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Pathways Recent Graduate-Accountant

General Services Administration
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
This job announcement has closed

Summary

As a Pathways Recent Graduate, you will use basic accounting knowledge to perform a full range of accounting work, consistent with the employee's on-the-job training and expanding accounting programmatic experience.

Location of position: GSA, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Kansas City, MO; Fort Worth, TX; Washington, DC

We are currently filling one vacancy additional vacancies may be filled through this announcement in this or other GSA organizations within the same commuting area.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
12/06/2023 to 12/19/2023
Salary
$47,369 - $84,441 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 07 - 09
Locations
Few vacancies in the following locations:
Washington, DC
Kansas City, MO
Fort Worth, TX
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - May be required to attend meetings and/or trainings.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Recent graduates - The initial length of the job is one year but may become permanent.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
BG-2024-0001
Control number
764432100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Recent Graduates: If you completed a qualifying degree within the previous two years, you may apply. If you are a veteran who was prevented from applying during the 2-year period due to your military service, you may apply if your degree was completed within the last 6 years. Enrolled students: If you will complete your degree requirements by 31 December 2023, you may apply.

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Duties

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As an Accountant, you will be performing the following duties:

GS-07

  • Performs analysis, review and reconciliation of financial statements, reports or transactions.
  • Performs analysis of accounts for proper accounting treatment, accuracy and correction. Reviews financial and/or management reports received from Service, Staff, and regional offices and assists in interpreting trends, spotting abnormal fluctuations affecting the status of funds, including the determination and recording of adjustments required.
  • Supports internal and external audits providing data/information on accounting, financial management and related policies, procedures and reports. Participates in the review of audit reports. Participates in the creation of action plans and ensures completion of their action items by established due dates.

GS-09

  • Creates various reports required by senior management. Performs analysis, review and reconciliation of financial statements, reports or transactions. Makes required adjustments to accounting records and
    includes them in consolidated reports and advises the appropriate staff to incorporate the adjustment in the official accounting records.
  • Proposes new or revised reporting formats to serve changing needs of management. Participates in the developmental work for new reporting formats with appropriate Division, Service and program personnel, and if required, recommends modification to existing accounting systems to obtain needed data.
  • Performs analysis of accounts for proper accounting treatment, accuracy and correction. Reviews financial and/or management reports received from Service, Staff, and regional offices and assists in interpreting trends, spotting abnormal fluctuations affecting the status of funds, including the determination and recording of adjustments required.
  • Supports internal and external audits providing data/information on accounting, financial management and related policies, procedures and reports. Participates in the review of audit reports. Participates in the creation of action plans and ensures completion of their action items by established due dates.

This position has job functions that must be executed within specific geographic locations. The official duty station is a federal facility, leased space, or an alternative worksite (typically the employee’s home) within the specified geographic area. If you are selected for this position, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement within 45 days. At that time, you may be eligible to request to telework one or more days a pay period depending upon the terms of the agency’s telework policy. The duty station will be determined upon selection and must be a physical address (not a PO Box) located within approximately a 50 miles radius of the geographic areas listed/described.

  • Kansas City, MO
  • Fort Worth, TX
  • Washington, D.C.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • US Citizenship or National (Residents of American Samoa and Swains Island)

If selected, you must meet the following conditions:

  • Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Noncareer SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
  • Register with the Selective Service, if you are a male born after 12/31/1959.
  • Serve a one-year trial period, if required.
  • Undergo and pass a background investigation (Tier 2 investigation level).
  • Have your identity and work status eligibility verified if you are not a GSA employee.  We will use the Department of Homeland Security’s e-Verify system for this. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of continued employment.
  • Signed participant agreement is required for employment under this Program.

Qualifications

For each job on your resume, provide:

  • the exact dates you held each job (from month/year to month/year)
  • number of hours per week you worked (if part time).    

If you have volunteered your service through a National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps), we encourage you to apply and include this experience on your resume.
 
For a brief video on creating a Federal resume, click here

The GS-07 salary starts at $47,369 per year. The GS-9 salary range starts at $57,941 per year. 

If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will likely be set at the Step 1 of the grade for which you are selected.

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcript(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcements to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment.

Basic Requirements: All candidates for Accountant positions must meet one of the following basic qualification requirements:

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:

  • 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; AND; (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.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE GS-07 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is experience that provides: a general knowledge of accounting procedures; review and analysis of prepared financial reports; and responsibility for entering and maintaining subsidiary ledgers. OR have completed at least one full year of graduate level education (18 semester hours or the equivalent) in accounting and/or auditing, or in a related field such as business administration, finance or public administration. OR have completed all the requirements for a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university PLUS graduated in the upper third of the college, university or major subdivision such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration based on completed coursework OR Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) at the baccalaureate level is fully qualifying at the GS-07 level. To claim SAA, submit documentation of one of the following:

1. Class standing -- You must be in the upper third of your graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.

2. Grade-point average (rounded to one decimal point) of:

3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of your curriculum; or
3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in your major field or the required courses in your major field completed during your final 2 years of the curriculum.
3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies OR COMBINATION: Possess or will possess a combination of experience and graduate level education as described in "A" and "B" above that, when combined, fulfills the requirements.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE GS-09 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is experience developing automated accounting procedures for routine records and analyzing financial and statistical data OR 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree OR A combination of graduate level education and appropriate experience that together meet the qualification requirements of this position.

Education

Note: 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/   

Additional information

This position is ineligible for the bargaining unit

If you are selected at a grade lower than the full performance level, you may be promoted up to that grade level without having to re-apply or compete against other applicants.

On a case-by-case basis, the following incentives may be approved:

  • Credit toward vacation leave if you are new to the federal government.

Additional vacancies may be filled through this announcement in this or other GSA organizations within the same commuting area as needed; through other means; or not at all.

GSA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility that goes beyond our compliance with EEO regulations including: 
  • Valuing and embracing diversity, promoting equity, inclusion and accessibility, and expecting cultural competence; and
  • Fostering a work environment where all employees, customers and stakeholders feel respected and valued.
Our commitment is: 
  • Reflected in our policies, procedures and work environment;
  • Recognized by our employees, customers and stakeholders; and
  • Drives our efforts to recruit, attract, retain and engage the diverse workforce needed to achieve our mission.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will use a method called Category Rating to assess your application.  Here’s how it will work:

You will be scored on the questions you answer during the application process, which will measure your possession of the following competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities.

  • Thorough knowledge of accounting theories, practices, methods, and techniques sufficient to independently plan and conduct a variety of assignments, analyze accounting systems, or modify and adapt conventional accounting and analytical techniques to solve a variety of accounting problems.

Your answers to the questions will be used to place you in one of the following categories and standard score ranges: [If the use of 4 categories is justified, adjust verbiage].

  • Best Qualified = Candidates scoring between 95 - 100
  • Well Qualified = Candidates scoring between 85 - 94 
  • Qualified = Candidates scoring between 70 - 84

We will verify your answers to the questions in your resume.  If your resume doesn’t support your answers, we may lower your score, which could place you in a lower category.

Within each category, veterans will receive selection priority over non-veterans.

Additional hurdle assessments, such as narrative responses or other assessments, may be administered to applicants who meet the requirements of the first hurdle, e.g., the minimum qualification requirements. If additional assessments are used, you will be provided with further instructions.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Agency contact information

Tomiko Starling
Phone
571-368-8429
Email
tomiko.starling@gsa.gov
Address
GSA, Office of the Chief Financial Officer
General Services Administration
Human Resources Service Center (CRSB)
1800 F Street NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20405
United States

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Office of the Chief Financial Officer, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/careers-at-gsa/why-work-at-gsa

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