Accountant for the Portland Area Office in Portland, OR, that performs a variety of accounting duties, utilizing a professional knowledge of accounting principles and procedures in carrying out assignments for the Office of Environmental Health & Engineering and reports to the Supervisory Administrative Specialist.

Duties

Formulates a variety of financial reports in support of Federal government agency programs. Recommends the establishment of policies and procedures affecting the accounting systems for Federal government agency programs. Advises management on regulatory requirements and changing program operations. Devises accounting structure and procedures to satisfy regulatory or legislative changes. Applies financial data and recommending alternatives to resolve difficult problems. Reconciles cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and other general ledger accounts. Corrects all differences between the subsidiary ledger balances and the control account balances in the general ledger. Provides accounting information and guidance to program officials. Develop method for monitoring financial progress of projects, which will be used by and to aid project managers. Prepares procedural instructions for the development or implementation of automated accounting systems. Applies analytical techniques to a variety of routine and recurring duties using knowledge and understanding of budget analysis, financial management, organizational programs.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and/or education, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are applying. 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; religious; spiritual; community; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week. BASIC REQUIREMENT(S): 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. In addition to the Basic Requirements, you must also meet the Minimum Qualifications stated below. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: GS-09 Grade Level: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and/or tasks: any experience in applying professional knowledge of accounting concepts, principles, and methods sufficient to work independently using conventional procedures and practices that apply to most situations, including the following (or the equivalent): (a) Identifies accounting problems such as inadequate maintenance of fund controls, inaccurate records and reports, improper methods for document control, and lack of documentary evidence to support performance of regulatory reconciliations; (b) Compiles centrally requested cost reports and reports of variance from standards. Develops reports comparing actual results to plans and budgets; (c) Conducts special cost analysis of various operations to determine, for example, if proposals for revised methods or new equipment would affect savings. Performs statistical analyses of agency productivity trends. Participates with other accountants in developing cost estimates for in-house projects and contractor proposals; OR 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree, in a field that is directly related to the work of this position; OR Combination of education and experience that when combined fully meet the minimum qualifications for this position. The total percentage equals at least 100 percent to qualify for this GS-9 grade level. GS-11 Grade Level: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and/or tasks: any experience applying a comprehensive knowledge of theories, practices, methods, and techniques of accounting; and organizational or program practices, policies, and functions sufficient to ANALYZE ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS or to MODIFY and ADAPT conventional accounting and analytical techniques to solve a variety of accounting problems, and to function effectively in the following work situations (or the equivalent). Examples of application of knowledge at this level include: (a) Analyze financial activities and develop and charts functional logic for new and revised automated financial management systems; Develops and maintains an automated voucher examining and disbursing subsystem that provides in-house processing of commercial vouchers and payment for transactions completed by other organizations. Determines functional accounting requirements, assures interface with the larger automated management system, guides systems programming, develops functional tests, writes instruction manuals, gives oral presentations on development progress, and attends meetings on system integration and problem resolution; OR (b) Monitors accounting systems covering operations and expenses for such items as payroll, travel, transportation, supplies, rents, services, inventory, or commercial accounts. Participates in decision-making sessions and advises 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; OR (c) Independently plans, develops, and coordinates financial management improvements necessary to comply with such legislation and regulations as the CFO Act, the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act, the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directives. Prepares financial statement formats for Department component use in reporting data required under the CFO Act and GPRA. Maintains a chapter in the Department's accounting standards manual dealing with financial statement content. Participates on accounting policy and financial statement coordinating committees. Works with information technology management organizations to assure that applicable computer system changes are effected properly. Discusses with audit staff approaches to financial statement disclosure issues; OR 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; OR Combination of education and experience that when combined fully meet the minimum qualifications for this position. The total percentage equals at least 100 percent to qualify for this GS-11 grade level. Time In Grade Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade Requirements: Merit Promotion (status) candidates must have completed one year of service at the next lower grade level. Time-In-Grade provisions do not apply under the Excepted Service Examining Plan (ESEP). You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Education

This position has an education requirement. You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed, and grades. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer.

Only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be credited. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: https://www.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 Portland Area OEHE Group 1414 NW Northrup Street Suite 800 Portland, OR 97209 US
• Name: Norene Mousseau
• Phone: 503-414-7738
• Email: [email protected]