The City of Statesville, NC – just north of Charlotte- seeks a finance executive with significant governmental accounting experience to serve as its next Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The Statesville CFO must balance daily operational matters effectively with annual tasks and strategic planning. This executive should have experience modernizing finance departments with demonstrable success in implementing new policies and procedures to increase efficiency and productivity. The ideal candidate is a strong collaborator and visionary – a big-picture thinker yet attentive to detail.
The City of Statesville manages electric, water, sewer, and airport services in addition to traditional general fund operations. In fact, Statesville was the first municipality in the State of North Carolina to provide electric service to its community members. The City, which employs 542 staff (full and part-time) across 14 departments, is finalizing its strategic plan, which will address future growth and the importance of preserving the culture and history of Statesville.
Reporting to the City Manager, the CFO oversees and coordinates the entire finance function, including Accounting, Payroll, Purchasing, Utility Billing, Collections, and Information Technology. The CFO must ensure the City complies with generally accepted accounting principles and disburse all funds in strict compliance with the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act. The CFO is also responsible for efficiently procuring goods and services to support City activities, preparing statements of financial condition, supervising the receipt, deposit, and investment of City funds, and maintaining records concerning bonded debt and other obligations of the City.
The CFO will assist in developing and monitoring the City’s budget. The recently adopted FY 24-25 budget of $178.4M, which is supported by a tax rate of $.5178 per $100 of assessed tax value, includes: General Fund: $72.8M; Electric: $55.7M; and the Water & Sewer Fund: $31.6M. The CFO oversees 13 staff members, including four direct reports: Assistant Finance Director, Customer Service Manager/Revenue Officer, and Purchasing Agent. The next CFO will join a nationally recognized municipality. For over 20 consecutive years, the City of Statesville has been awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA). Statesville is proud to have also been awarded the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation award for its annual budget for the 23rd consecutive year.
Following the adoption of a new capital plan and considerations for using debt to finance more infrastructure, the next CFO will effectively guide staff and the Council through implementing a new approach and processes. Additionally, the CFO will collaborate frequently with key stakeholders, including but not limited to City leadership, Council, financial advisors, Bond Attorneys, and community members, especially regarding the City’s first upcoming bond rating process and the computation and explanation of revenue-neutral tax calculations.
The ideal candidate will have experience working for municipalities that manage their own utilities. Statesville’s electric utility uses Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) accounting. The new CFO needs to either have knowledge of or the capacity to learn the differences between a FERC chart of accounts and traditional government enterprise accounting in order to assess the pros and cons of changing the accounting methods for the electric utility.
Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or related field. CPA and/or MBA preferred. Five years of progressive leadership experience in governmental finance or organization-wide financial management, including two years of supervisory experience. An equivalent combination of education, training and experience will be considered. North Carolina Local Government Finance Officers Certification is required within one year of hire, contingent upon the availability of the courses. Must have the ability to be bonded and possess a valid driver’s license in the State of North Carolina.
