The Accountant position is assigned to the Centralized Accounting Office (CAO) located in Augusta, GA and provides accounting services to eight VA Medical Centers throughout the Southeast assigned to VISN 7. The accountant position will provide accounting services to one of the eight facilities and may be expected to provide coverage to any 8 facilities.

Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to:

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/20/2024. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5, for a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. For the GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): All applicants must meet one of the following for this position: An accounting degree; 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.") Note to applicant: You must submit transcripts (with conferred date for full degree credit). OR A combination of education and experience at least 4 years of experience in accounting, or equivalent combination of accounting experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional accounting knowledge that includes 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. Grade Requirements: In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) above, you must also meet the following Minimum Grade Requirements listed below for each grade you are applying for. GS-5 Grade Determination: None beyond the above IOR. GS-7 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Examines accounting documents for proper accounting classification and authorization; Performs reconciliations; Analyzes a variety of accounts; Enters and processes data into various accounts and the general ledger; and Prepares monthly trial balances and financial reports. OR, Education: To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 year of graduate-level education OR superior academic achievement. SAA at the baccalaureate level in the coursework detailed above is fully qualifying. Applicants who wish to apply under this provision must submit proof from their educational institution that they meet one of the criteria listed below. To qualify for SAA, applicants must have completed all the requirements for a bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled and meet one of the following: Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university or major subdivision. A grade-point average of "B" (a GPA of 2.95 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. A grade point average of "B+" (a GPA of 3.45 or higher out of a possible 4.0) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study. Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. For a list of recognized honor societies please visit http://www.achsnatl.org/quick_link.asp. GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least 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: Analyzes and reconciles a variety of accounts and transactions; Applies Federal Accounting regulations, procedures, policies and precedents sufficient to carry out accounting functions; Formulates a variety of routine financial reports and implementing fiscal year-end closing procedures for specific funds; Participates in internal and external audits, systematic internal reviews, quality assurance programs, safety inspections and expenditure of appropriated funds; and Assists in applying financial data and recommending alternatives to resolve unique and difficult problems. OR, Education: To qualify based on education for this grade level you must 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree where such education/coursework demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position (Accounting/Finance).OR, Combination: You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate level education as described above. NOTE: GS-11 Qualifications continued in the Education Section Below. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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 generally sedentary. There is occasional lifting of computer-generated schedules and files. 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

GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Analyzes accounting systems or modifies and adapts conventional accounting and analytical techniques to solve a variety of accounting problems; Develops or modifies methods and techniques to resolve a variety of auditing problems; Plans, coordinates, and conducts audits and develops reports on working processes and accounting systems; Uses financial computer systems, such as the Financial Management System (FMS), and Integrated Funds Distribution Control Point Activity, Accounting and Procurement (IFCAP); and Performs monthly reconciliation of subsidiary record balances with the applicable General ledger balances and ensure corrections are made.

OR,

Education: To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree where such education/coursework demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position (Accounting/Finance).OR,

Combination: You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate level education as described above. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address VISN 7 DIRECTORS OFFICE VA Southeast Network 3700 Crestwood Parkway, NW Duluth, GA 30096 US
• Name: Chijioke Okereke
• Email: [email protected]