Career Opportunities

Veterans’ Preference will be applied to those competitors who are successful in this examination and who qualify for, and have requested, Veterans’ Preference through the CA Department of Human Resources. Veterans who have achieved permanent civil service status are not eligible to receive Veterans’ Preference.

Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications as stated below may apply for this examination. Once you have list eligibility, you may not reapply for twelve (12) months from your examination’s cut-off date. All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this examination announcement. Candidates that are unsuccessful in the exam must wait six (6) months from the cut-off date 
before reapplying to take the exam.

Applications (STD 678) must be postmarked or received no later than the final filing cut-off date. Applications postmarked after the cut-off date, or received via inter-office mail or personally delivered after 5:00 p.m. on the cut-off date will be held for the next administration of the examination. Faxed or emailed applications will not be accepted. The examination title must be indicated on the application.

*File by Mail:
State Controller’s Office
HR – Talent Management Unit
P.O. Box 942850-5877
Sacramento, CA 94250-5877
Attn: Sven Eastlund

*File in Person:
State Controller’s Office
HR – Talent Management Unit
300 Capitol Mall, Suite 300
Sacramento, CA 95814
Attn: Sven Eastlund

*Candidates are responsible for obtaining proof of mailing or submission of their application to the Talent Management Unit

If you have a disability and wish to participate in one of our testing services, programs, or activities and require a specific accommodation, please mark the appropriate box for Question #2 on the Examination Application form STD678. You will be contacted to make specific arrangements. TDD users may contact the California Relay Service TDD line at 1-800-735-2929, Voice Line at 1-800-735-2922.

Accepted candidates are required to bring their Notice to Appear and either a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification to each phase of the examination.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements for this examination by the established cut-off date. Your signature on the application indicates that you read, understand, and possess the minimum qualifications required, and that the information provided is true and complete to the best of your knowledge. 

All applications must include: “to” and “from” dates (month/day/year), time base, civil service or private sector titles, the duties performed, and an original signature. Applications received without this information will be rejected.

Note: Qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as “Either I,” “or II,” “or III,” etc. For example: Candidates, who possess qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern I and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern II, may be admitted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirements.

Either I
One year of experience in California state service performing clerical duties at a level of responsibility not less than that of an Office Assistant (Typing), Range B; an Office Assistant (General), Range B; or an Account Clerk

Or II
Eighteen months of clerical experience outside of State service performing audit, accounting, or record-keeping duties. (Academic education above the 12th grade may be substituted for one year of the required general experience, on the basis of 12 semester hours being equivalent to one year of experience.)

And
Education: Equivalent to completion of the 12th grade. In appraising the relative qualifications of candidates, consideration will be given to the extent and type of pertinent education above the 12th grade, such as professional accounting courses given by a certified residence or business school.

Click on the link below to review the CA State Personnel Board class specification that contains the requirements for admittance to the exam:

https://hrnet.calhr.ca.gov/CalHRNet/SpecCrossReference.aspx?ClassID=1771

It is anticipated that the Supplemental Application Questionnaire will be mailed approximately 2 months after the cut-off date.

This examination will consist of a Supplemental Application Questionnaire weighted 100%. In order to obtain a position on the eligible list, a minimum score of 70% must be attained. 

Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis. Testing is considered continuous, as new examination dates may be set at any time as departmental needs warrant. Each new cut-off date will be publicized to ensure that applicants have adequate time to complete and submit an application.

Note: If conditions warrant, this examination may utilize an evaluation of each candidate’s experience and education compared to a standard developed from the class specification. For this reason, it is especially important that each candidate take special care in accurately and completely filling out their application. List all experience relevant to the “Minimum Qualifications” shown on this bulletin, even if that experience goes beyond the seven-year limit printed on the application. Supplementary information will be accepted, but read the “Minimum Qualifications” carefully to see what kind of information will be useful to the staff doing the evaluation.

A Departmental Open spot eligible list will be established for the State Controller’s Office in Sacramento County. The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the list in order of final scores, regardless of date. Competitors’ eligibility will expire 12 months after it is established unless the needs of the service and conditions of the list warrant a change in this period. For a classification with a merged list, it is the competitor’s responsibility to reapply for and be successful in the examination in order to maintain eligibility after 12 months.

Positions in this series examine claim schedules; review contracts for sufficiency of law; resolve controversies arising from audits with staff from agencies or local governments; apply new or pertinent statutory provisions, regulations, court decisions, Attorney General Opinions, and administrative rules and regulations to claims against the State; confer with staff of State departments and local governments to explain new and/or amended procedures, statutes, court decisions, legal opinions, and/or administrative policies governing the payment of claims. Claim Auditors may also be required to complete 
correspondence for the return of improper claims for corrections or deletion of questionable items on claim schedules; return improper, invalid, or illegal claims; and approve valid claim schedules. 

Knowledge of:

1. Personal computers and claim audit databases in order to prepare written summaries of claim correction for errors and claim rejection letters for lead auditor review.
2. Office procedures (e.g., filing, answering telephones) in order to perform daily assigned duties.

Ability to:

1. Make sound decisions and recommendations in order to approve or deny claims.
2. Communicate effectively in order to accomplish necessary tasks and assignments.
3. Use standard office equipment and machines including personal computer, fax machine, copy machine, telephone and calculator in order to perform work assignments.
4. Work under pressure of tight timeframes in order to effectively complete projects and assignments.
5. Flexible in adapting to changes in priorities, work assignments and other interruptions in order to effectively complete projects and assignments.
6. Maintain confidentiality in order to protect sensitive information and issues relating to the department’s direction, policies, changes, and personnel.
7. Conduct research using database, files, reference manuals, and other sources in order to perform claim audits functions.
8. Identify appropriate resources in order to answer specific inquiries from other various agencies.
9. Perform basic mathematical computations using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages, and averages in order to solve numerical problems.
10. Maintain compliance with various regulatory and policy manuals in order to effectively perform necessary tasks assigned.
11. Establish and maintain cooperative relationships when dealing with the needs, problems, and concerns of outside agencies in order to process claims promptly.
12. Use word processing software in order to prepare correction letters, memos, correspondence, and other job-related documents and materials.
13. Handle irate individuals by making appropriate statements in order to minimize argumentation.

1. Demonstrate professionalism within the office environment.
2. Act independently, open-mindedness, flexibility and tact.

None

None

Veterans’ Preference will be applied to those competitors who are successful in this examination and who qualify for, and have requested, Veterans’ Preference through the CA Department of Human Resources. Veterans who have achieved permanent civil service status are not eligible to receive Veterans’ Preference.

Career Credits will not be added to the final score of this examination.

For more information regarding this examination, please contact Sven Eastlund at 916-324-0810.

For an examination without an advertised examination date, it is the candidate's responsibility to contact the State Controller's Office Talent Management Unit at 916-445-7748 three (3) weeks after the final filing date if they has not received a progress notice. 

If a candidate’s notice of examination fails to reach them three (3) days prior to their scheduled examination date due to verified postal error, the candidate will be rescheduled upon written request.

Examination Locations: Examinations will be administered in locations deemed appropriate for the examination type and in accordance with the candidate pool and departmental resources. Examinations may not be administered in all areas. Candidates may be asked to travel to the nearest examination location at their own expense.

Applications are available at https://jobs.ca.gov/pdf/STD678.pdf, CA Department of Human Resources (CalHR) offices, local offices of the Employment Development Department (EDD), and the State Controller's Office.

If you meet the requirements stated on this bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirement does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in this examination will be compared with the performance of the others who take this examination, and all candidates who pass will be ranked according to their scores. 

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) Sub-Divisional Promotional, 2) Departmental Promotional, 3) Multi-Departmental Promotional, 4) Servicewide Promotional, 5) Departmental Open, and 6) Open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older list must be used first. Eligible lists will expire 12 months after established unless the needs of service and conditions of the list warrant a change in this period.

General Qualifications: Candidates must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, and ability to work cooperatively with others; and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Veterans’ Preference: Pursuant to Assembly Bill 372, Veterans’ Preference will be awarded as follows, starting January 1, 2014:

1. Any veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran, who achieves a passing score in an open examination, shall be ranked in the top rank of the resulting eligibility list.
2. Any veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released is not eligible for Veterans’ Preference.
3. Veterans’ Preference is not granted once a person achieves permanent civil service status (Permanent State civil service status means the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in their position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This includes permanent intermittent, part-time, and full-time appointments. In addition, individuals who at any time achieved permanent State civil service status and subsequently resigned or were dismissed from State civil service are not eligible to receive Veterans’ Preference). 

Veteran status is verified by the CA Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans’ Preference are on the Veterans’ Preference Application (CalHR Form 1093) which is available at https://www.jobs.ca.gov/CalHRPublic/Landing/Jobs/VeteransInformation.aspx or from the CA Department of Human Resources, 1515 S Street, North Building, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95811 and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

The State Controller’s Office reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all competitors will be notified.