The incumbent serves as an Accountant under Fiscal Service for the Department of Veterans Affairs at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center - Bronx N.Y.

Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to: Responsible for all activities normally identifiable with the professional accounting system in accordance with applicable Federal laws, Comptroller General's decisions, VA policies, program guides and operating standards, and for directing and guiding the work of the employees of the Accounting Section engaged in discharging the responsibility. Responsible for the coordination and interpretation of all accounting activities including General Ledger Accounting, Allotment Ledger Accounting, Cost Accounting, General Post Fund Accounting, and Budgetary Accounting procedures necessary to accurately record the financial activities of the Medical Center and to preserve historical records of financial transactions. Responsible for the application of generally accepted accounting principles to all financial transactions, for the interpretation of laws, regulations, policy and procedures to accounting activities in addition to other duties as assigned by the supervisor. Responsible for maintaining a continuing review of systems and procedures as related to the flow of documents, covering financial transactions from the operating activities to be recorded in the formal accounting records; studies procedures and implements revised methods where necessary to insure maximum efficiency and utilization of personnel. Responsible for conducting continuing reviews of accounting transactions which requires the application of generally accepted accounting principles to ensure technical accuracy of these transactions. The incumbent is assigned to assist with and perform periodic financial audits and internal reviews of other sections of the Fiscal Program: Such audits and reviews include, but are not limited to, the Fiscal Quality Assurance Program as per VHA Handbook 1730.02 and other audits by outside auditors. Responsible for the analysis of cost accounting reports, fund status reports together with other accounting reports arid for the preparation of summary statements setting forth pertinent facts regarding information reflected in the reports together with possible solutions to problem areas. Responsible for the development and maintenance of reports for management information(which may include graphs, tables and/ or charts) contained in financial records, accounting section workload trends, personnel employment and other data as necessary. Budgetary and cost data will be coordinated with the incumbent. Responsible for the accurate and timely preparation of recurring and special ad hoc financial reports for submission to local Senior Management, VISN, Central Office and other operating officials. Responsible for the devising of and implementation of revised accounting records and procedures to permit recording of financial transactions applicable to organizational changes within the Medical Center. Responsible for the inclusion of all elements of costs arising from expenses incurred in the operation of the Medical Center with costs of operations segregated by program type and object of expenditure. Responsible for installing and maintaining systems to insure against violations of the Anti-­Deficiency Act within the accounting system. Responsible for updating accounting section Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) or preparing them when none exist. Responsible for maintaining a reasonable amount of supporting documentation for transactions, reports and other financial matters. Responsible for a continuing on-site and off-site training of accounting section staff covering various technical subjects and VA Manual Accounting procedures as directed by the supervisor. Performs other duties as assigned, normally of a related nature. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level (GS-11) without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level (GS-07 and GS-09) does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Physical Requirements:The work is mostly of sedentary nature. Some walking, stooping and bending is required. Incumbent may carry files and documents weighing up to 10 pounds. A stress related environment often caused by the many reports, deadlines, monthly, and quarterly requirements. 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/PD55440A, PD55507A, and PD55441A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/28/2024. 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 a 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. Note: Failure to provide an SF-50 that demonstrates one-year time-in-grade will result in disqualification from being considered. Basic Requirements: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Bachelors Degree(or higher) in 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.") TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED -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 (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED); A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; (COPY OF CERTIFICATE REQUIRED) 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) you have 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. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) AND In addition to basic requirements listed above, applicants must also meet the specialized experience requirement. Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. (Resume(s) must clearly support the duties and experience required for this position and must include job title, series and grades for all federal positions held, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week. We will not make assumptions regarding experience). GS-07 Specialized Experience: Requires one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's)necessary to perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes but is not limited to: Knowledge of the concepts and principles of accounting; ensuring the accuracy of accounting transactions; working with checks and balances; and using automated accounting systems. GS-09 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: 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; serving as the technical accounting advisor to the Accounting Technicians; responsibility 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; advising on proper procedures to be followed when procedures have not been disseminated or have to be developed locally to meet station needs; and providing exemplary customer service to internal and external customers. GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Monitoring accounting systems covering operations and expenses for such items as payroll, travel, transportation, supplies, rents, services, inventory, or commercial accounts. Participation in decision-making sessions and advising a number of program managers on regulatory requirements, financial policies, the interpretation of data, and program improvements through analysis of program operations, monthly reports, and special systems edits. Resolving technical problems in executing a computerized, integrated accounting system; monitoring and controlling timely recording, coding, balancing, and scrutinizing for inaccurate accounts; reconciling accounts with manual and computer subsidiary accounts; and performing on-going evaluation of accounting processes to identify measures to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the accounting operations. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required. GS-7: 1 year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement GS-9: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. GS-11: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify. Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level, the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement. Click here for more information Preferred Experience: Obligations and/or Payment and Reconciliation experience/knowledge within FISCAL environment. Demonstrated experience with Excel/Access/Macros. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: AccountingAdministration and ManagementAttention to DetailAuditingInternal Controls/Integrity

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Transcript must include degree and date awarded to be creditable.

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 Bronx VA Medical Center 130 West Kingsbridge Rd. Bronx, NY 10468 US
• Name: Victoria Moersdorf
• Phone: 908-536-9812
• Email: [email protected]