Accounting Department
The Town of Greenfield Accounting Department is responsible for overseeing all financial functions for the Town as described in Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 41 and the Greenfield Town Charter. The Town Accountant must maintain a complete set of ledgers and the amount of each appropriation, the amounts and purposes of expenditures made, the receipts from each source of income, the amount of each assessment levied, and the abatements made all in accord with the Director of Accounts and Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 44.
Purchasing/Procurement
Accounting must post all purchase orders to the appropriations ledger encumbering all funds committed by the departments. All purchases must be checked for compliance with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 30B. Encumbrance revisions are made as necessary. All departmental outstanding bills are reported to the Accounting Office and all encumbered funds at the close of the fiscal year are carried forward into the next fiscal year.
Accounts payable
The Accounting Department processes all invoices and bill schedules submitted for payment by the other departments. This includes preparing and submitting the warrants to the Town Accountant and Mayor for approval and to the Treasurer for payment. The Accounts Payable Clerk and the Town Accountant or Payroll Clerk checks each invoice for accuracy and legality.
Payroll
All payrolls submitted by the departments are processed and submitted on a warrant for payment by the Accounting Department. Payrolls are checked for accuracy and compliance with employment laws and Town policies. Payroll warrants are prepared and submitted to the Town Accountant and Mayor for approval and to the Treasurer for payment. At the close of each calendar year, W-2's are edited and prepared by the Accounting Department. The Accounting Department completes any program maintenance of the payroll software. The Department also maintains payroll records and files.
Revenue
The Accounting Office is responsible for recording and reporting cash receipts submitted by the Treasurer and other departments. A monthly report of all Town Revenues is prepared and submitted to the Mayor and Director of Administration and Finance. The Town Accountant must report and pay all sales taxes owed by the City of Greenfield.
Budgeting
The Town Accountant receives annual departmental budget requests and prepares theTown budget orders for approval. As approved by the Mayor and Town Council, budget revisions are processed and authorized. Departmental budgets and special revenue funds are inspected and balances are verified to ensure budgetary compliance. Any discrepancies are reported to the Mayor and the Director of Administration and Finance.
Reporting
The Accounting office prepares financial reports as required by the Department of Revenue and Town Officials including monthly departmental expenditures, Annual Providers Information Form (REAP Report), Schedule A, Annual Equal Employment Opportunity report, and information required by the Auditors. The Town Accountant must also submit the Balance Sheet and year-end Checklist to the Department of Revenue for the Annual Free Cash Certification. All vendor 1099's are edited and prepared by the Accounting Office. The Town Accountant must also submit a statement of all receipts and expenditures of the City for the past fiscal year for the Annual City Report.
Tax Recapulation
The Town Accountant works closely with the Assessors preparing Tax Recapitulation forms and information submitted to the Department of Revenue to set the annual tax rate. The Town Accountant must certify and submit to the Assessors a schedule of Local Estimated Receipts, Schedule A-1 Offset Receipts, Schedule A-2 Enterprise Funds, Schedule A-3 Revolving Funds authorized under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 44, Section 53 E1/2, Schedule B-1 Free Cash Certification and Appropriation, Schedule B-2 Sources and Uses of Other Available Funds, and Schedule OL-1 Overlay Account Balances.
Other Responsibilities
The Town Accountant has custody of all contracts and maintains sureties on all bonds of indemnity given to the City. The Accounting Office processes all Unemployment Compensation Reimbursable benefits owed by the City of Greenfield to the Massachusetts Division of Employment and Training. The Accounting Office also monitors all Worker's Compensation claims owed by the City. The Department is responsible for maintaining the policies for the City's liability insurances.
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