Staff Accountant

Purpose of the Job

Imagine being part of a team that supplies the essential element for life. Water is the very foundation of this planet, the life-giving essence in all of us. Driven, knowledgeable, and passionate about this essential resource, the South Carolina Water Utilities team, a subsidiary of SouthWest Water, is in the business of delivering a product everyone uses and depends on. We're proud of our work. We make a difference in the lives of people by providing them with water and wastewater services daily. Don't wait, the opportunity is now to build our planet's future with South Carolina Water Utilities!

Position Overview

SouthWest Water Company is seeking a Staff Accountant to support our Accounting team. This role will perform assigned professional accounting functions requiring the application of generally accepted accounting principles and Company procedures while maintaining strong internal controls to ensure the integrity of data.

Benefits:

• 401k Company Match: 100% of the first 6% of your eligible compensation contributed to the Plan
• Vacation Accrual: Starting at 3 weeks per year
• Holidays: 10 company-paid holidays per year
• Floating Time: 16 hours of paid floating time per year
• Additional Benefit Plans include Medical, Dental, Vision, Company-Paid Life Insurance and more
• Training, Professional Certifications, and Education Allowance

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS 

Reasonable Accommodations Statement 
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable Accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
 
This position will be willing and able to perform the following duties and others as assigned:

• Analyzes and reviews a wide variety of costs and charges to ensure compliance with established Company accounting procedures and generally accepted accounting principles. 
• Takes initiative to analyze problems and alert the Accounting Manager or Supervisor to issues.  
• Manages various responsibilities, which requires flexibility.
• Processes daily cash transaction banking files.
• Prepares balance sheet account reconciliations.
• Prepares and uploads journal entries for month-end close.
• Accounts for service orders and CWIP ensuring proper classification of costs
• Assists with the preparation of monthly and yearly reports to meet regulatory requirements.
• Analyzes monthly operating results and prepares explanations of variances for financial directors and accounting managers or supervisors.
• Other projects from time to time-based on management information requirements

Position Qualifications

General knowledge of GAAP to appropriately maintain financial records and general ledger knowledge is preferred. 
Moderate to advanced knowledge of standard office spreadsheet, data, and word processing programs
 

Competencies

Education

Physical Requirements

Work Experience

3-5 years of general accounting experience and application of GAAP to day-to-day accounting transactions and analysis, or equivalent. A general knowledge of GAAP and other accounting principles as well as a good working knowledge of general ledgers, balance sheets, income statements, statements of cash flow, and related financial statements and schedules. Has the ability to communicate effectively with Company personnel in various organizational segments. Moderate to advanced knowledge of common word processing, spreadsheet, and database software.