Salary : $73,004.10 - $93,965.04 Annually
Location : Metro Transit, Madison, WI
Job Type: PERMANENT FULL TIME
Job Number:
Department: Metro Transit
Opening Date: 08/25/2026
Closing Date: 9/2/2026 4:59 PM Central
Comp. Group/Range: 44/6 or 44/8

General Description
This is responsible entry level professional accounting work preparing financial statements, analyzing expenditures, conducting audits, and backing up Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant and procurement activities. Work requires broad-based accounting knowledge and is characterized by the exercise of judgement and discretion. Work is performed under the direction of the Transit Finance Manager.

This series is structured to provide advancement from Transit Accountant 1 to Transit Accountant 2 to Transit Accountant 3 as a function of the employee's career development and generally occurs after two years gaining experience, mastery and greater independence at each level.

The Transit Accountant 1starts at $73,004.10 annually and the Transit Accountant 2 starts at $79,185.60 annually. Classification level will be determined at the time of hire and will be based on the candidate's overall qualifications.
Employees may be eligible for loan forgiveness through thePublic Service Loan Forgiveness Program

NOTE: There are short answer questions as part of this application. Answers are required and may be used to determine which candidates move forward in the process following a screening of minimum qualifications. Click on the Supplemental Questions tab to view.
Examples of Duties and Responsibilities

Transit Accountant 1

General Accounting

• Assist with
  • monitoring operating budget and compile budget-to-actual information
  • annual audit tasks
  • account reconciliations and closeouts
  • periodic physical inventories of supplies, parts, and equipment
  • preparing and distributing fiscal materials
  • preparing journal voucher entries

Accounts Payable and Receivable Accounting

• Create and maintain active purchase orders and process accounts payable
• Audit and reconcile invoices and purchases and respond to routine questions
• Reconcile payments and prepare invoices
• Monitor and assign incoming credits and debits to ledger accounts

Budget and Grants Accounting

• Month-end and year-end closing duties
• Assist in preparing grant drawdown and reimbursement requests
• Assist in processing accounting entries for grants and capital projects and preparing related financial reports

Perform related work as assigned
Minimum Qualifications

Transit Accountant 1

• Two (2) years of progressively responsible accounting experience
• Proficiency in accounting related computer software programs

-OR-

• Degree in Accounting or closely related field such as Finance, including completion of advanced-level accounting major coursework; AND
• Proficiency in accounting related computer software programs

Transit Accountant 2

• Four (4) years of progressively responsible accounting experience
• Proficiency in accounting related computer software programs

-OR-

• Degree in Accounting or closely related field such as Finance, including completion of advanced-level accounting major coursework; AND
• Two (2) years of progressively responsible accounting experience; AND
• Proficiency in accounting related computer software programs

The City of Madison strives to provide exceptional customer service to all its residents and visitors. Therefore, successful candidates will have demonstrated ability to effectively work with multicultural communities.

For a complete list of the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, please see the
Special Requirements

Ability to meet the transportation needs of the position.

Physical requirements:

This work is primarily done sitting/standing at a desk, using a computer and other standard office equipment. Ability to access various areas of the agency in order to do inventory.
The City of Madison offers excellent pay and benefits for employees. City Ordinances, handbooks, and labor contracts provide specifics; the description here is not to be considered a binding statement but offers an informal summary.
Compensation
The City of Madison strives to pay competitive wages. View the current for pay for all classifications. Employees receive increases based on tenure with the City.
Benefits
The City offers a competitive benefits package, including a generous leave package, a variety of insurance options, and non-traditional benefits such as optional pet insurance, a bus pass for all employees, and the possibility of flexible work schedules. A brief summary of benefits is listed below. Please visit our for more information.

Leave
Vacation is earned upon starting employment and can be used after completion of probation. The general vacation schedule is below.
After 1 year 5 work days of vacation
After 2 years 10 days
After 7 years 15 days
After 12 years 20 days
After 19 years 25 days
After 27 years 27 days
Employees earn 5 personal days in addition to vacation.
Employees receive eight official paid holidays (New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day), as well as 1 paid leave day (the Friday after Thanksgiving).

Employees also earn 13 sick days annually that may accrue to a total of 150 days.

Retirement
The City of Madison participates in the Wisconsin Retirement System through the State of Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds.
Insurance
The City of Madison offers a variety of optional insurance programs including:

• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Income Continuation Insurance (for short and long-term disability)
• Long Term Care Insurance

Other Benefits
The City offers numerous other benefits and programs for employees, including:
• 457(b) deferred compensation plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Bus Pass on Madison Metro
• Flexible Work Schedules
• Employer-paid Training
01

Below you will be asked to respond to checkbox questions as well as provide short answers in a text box. You may prepare your answers in another document and then 'cut and paste' your response into each text box. Otherwise, you can work on your response within the application and save your work to come back later, as needed. Please be sure to provide a complete response to each question.Please note: These questions are used as a supplemental screening in the case of a large candidate pool. Marking that you have no experience on a question doesn't necessarily mean you will be screened out of the process.

• I understand that my response is required as part of the application and may be used to determine who will move forward in the process.

02

Please list which financial software programs you have used.
03

In the above software, list the program you used and the financial tasks you used it for.
04

Do you have any experience with the financial side of grants?

• Yes
• No

05

If you answered yes to question 4, please describe what financial tasks you did related to grants. (This is required if you answered yes to question 4.)
06

Do you have any experience in public accounting?

• Yes
• No

07

If you answered yes to question 6, please list the public employer, your job title, and accounting duties with that employer. (This is required if you answered yes to question 6.)
08

Please check the tasks you have experience and/or education with. Check all that apply.

• assisting with the budget preparation
• assisting with audit, including preparing workpapers or pulling supporting documentation
• physical inventory counts and reconciling counts to inventory or ledger records
• preparing journal entries of journal vouchers
• creating or maintaining purchase orders
• preparing bills or invoices
• reconciling general ledger accounts
• assigning transactions, credits, and debits to the correct general ledger accounts
• month-end or year-end closing tasks
• pivot tables
• Lookup functions such as VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, or INDEX, and MATCH
• none of the above

Required Question