Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below:
• Application Opening: Friday, October 28, 2022
• Application Deadline: Friday, November 18, 2022
• Compensation Range: $109,044.00 to $132,522.00 Click here for more information.
• Recruitment ID: CBT-4222-127206

This is a City-wide Exam. This exam is conducted by the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector; however, candidates on the final eligible list/score report may be considered for positions at both the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector and the Office of the Assessor-Recorder.

OUR MISSION

The Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector serves as the banker, tax collector, collection agent, and investment officer for the City and County of San Francisco. As the entity responsible for safeguarding the City’s money, the Office uses this expertise and authority to assist San Francisco residents through award-winning programs and initiatives that help low-income families build economic security and mobility.

OUR VISION

We are committed to providing excellent services for taxpayers, customers, and our community. By promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, we are a stronger, smarter, and more informed government agency.

THE JOB

Under general supervision in the Office of the Assessor-Recorder or the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector, the Senior Tax Auditor-Appraiser works both in the field and the office examining, analyzing and evaluating accounting, financial and operational records and documents, and/or property and fixtures in connection with the administration of property tax and business taxes (such as payroll expense tax, gross receipts tax, transient occupancy tax, parking tax, etc.) administered by these departments.

May act as lead worker to subordinate professional, technical, and clerical staff.

EXAMPLES OF IMPORTANT AND ESSENTIAL DUTIES

According to Civil Service Commission Rule 109, the duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to this job code/class and are not intended to be an inclusive list.

1. Examines and analyzes difficult and complex business and commercial accounting, financial and operational records and documents in order to verify that the records accurately reflect the cost of taxable assets, gross receipts and payroll expenses and related accounts reported on tax renditions.

2. Makes on-site visits to businesses to update business information and appraise property such as fixtures, office and restaurant equipment and leasehold improvements in order to determine the correct market value of taxable property.

3. Makes on-site visits to businesses to inspect and observe general business operations, activities and records in order to update information and verify that taxpayers' gross receipts, fees, and payroll expenses are in conformity with what has been recorded.

4. Communicates with taxpayers and their representatives in person, on the telephone and in writing, to resolve problems, review audit findings and to explain pertinent laws, regulations, codes and procedures to ensure correct reporting of payroll expense, gross receipts, fees, and correct tax assessments.

5. Summarizes and documents audit and appraisal determinations by writing narratives and reports outlining the scope of examinations and inspections, procedures used and findings; makes recommendations and/or adjustments based on findings of audit/appraisal.

6. Instructs new and subordinate auditors in departmental policies and procedures, auditing methods, and use and application of city and state tax codes and ordinances; may supervise the activities of auditors and clerical staff in the absence of the principal auditor.

7. Prepares appeal packages for properties under assessment appeal; may testify and/or present before an Appeals Board and/or tax hearings or other quasi-judicial bodies.

May incldue additional duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Requires possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in accounting, including at least twenty-four (24) semester units or thirty-six (36) quarter units of accounting and/or auditing courses.

Experience:

Two (2) years of verifiable professional-level accounting or auditing experience in the appraisal and assessment of personal property tax or payroll and business tax, including experience reviewing and verifying the accuracy of accounting reports, equivalent to the duties of Class 4220 Tax Auditor-Appraiser.

License and Certification:

Positions at the Office of the Assessor-Recorder require eligibility for certification from the California State Board of Equalization as an appraiser for property tax purposes. In accordance with the California State Board of Equalization, appointees to this class must possess or obtain permanent certification as an appraiser for property tax purposes within one (1) year of appointment and must maintain certification as a condition of continued employment.

Substitution:

Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education; however, no substitution is allowed for the twenty-four (24) semester units or thirty-six (36) quarter units of Accounting and/or Auditing courses. One (1) year of experience is equivalent to thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units.

Four (4) years of verifiable professional-level experience as financial auditor or accountant preparing financial statements and managerial reports, which must have included two (2) of auditing experience reviewing and preparing audited financial statements and tax returns, may be substituted for the required experience.

Supplemental Information: May drive a motor vehicle to businesses and inspection sites; work may entail travel outside the City and County.

Verification: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found here.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco. All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.
Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

SELECTION PROCEDURES

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ)
Candidates will be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Supplemental Questionnaire (Weight - 100%)
Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be provided a Supplemental Questionnaire (SQ). The SQ will provided electronically via email within a few weeks after the closing of the job posting and must be returned electronically prior to a predetermined deadline to be scored by our Subject Matter Experts.  Candidates must achieve a passing score on the SQ in order to be ranked on the eligible list/score report.

The SQ is designed to measure knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job related areas which may include but not be limited to: 

Knowledge of general accounting and auditing principles and practices; methods used to audit and verify commercial accounting and bookkeeping entries, financial records and reports; laws, codes and ordinances applicable to auditing and assessment processes; methods used in the appraisal of commercial and industrial properties and fixtures for personal property tax or business tax purposes; laws, codes and ordinances applicable to auditing and assessment processes.

Ability and Skill to identify, extract, analyze and interpret information required to correctly determine tax obligation; effectively prioritize, coordinate and schedule multiple appointments and assignments; prepare clear, concise and accurate narrative audit reports, memos and correspondence; interact effectively and courteously with the public; establish and maintain effective working relationships; speak clearly, concisely and effectively in order to communicate work-related information; instructs new auditors; use a personal computer to research, extract and process information and prepare correspondence and reports.

Eligible List/Score Report: A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of 12 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

The certification rule for this recruitment will be Rule of 10.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:
Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website here.

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website here.
 

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

Information About the Hiring Process

Conviction History

Employee Benefits Overview

Equal Employment Opportunity

Disaster Service Worker

ADA Accommodation

Veterans Preference

Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams

Right to Work

Copies of Application Documents

Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY
Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit here to begin the application process. Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst Gerald Buss at [email protected].
 

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.