Staff Accountant

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management’s website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations e.g., professional; philanthropic, religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies; knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. This position has a basic education and specialized experience requirement described below: BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: A. Degree: 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- B. 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. The applicant’s background must also include one of the following: 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 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. You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: To qualify at the GS-11 level you must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Assisting in the recording or analyzing of financial accounting data of a commercial enterprise maintained in accordance with U.S. and/or foreign Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); and Assisting in the planning and performing of GAAP compliant financial statement audits or assisting in the preparing and analyzing of product cost calculations of commercial manufacturing enterprises. -OR- THE FOLLOWING EDUCATION MAY BE SUBSTITUTED FOR EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-11 LEVEL: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree; or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. -OR- A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE. When combined, the education and experience must meet the total qualification requirement. To qualify at the GS-12 level you must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as: Recording or analyzing financial accounting data of a commercial enterprise maintained in accordance with U.S. and/or foreign Generally Accepted Accounting principles (GAAP); and Planning and performing of GAAP compliant financial statement audits or preparing and analyzing product cost calculations of commercial manufacturing enterprises. Education may not be substituted for experience at the GS12 grade level.
This job opportunity announcement is to fill multiple Staff Accountant positions in the International Trade Administration, Enforcement & Compliance. This vacancy is OPEN CONTINUOUS FOR 6 MONTHS OR UNTIL ALL VACANCIES ARE FILLED. The initial application cut-off date is 10/16/2024, the remaining cut-off dates are listed below. (Cut-off dates and the closing date of this announcement may be adjusted as requested by the Hiring Office.) 11/16/2024 12/16/2024 1/16/2025 2/16/2025 3/17/2025