Clarification from the agency

Current DHHS/OIG Federal employees serving under career or career-conditional competitive service appointments.

The incumbent will serve as an Auditor providing audit services to all management levels within the areas serviced by the Regional Offices through the conduct of comprehensive related audits which include examination of the operations of the Department, its grantees and contractors; and review of reports of audits conducted by non-HHS auditors. Additionally, the incumbent will receive independent work assignments, assignments as a project member on a large and/or highly complex audit.

As an Auditor GS-07, the applicant will:

• Work as an audit team member on specified audit assignments which facilitate the efforts of the team and provide experience toward independently planning and conducting complete audit assignments. The auditor applies conventional audit techniques to complete relatively uncomplicated evaluations.
• Verify reports against source accounts and records to determine the reliability of data and accuracy of computations, reconciling accounts and verifying the detail of recorded transactions, tracing item through ledger and accounts to original media from which they were recorded.
• Verify the appropriateness of charges such as labor and materials and the transactions were properly recorded and that products or services were actually provided.
• Compare the similarities and differences of accounting systems in categorizing and reporting particular types of transactions.
• Call supervisor's attention to unusual or questionable transactions or when problems encountered do not fit instructions or guidelines.
• Make recommendations concerning changes when current accounting or control procedures do not achieve the desired results or are no longer appropriate for situations encountered.

As an Auditor GS-09, the applicant will:

• Study the overall scope, technical approach and objectives of the audit and the specifics that apply to the auditor's assigned segment of the work.
• Perform pre-audit research and organizes background material pertaining directly to the auditee, organization, program activity to be audited.
• Research applicable laws, directives, audit guides, and prior audit reports to prepare for both the main audit mission and documenting the work papers.
• Interview auditee representatives to carry the assigned audit missions, task and objectives
• Locate, assemble, verify, analyze, and determine the adequacy and present detailed data information related to the financial management.
• Evaluate assigned auditee financial operations and costs through operational or work site testing of program directives, invoices, accounts, obligation documents, and inventory.
• Prepare a segment of audit reports and financial statements which present findings, cite applicable regulations, identify causative situations and recommend corrective action.

Conditions of employment

• U.S Citizenship is required.
• Registration with the Selective Service (if applicable).
• Suitability for Federal employment determined by background investigation.
• One-year probationary period may be required.
• Time in grade must be met within 30 days of closing date of announcement.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all the qualification requirements, including education, and any selective placement factors described below within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. Education used as part of an application package will only be considered if complete transcripts are submitted and must be from an accredited institution as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. To see if your institution is accredited, please follow this link: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx

Positive Education Requirement: This position has a position education requirement, as indicated below. A complete transcript showing relevant coursework and degrees must be submitted with your application package. A list of completed courses or incomplete transcripts will not be accepted.

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. 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 a Certified Public Accounting 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.

Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

To qualify for the GS-07 grade level, applicants must have 1 year of graduate level education or superior academic (SAA) achievement; OR 1 year of specialized experience at the GS-05 grade level or equivalent level. Specialized experience is a demonstrated experience in performing a variety of tasks which you could have obtained within an academic setting or work setting: (1) experience comparing similarities and differences of accounting systems; (2) experience making recommendations concerning changes to accounting procedures; (3) experience preparing charts, tables, graphs, and other exhibits to aid in audit findings; (4) experience verifying reports to ensure accounting data is accurate and (5) experience communicating with team members concerning audit assignments.

Note: Superior Academic Achievement (SAA), may be substituted to meet the specialized experience requirement. Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) allows applicants to apply for certain positions at the GS-7 level if you have a Bachelors degree in a qualifying field of study and meet one of the following requirements: class standing (upper 1/3 graduating class), GPA is 3.0 or higher, or if the applicant was a member in a National Scholastic Honor Society. You must submit an academic transcript(s) showing that you maintained a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 for all 4 years of undergraduate courses, or, on all undergraduate courses completed during the final 2 years of your curriculum, including all transferred courses.

To qualify for the GS-09 grade level, applicants must have 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree; OR applicants may qualify based on a combination of education (at the graduate level) and experience; OR have 1 year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is a demonstrated experience in performing a variety of tasks which could have been obtained within an academic setting or work setting: (1) experience examining financial transactions, accounts, and reports, including an evaluation of compliance with applicable laws and regulations; (2) experience performing pre-audit research and organizes background material pertaining directly to the auditee, organization, program activity to be audited; (3) experience preparing charts, tables, graphs, and other exhibits to aid in audit findings; and (4) experience serving as a team member, attending and participating in entrance and exit conferences with auditee, auditee staff, and program staffs.

Experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work. You must submit all academic transcripts from all academic institutions that support you meeting the positive education requirement.

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, 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. Your resume should include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions. Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate possession of any specialized experience and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement.

The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies (KSA's). You do not have to provide a narrative response to the KSA's.

• Attention to Detail
• Auditing
• Oral Communication
• Reading
• Teamwork
• Written Communication

Your responses to the self-assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions. Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume. Your resume must support your answers to the self-assessment questions, or your score may be adjusted or lowered accordingly which may affect your overall final rating. Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or for changing your scored responses to questions you've answered, which may affect your overall final score.

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the "Required Documents" section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10964554

Selections may be made for vacancies across the entire Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). By applying, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more HHS hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.