditing principles and procedures.
· The theory, methodology, practices and procedures involved in the appraisal of business personal property and trade fixtures.
· Factors that determine the value of business personal property and trade fixtures.
· Provisions of real estate law, the California State Constitution, the California Revenue and Taxation Code, Administrative Rules, Property Tax Rules of the California State Board of Equalization, appraisal sections of the Assessor’s Handbook, California statutes, local rules and regulations pertaining to the appraisal of business personal property and trade fixtures for ad valorem tax purposes.

Ability to:

· Audit financial books and records and appraise business personal property and trade fixtures of the largest, most complex properties (as hereinabove defined).
· Assemble, analyze and draw logical conclusions, including the ability to do so with respect to data of the sort used in appraisal of business personal property and trade fixtures.
· Prepare clear, concise audit reports, letters and other written communications.
· Identify, assess, evaluate and solve problems.
· Organize and plan time for audit workload.
· Work independently.
· Make appropriate decisions and judgments.
· Establish and maintain cooperative and professional relationships with others.
· Use computers and computer equipment, software and programs used by the Assessor’s Office, including computer workstations, personal computers and peripheral devices, independently or as a part of a networked information system, for the purpose of entering, storing, retrieving, updating and working with data relevant to the appraisal and assessment of business personal property and trade fixtures for ad valorem tax purposes.
· Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
· Follow written and oral instructions.
· Work effectively with the public and co-workers.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:

  1. A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements.
  2. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process; review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process.
  3. Those candidates scoring highest on the screening for best qualified will move on to the next step in the examination process, an oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Selection Plan

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

Deadline for Filing:

Friday, June 16, 2017

Review of Applications for Minimum Qualifications:

June 21, 2017

Review for Best Qualified:

June 23, 2017

Oral Examination:

August 10, 2017

*WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN*

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

BENEFITS

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Welfare Benefits

  • Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
  • Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
  • Vision
  • Basic Life Insurance 
  • Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
  • County Allowance
  • Health Flexible Spending Account
  • Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
  • Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
  • Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

  • Short-term Disability Insurance
  • Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
  • Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

  • 11 paid holidays
  • Vacation and sick leave accrual
  • Vacation purchase program
  • Management Paid Leave**
  • Group Auto/Home
  • Commuter Benefits Program
  • Guaranteed Ride Home
  • Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
  • Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
  • Child Care Resources
  • 1st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Sam Gee, Personnel Services Manager
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
510-267-9492

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer