Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens

This position is located in the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Chicago, Illinois. The primary purpose of this position is to serve as an Auditor (Entry Level) who works on assignments at the headquarters level of the RRB.Duties performed:

• Assist in the preparation and revision of audit plans, including assisting in long range planning.
• Based on the written audit plan, performs work in the following areas: audit entrance and exit conferences; evidence gathering, analysis, and summarization
• Working paper preparation and report writing.
• Ensure that all audit work meets the requirements of the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) and agency policies and procedures.

Conditions of employment

• All qualifications requirements for this position must be met by the closing date.
• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).
• One-year probationary period may be required.
• A pre-employment drug test may be required.
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• RRB uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States.
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• License required: No
• Pre-employment physical required: No
• Bargaining Unit Position: No
• Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expenses will not be paid.
• Promotion Potential: When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.
• The complete initial Application must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the 10th business day opened, Thursday May 18th, 2023 to be considered for the first cut off.
• Qualification must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• Resume and/or transcripts must include expected graduation date.
• Qualification claims will be subject to verification.

Qualifications

This is an open continuous announcement for 90 days, or until all positions are filled. It will be used to fill immediate vacancies for this agency. There may be multiple cut-off dates with the first being 10 business days after the initial opening date of 05/05/2023. Additional cut-off dates may be established as needed until all vacancies have been filled.

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic Requirements AND Minimum Qualification requirements as noted below.

Basic Requirement: You must meet one of the items listed below (A or B):

A. Possess, from an accredited college or university, a degree in accounting, auditing; or a degree including auditing courses 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. NOTE: You must submit your transcripts (official or unofficial) to verify your education.
OR
B. Possess a combination of education, from an accredited college or university, 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; or (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 from an accredited college of university 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.
NOTE: You must submit a copy of your college transcripts (official or unofficial), certificate, and your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet the experience to support your claim.

AND

GS-07 Minimum Qualifications:
A. Applicant must demonstrate one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing the following duties:

• Utilizing standard audit techniques to assist others in audit work;
• Comparing conditions or data observed with the requirements specified by regulations or principles;
• Collaborating with others to prepare materials for use in the briefings before and after audits; and
• Ensuring that audit processes (planning, performing, and reporting) meet the requirements of Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS).

Note: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible.

OR

B. Have successfully completed one full year of graduate education from an accredited college or university in a field that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Note: Transcripts (unofficial of official) must be submitted to support your claim.

OR

C. Have successfully completed a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university AND meet Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) based on ONE of the following: 1) Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on completed courses. -OR- 2) Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the 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 the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. (Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.) -OR- 3) Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. Note: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted to support your claim.

OR

D. Have a combination of specialized experience (less than 1 year) and graduate education (less than 1 year) as described in "A" and "B" above, that when combined equals 100% of the qualification requirement. Note: You must submit a copy of your college transcripts (official or unofficial) and your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet the experience to support your claim

GS-09 Minimum Qualifications:
A. Applicant must demonstrate one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing the following duties:

• Utilizing standard audit techniques to conduct audit work independently;
• Analyzing data to determine a program's degree of compliance with their governing statues under the direction of a more senior auditor;
• Collaborating with others to prepare materials for use in the briefings before and after audits; and
• Ensuring that audit processes (planning, performing, and reporting) meet the requirements of Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS).

Note: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible.

OR

B. Have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree; or two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree; or L.L.B or J.D., if related, that provided the knowledge skills, and abilities necessary to perform this work. Note: Transcripts (unofficial of official) must be submitted to support your claim.

OR

C. Have a combination of specialized experience (less than one year) and graduate education (beyond one year of graduate education), that when combined equals 100% of the qualification requirement. Note: Only graduate education in excess of one year (generally 18 semester hours) may be used in this calculation. You must submit a copy of your college transcripts (official or unofficial) and your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet the experience to support your claim

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date.

NOTE: 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.

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 supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, we will use an Assessment Questionnaire to place you in one of three categories based on your experience, education and training. The competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job are:

• Attention to Detail
• Interpersonal Skills
• Writing

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Category Rating Procedures: If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:

1. Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.
2. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis
3. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.

The Category Rating Process does not add veteran's preference points but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 level or higher). Veteran preference eligibles will receive selection consideration before non-preference eligibles within each quality category.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.

To preview the assessment questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11926289