Lead Accounting Subject Matter Expert (SME)

The Lead Accounting Subject Matter Expert (SME) serves as the functional authority for accounting and financial business processes throughout the CIS implementation. This individual will represent the Water Revenue Bureau’s (WRB) Accounting Division during all phases of the project, including statement of work requirements, solution design, configuration, testing, data conversion, training, cutover planning, and post-go-live stabilization.

The SME is expected to possess extensive knowledge of the City's current Basis2 accounting processes and understand how customer billing, payments, financial transactions, and general ledger activities support the City's water revenue operations.

Key Responsibilities:

Serve as the primary Accounting representative for the CIS implementation project

Provide functional expertise regarding current Basis2 accounting processes and business rules

Define and validate future-state accounting workflows and system functionality

Review and validate functional requirements, design documents, configuration workbooks, and business process documentation

Identify opportunities to standardize, streamline, and improve accounting processes while minimizing customizations

Collaborate with Finance, Customer Service, Billing, Collections, Payment Operations, IT, and vendor implementation teams

Participate in system configuration workshops and design sessions

Validate accounting-related system configurations and ensure compliance with City accounting policies and governmental accounting standards

Support data cleansing, data validation, and financial data conversion activities

Validate financial interfaces, payment settlement processing, reconciliation processes, and General Ledger postings

Assist in developing training materials, standard operating procedures, and end-user documentation

Support cutover planning, production readiness, hyper care, and post-go-live issue resolution.

Work Activities and Essential Functions:

The Lead Accounting Subject Matter Expert (SME) will perform the following activities in support of the Customer Information System (CIS) implementation:

Billing & Revenue Accounting

Validate current and future-state billing and revenue accounting processes

Review billing transactions, revenue recognition, and financial impacts

Validate billing adjustments, reversals, cancel/rebill processing, and account corrections

Verify billing calculations, meter read impacts, and billing exception processing

Ensure accounting requirements are accurately reflected in the configured solution

Payment Processing & Settlement

Validate payment processing across all payment channels, including ACH, lockbox, credit/debit card, and electronic payments

Review payment settlement and reconciliation processes

Validate returned payments, reversals, refunds, and adjustment processing

Verify daily balancing, settlement, and cash reconciliation functionality

Validate payment processing interfaces and related financial transactions

Accounts Receivable

Validate customer accounts receivable balances and financial transactions

Review processing for credits, refunds, write-offs, adjustments, and payment applications

Validate collections-related accounting transactions and financial impacts

Verify aging calculations, receivable balances, and financial reporting

Ensure accounts receivable transactions are processed accurately throughout the customer lifecycle

General Ledger & Financial Integration

Validate General Ledger posting logic and accounting distributions

Review Chart of Accounts mappings and financial transaction processing

Verify journal entries and financial interface transactions

Validate integrations between the CIS and enterprise financial systems

Review month-end, year-end, reconciliation, and revenue reporting processes

Financial Controls & Compliance

Validate accounting controls, audit requirements, and financial compliance

Review segregation of duties and financial security requirements

Verify system controls supporting accurate financial reporting

Validate financial data integrity throughout accounting processes

Identify accounting risks and recommend appropriate resolutions

Solution Design & Configuration

Participate in functional requirements, design, and configuration workshops

Review and validate functional requirements, solution designs, and system configuration

Evaluate proposed system functionality against operational and accounting requirements

Recommend process improvements that leverage standard system functionality

Collaborate with business stakeholders, project teams, vendors, and technical resources to resolve accounting-related issues

Data Conversion

Validate converted customer, billing, payment, accounts receivable, and financial data

Review data reconciliation results and verify accounting accuracy

Validate the completeness and integrity of converted accounting data prior to production

Testing & Quality Assurance

Participate in System Integration Testing, User Acceptance Testing, and other testing activities

Validate end-to-end accounting, billing, payment, and financial business processes

Review testing results and verify resolution of accounting-related defects

Confirm accounting functionality meets business requirements and is ready for production

Go-Live & Post-Implementation Support

Participate in cutover planning and production readiness activities

Provide accounting expertise during go-live and hypercare

Validate production transactions and financial processing following deployment

Assist with issue triage, root cause analysis, and post-implementation stabilization

Confirm accounting operations continue to function accurately following implementation

Candidates must possess extensive hands-on experience using the Basis2 Customer Information System within Water Revenue Bureau’s accounting operations.

Demonstrated expertise in water utility accounting processes

Thorough understanding of customer billing and revenue accounting

Strong knowledge of payment processing and settlement operations

Experience with Accounts Receivable accounting

Experience validating General Ledger postings and financial reconciliations

Knowledge of governmental accounting principles and financial controls

Experience interpreting accounting transactions and financial reporting

Ability to analyze current business processes and identify improvement opportunities

Ability to translate business requirements into functional system requirements

Ability to evaluate proposed system functionality against operational needs

Experience participating in cross-functional initiatives involving accounting, operations, and technology

Highly Desired/Preferred

Previous participation in a CIS, ERP, billing, or financial system implementation

Experience supporting system testing, including User Acceptance Testing

Experience validating financial data conversions

Knowledge of utility billing and customer information systems

Experience working with system integrators or software vendors

Familiarity with system interfaces, data migration, and reporting validation

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field CPA or governmental accounting experience is a plus

Soft Skills & Other Requirements:

Strong collaboration and teamwork across business and technical organizations

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Ability to explain complex accounting concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences

Excellent organizational and time management skills

Ability to prioritize multiple deliverables in a fast-paced project environment

Sound judgment and attention to detail

Ability to influence decisions through subject matter expertise

Adaptability and willingness to embrace organizational change

Customer-focused mindset with a commitment to continuous improvement

Ability to build productive working relationships with project leadership, stakeholders, vendors, and peers