Senior Accountant

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 10/17/2024. Note: Applicants must meet both the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) and the Specialized Experience as stated below. Individual Occupational Requirements Basic Requirements 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 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. Specialized Experience in addition to the IOR:GS-14 grade level: Applicant must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the federal or other service. Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: 1) Managing and directing activities involved with assuring the integrity of the organization’s financial accounting and reporting activities (2) Performing a wide variety of duties related to accounting policy and reporting of costs, revenues, disbursements, assets, liabilities, and other financial transactions; mastery of theories, concepts, practices and techniques of the organization’s accounting principles; (3) interpreting complex legislative and regulatory accounting policy guidance (4) analyzing accounting and budgetary information; AND (5) overseeing the accomplishment of work that requires extensive coordination of simultaneous financial management input across organizational lines and within the department. There is no educational substitution for Specialized Experience at the GS-14 level. Note: 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; religions; 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.
The Senior Accountant position is located in the Accounting Policy and Reporting Staff (APRS), Office of Financial Management (OFM), within the Veterans Benefits Administration. The incumbent serves as a specialist in the overall accounting, reporting, and financial systems development for assigned VBA programs and services. The incumbent will serve as an advisor to the Division Chief and Director of APRS.