Job opening: Accountant
Salary: $63 526 - 82 580 per year
Published at: Oct 02 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
The purpose of this position is to perform the full range of professional accounting work requiring the application of sound accounting principles, theories, concepts and practices. The incumbent will be assigned to the Financial Resource Management Service Line of the Seattle VA Medical Center.
Duties
Duties include, but are not limited to:
Provides assistance, performs review, analysis and evaluation of existing and proposed accounting practices. Responsible for fiscal law, rules, regulations, policies, automated accounting and non-accounting systems, and procedures pertinent to financial management or accounting matters within the department or program area assigned. Works on projects that require application of generally accepted principles, practices, and theories of professional accounting. Employee performs special projects and assignments for automated financial systems, daily review of accounting outputs, and maintains oversight of the edit master files. Works closely with systems personnel on the design of automated systems to facilitate the processing of accounting data to assure the results attained meet all accounting requirements. Performs special reviews and analyses to ensure the integrity of the general control system and prepares special reports and financial statements relating to the financial condition of specified program activities.
The Employee applies corresponding professional accounting knowledge and skills in the application of corrective procedures when necessary and provides technical advice and assistance to Budget Technicians and Analysts in the resolution of problems. Assists program managers in developing accounting data structure and participates in the planning, coordination, direction of meetings and telephone conferences associated with accounting closeouts or reorganization events. Reviews reports, directs and/or prepares and analyzes internal and external statements and reports. Examples include: Statement of Financial Conditions, Selected Data, Analysis of Costs Incurred and Statement of Selected Support Data. Makes day-to-day decisions regarding unusual and complex accounting transactions, and is available to consult on solution of management problems and to provide alternatives through sound application of professional knowledge of the accounting system.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Accountant/PD55043-A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 10/12/2023.
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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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 may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
Individual Occupational Requirements
The Accounting Series 0510 requires specific education or experience that must be met in order to be appointed into a position in this series. You must meet the pre-determined education OR experience requirement below as set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
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; OR
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.
In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) applicants must also meet the Specialized experience and/or directly related education relevant to this position: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below
Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Specialized experience is experience such as knowledge of accounting theories, concepts, practices, principles, methods and techniques as well as basic knowledge of programming and budgeting. The incumbent must also have knowledge of analytical tools and research techniques to identify actual and potential problems to solve accounting issues. The employee must have a knowledge of financial management and accounting systems, policies, and procedures to apply correct interpretations that directly supports accounting operations, interfacing systems and other resource management systems that interface with accounting systems to monitor, reconcile, and analyze a variety of accounting reports, ledgers and other accounting data. OR,
Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.B. or J.D. in a field related to this position that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR,
Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first graduate year or 18 semester hours to meet the total experience requirements.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
AccountingAnalytical ReasoningFinancial SystemsPrinciples of AccountingTechnical Credibility
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.
Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.
Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of items such as papers and books.
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/.
Education
A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here:
http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.
Contacts
- Address VA Puget Sound Health Care System
1660 South Columbian Way
Seattle, WA 98108
US
- Name: Mark Lemke
- Phone: 713-383-2353
- Email: [email protected]
Map