Accountant

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/18/2024. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09.The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You must meet the following basic requirements within the Individual Occupational Requirements below: Degree: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree that included a major study in accounting; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting. The 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in business law. (The term “accounting” means “accounting and/or auditing” in this standard. Similarly, “accountant” should be interpreted, generally, as “accountant and/or auditor.”) OR, Combination of education and experience: at least 4 years of experience in accounting, or an equivalent combination of accounting experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional accounting knowledge. AND Your background must also include one of the following: 1. Twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality. This can include up to 6 hours of business law; A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; OR, 3. Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in accounting or auditing, e.g., 15 semester hours, but that does not fully satisfy the 24-semester-hour requirement of paragraph A, provided that (a) the applicant has successfully worked at the full-performance level in accounting, auditing, or a related field, e.g., valuation engineering or financial institution examining; (b) a panel of at least two higher level professional accountants or auditors has determined that the applicant has demonstrated a good knowledge of accounting and of related and underlying fields that equals in breadth, depth, currency, and level of advancement that which is normally associated with successful completion of the 4-year course of study described in paragraph A; and (c) except for literal nonconformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, the applicant’s education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements. In addition to meeting the basic requirements within the Individual Occupational Requirements, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-7 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-5) in the Federal service that has equipped me with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: consulting with internal and external customers regarding basic accounting policies, systems, and procedures; basic computer skills to utilize accounting and word processing software to prepare accounting reports; providing advice and assistance on transactions requiring professional accounting determinations; monitoring reports to identify and correct any out of balance conditions. OR, Education: Successful completion of one (1) year of graduate education. OR, Education: (Superior Academic Achievement): A Bachelor’s degree with Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.), which recognizes students who have achieved superior academic standing as evidenced by one of the three methods described below. OR, Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate-level education and specialized experience. GS-9 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the Federal service that has equipped me with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: reviewing and processing accounting documents; preparing related reports and initiating corrective actions; utilizing methods and techniques required to perform assignments using accounting procedures and practices; performing account reconciliations, audits, and regular reviews to ensure integrity of accounting data in the computerized systems. OR, Education: Successful completion of two (2) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master’s degree or master’s or equivalent graduate degree. OR, Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate-level education and specialized experience. GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal service that has equipped me with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: utilizing accounting principles on a daily basis, providing guidance to accounting staff regarding organization budget activities, providing advice to management in regards to faclity budget information, reviewing and certifying account reconciliations, audits,and regular reviews to ensure integrity of accounting data. OR, Education: Successful completion of thee (3) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR, Combination: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate-level education and specialized experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accounting Operations Audit Reporting Financial Systems Principles of Accounting Physical Requirements: The subject position is primarily of an administrative nature in an office setting; however, there is periodic walking, standing, bending, carrying of light items. Incumbent will spend a significant portion of their day utilizing a personal computer, including a keyboard and mouse, and a telephone. Government travel for training or meetings may be required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
This position is located in the Fiscal Service at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center. The primary purpose of the position is to perform a range of accounting work in a developmental capacity. Upon meeting regulatory and performance requirements incumbent may be promoted non competitively to the target level of GS-11.