The Public Service Commission seeks a regulatory accounting, financial, or economic professional to aid our agency in exercising oversight of some of the largest essential industries within Montana to ensure fair prices, responsible business practices, and reliable services for Montana customers who rely upon them. This position offers a unique opportunity to work with an innovative state agency. The successful candidate will join our team of Public Utility Rate Analysts who find the work to be interesting, meaningful, and critical to our agency’s goal of serving the citizens of Montana extraordinarily well.

Duties:

• Applies accounting, finance, and business management methods for evaluating and regulating a wide range of public utility matters, including emerging technology.
• Provides advice and recommendations regarding accounting, financial, technical, operational, and policy issues related to the regulation of public utilities.
• Analyzes and evaluates utility rate applications and other regulatory filings, and issues financial, accounting, and business perspectives to determine the reasonableness of revenue requests, capital structures, rates of return, depreciation rates, expense items, rate designs and other proposals.
• Examines rate increase requests and other filings for compliance with utility accounting standards established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”).
• Assists in the discovery process as appropriate in contested case proceedings.
• Prepares questions and information for the cross-examination of utility and intervener witnesses for rate hearings.
• Audits utility financial records and information.
• Prepares documents that summarize testimony and issues that may be examined during public hearings; analyzes record evidence. Formulates conclusions and recommendations on ratemaking and policy issues; and presents recommendations in writing and verbally at Commission business meetings and work sessions.
• Prepares reports to support analysis and assists in preparing Commission orders and notices. 
• Assists in the ongoing process of reviewing agency regulations and, when appropriate, implementing revised or new regulations.
• Assesses the regulatory impacts of draft legislation and as directed by the Commission, represents the Commission in outside proceedings.

Required Application Materials:

A completed Montana state application.
A cover letter describing how your professional career, experience, and education prepared you to meet the requirements of this position.
A resume detailing relevant work experience including employer, dates of employment (month & year-start & end), and reason for leaving.
All applicants selected for interviews will be required to submit educational certificates. 

Competencies: 

• Knowledge of financial accounting and reporting.
• General knowledge of accounting theory, principles, and practices.
• Knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
• Strong organizational, analytical, investigative, problem-solving, and critical thinking abilities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Microsoft Office including proficiency creating and managing spreadsheets.
• Flexibility, impartiality, and attention to detail.
• Ability to maintain a strong work ethic and commitment to high standards of professional integrity. 
• Ability to work independently and with a team.
• Ability to build and maintain good interpersonal relationships with work associates and internal and external constituencies.
• Ability to interpret and analyze accounting records, rules, and policies.
• Ability to learn and apply utility accounting and ratemaking theory and law, stay current with industry events, federal regulatory policies, laws, and PSC    policies.
• Ability to provide oral and written presentations of complex topics to non-expert audiences is essential.
• Ability to organize workloads in such a manner that assignments are completed on time with minimal supervision.
• Ability to publicly present information in front of cameras and audiences. 

A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or economics and two years of job-related regulatory experience. Consideration will be given to candidates with other college degrees if significant accounting, finance, or economic course-work or analytical skills are demonstrated.  Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered. 

A CPA license is preferred.

About Department of Publics Service Regulation

The Montana Department of Public Service Regulation (DPSR) is a small state agency with a big impact. We are headed by 5 elected commissioners (the Commission) representing every region of beautiful Montana. Commonly referred to as the Public Service Commission (PSC), our agency is staffed by a team of approximately 30 professionals in the Legal, Regulatory, and Administrative Services Divisions. The PSC is responsible for supervising monopolistic industries within Montana to ensure fair prices, responsible business practices, and sustainable, reliable service for the Montana customers who rely upon them. Regulated industries currently include privately held power, water, sewer, telecommunications, sanitation, and certain commercial transportation providers. The PSC also plays a vital role in railway and pipeline safety. The agency is developing a clear and well-defined strategic plan to enhance our operations, work environment, and value to the public. This provides a unique opportunity for the successful candidate to have a hand in shaping our operations and culture. Our team includes seasoned leaders with expertise and institutional knowledge coupled with newly elected commissio...ners with innovative ideas for the organization. Employees enjoy a personable work environment. Staff members are encouraged to cross-train with other positions, affording themselves the opportunity for diversified professional experiences and advancement. The PSC provides ample parking in a private parking lot immediately adjacent to our ground-floor office space, and the building is conveniently located between two of Helena’s least congested thoroughfares -- making the drive, walk or ride to work quick and easy. About the Community The Public Service Commission makes its home in the city of Helena. Helena is located in Lewis and Clark County, situated less than three hours from Yellowstone National Park and just over three hours from Glacier National Park. Helena is both the capital of Montana and the county seat for Lewis and Clark County. Helena is known as the Queen City of the Rockies and has a rich history originating from a gold rush boom that fueled the development of the beautifully preserved Victorian architecture that makes up the city’s historic district. Helena’s community life in the City is abundant and alive with theaters, museums, fairs, rodeos, and art centers. The Helena area has a robust public school system, and is proudly home to Carroll College, a private liberal arts institution and Helena College, a two-year public satellite location of the University of Montana. Being ideally located for outdoor enthusiasts near the wide Missouri River and the rugged Rocky Mountains, Helena provides opportunities for hunting, fishing, swimming, camping, water-skiing, and boating. Downtown Helena offers access to the second largest city park, second to New York’s Central Park, with 1738 acres of open and undeveloped parkland, including Mount Ascension Park and Mount Helena City Park with more than 90 miles of hiking, running, and biking trails. About Montana Living in the great state of Montana brings great opportunity! Montana has several local nicknames that speak to what you can expect, including "Big Sky Country" and "The Treasure State", and slogans that include "Land of the Shining Mountains" and more recently "The Last Best Place". Overall, Montana is populated by just over 7 people per square mile, meaning traffic jams are essentially nonexistent - except when summer tourists fill our parks or an occasional herd of animals blocks a road. Montana contains numerous mountain ranges in the western half of the state, while vast prairies and badlands are predominant in the East. Montana is comprised of seven large city districts: Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Missoula, Great Falls, Helena, and Kalispell. Many nearby towns provide abundant opportunities for small town living. The economy is primarily based on natural resources including ranching, grain farming, oil, gas, coal, hard-rock mining, and logging. The health care, service industry, and government also add to the state's economy. The state's fastest-growing industry is tourism. Nearly 13 million tourists annually visit Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Beartooth Highway, Flathead Lake, Big Sky Resort, and other Montana tourist attractions. Ready for adventure and a new career? Please consider applying and working at the best agency in Montana!

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