Clarification from the agency

Open to U.S. Citizens. This position is part of the Pathways Program and is open to Recent Graduates Eligibles only.

When entering a Federal job at a grade level lower than the highest promotion potential level, you may be promoted to more complex duties and work more independently, as your career progresses.

In a semi-developmental capacity, assignments are designed to prepare the auditor to perform various audit assignments independently. You will be responsible for:

Conditions of employment

• If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
• Position has educational/degree requirements. (See Qualifications Section)
• If you are selected, you must sign a participant agreement.
• You must submit resume and required documents. (See How to Apply)
• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• If you are selected, you must complete a one year trial period.

This position is designated as High Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation.

Qualifications

You need a degree or combination of education and experience as described below to qualify for this position.  You must submit documentation for proof of this requirement.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

GS-07 LEVEL REQUIREMENTS:

You must meet one of the following:

A. 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-

B. 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.

AND

IN ADDITION to meeting the basic qualification requirements above, one of the following is also REQUIRED:

A. Must have completed one (1) years of graduate level education OR be eligible for the superior academic achievement provision when it provided the applicants with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. -OR-

B. One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-05) in the federal service performing professional accounting work. Examples of qualifying experience comparable to the following: providing audit-related support to senior audit staff; compiling and analyzing reports using automated software; researching laws, regulations, guidelines, and procedures for applying fact-finding and investigative techniques in resolving issues; communicating various types of information to a variety of audiences to convey factual information, provide guidance, obtain consensus, and/or persuade others to adopt recommendations.

GS-09 LEVEL REQUIREMENTS:

You must meet one of the following:

A. 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-

B. 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 non conformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, the applicant's education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements.

AND

IN ADDITION to meeting the basic qualification requirements above, one of the following is also REQUIRED:

A. Must have completed two (2) years of graduate level education leading to a master's degree, or a master's or equivalent graduate degreee when it provided the applicants with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. -OR-

One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-07) in the federal service performing professional accounting work. Examples of qualifying experience comparable to the following: assisting with coordinating and conducting financial statement audits, studies or analyses of the efficiency and or effectiveness of government programs; writing portions of audit reports; performing data gathering; conducting special studies; and conducting briefings.

To be creditable, education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and experience may be used to meet total experience requirements.

ELIGIBILITY:

Recent graduates who have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocation or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institute.

AFTER PROGRAM COMPLETION:

Recent Graduates may be converted to a permanent position (or, in some limited circumstances a term appointment lasting 1-4 years).

To be eligible for conversion, Recent Graduates must:

• Be a US Citizen.
• Successfully completed at least 1-year of continuous service in addition to all requirements of the Program.
• Demonstrated successful job performance.
• Met the qualifications for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted.

Your answers to the on-line assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas: 

• Knowledge of accounting and auditing concepts, principles and methods.
• Ability to gather, compile and analyze from various sources of information/problems and present findings and recommendations.
• Ability develop a variety of analytical reports and written guidance in a variety of formats (e.g., narrative, graphs, charts, etc.) using a variety of software packages (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc).
• Ability to communicate orally sufficient to provide feedback, to obtain information and develop good working relationships.

NOTE: We do not require a separate statement responding to the competencies, also referred to as Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). However, your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your resume must address the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed in the Qualifications Section. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be further evaluated based on your answers to the on-line assessment. Your responses to the on-line assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for the position. You are being evaluated under the category rating method which means, if you are determined to be qualified, you will be placed into the Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified Category.

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. We will evaluate your qualifications and eligibility and notify you if you meet minimum qualification requirements.

NOTE: We do not require a separate statement responding to the competencies, also referred to as Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). However, your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies.


To preview questions please click here.