The Lead Accountant is responsible for the complete accounting program for the Cincinnati VA Medical Center and is responsible for maintaining appropriate daily transactions and updating records, computer-generated hard copy listing, subsidiary journals, operating ledger accounts and fund control point advising, administering, supervising and performing financial accounting work relating to all Accounting, Agent Cashier, and Audit activities.

Duties

Major duties include: Responsible for planning, establishing and maintaining a commercial-type double entry accounting system covering several appropriations, revolving funds, general post funds, personal funds of patients, research, grants and construction appropriations, and overall budget. Responsible for maintaining appropriate daily transactions and updating records, computer-generated hard copy listing, subsidiary journals, operating ledger accounts and fund control points. Identifies training needs and develops methods to provide the necessary training of new accounting employees and is available for questions on work from any current employee needing help. Responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Accounting Section relative to matters of policy, interpretation of regulations and procedures which are considered to be of greater than average difficulty. Responsible for the preparation, analysis, and submission of a variety of financial statements and reports to local management, VACO management, and other agencies or organizations which includes, Annual Report of Real Property, Annual Certification of Accounting Records, Audit of VA Consolidated Financial Statements, and other recurring and non-recurring reports. Responsible for verifying, analyzing and/or reconciling a very large number of computer-generated reports validating General Ledger control accounts to their related subsidiary records maintained in Finance, A&MMS, Voluntary Services, Medical Administration, Research, Prosthetics and Engineering and Facilities Management Services. Lead Accountant is responsible for distributing and balancing the workload among employees in accordance with established workflow or job specialization, assure timely accomplishment of the assigned workload, and assure each employee has enough complexity and volume of work to maximize department efficiency. The Lead Accountant will be expected to establish and maintain effective Standard Operating Procedures for all functions under the purview of Accounting within the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. Lead Accountant may be responsible for making Accounting related decisions; all decisions will be communicated to the Chief Accountant upon their availability. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00 - 4:30 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#: Lead Accountant/PD920310 Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/06/2023. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Basic Requirements You must upload your transcripts; and they must have the degree awarded and confer date on them.: 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. AND Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Skill in communication and interpersonal relations, including the ability to appropriately and courteously relate to internal and external customers. Knowledge of maintenance of confidentiality of patient/employee information, electronic and print. Knowledge of the medical center performance improvement program. Skill in how to work and function in the medical center in a safe manner, including infection control and the correct operation of equipment. Knowledge of Integrated Funds Distribution, Control Activity, Accounting & Procurement System (IFCAP) and Financial Management System (FMS), with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of how the systems interface and the ability to solve problems which arise within the systems. Knowledge of and the ability to interpret and apply applicable laws, policies and regulations pertaining to agency financial activities, i.e. VA Directives and Handbooks, Comptroller General Decisions, General Accounting Office Guidelines, General Services Administration and Treasury Department Regulations. Knowledge of fund control point accounting, allotment accounting, accrual accounting and double entry general ledger accounting systems which include assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and capital accounts. Ability to determine functional accounting requirements, assures interface with the larger automated management system, guides systems programming, develops functional tests, writes standard operating procedures, gives oral presentations, and attends meetings on system integration and problem resolution. Knowledge of the various automated accounting systems (IPPS, FMS, IFCAP, FASPAC, G Invoicing, Snapweb, BTSSS, VPFS, and EOS Thin Client formerly RSD) covering operations and expenses including, but not limited to payroll, travel, transportation, supplies, rents and services. Knowledge of appropriations, allotments, analysis accounts, cost accounts, general ledger accounts in a variety of funds, and applicable restrictions. Knowledgeable of fund and appropriation accounting concepts and procedures. Knowledge of every major division of operations to the extent needed to relate to service chiefs and concepts of reporting on an organizational level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: AccountingAccounting OperationsAudit ReportingAuditingCommunicationsComputer SkillsControl of FundsFinancial SystemsInternal ControlsPrinciples of AccountingTechnical CompetenceTechnical Problem Solving 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: Work is performed in a normal office setting. The work area is properly heated and cooled, well-lighted, well-ventilated, and easily accessible by stairs or elevator. 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

Below are the basic educational requirements for this position. You must upload your transcripts; and they must have the degree awarded and confer date on them.

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:

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;
2. 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.

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 Cincinnati VA Medical Center 3200 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45220 US
• Name: Stacy Reichert
• Email: [email protected]