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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

The major duties include but are not limited to:

• Provides assistance, performs review, analysis and evaluation of existing and proposed accounting practices;
• Responsible for fiscal law, rules, regulations, policies, automated accounting and non-accounting systems, and procedures pertinent to financial management or accounting matters within the department or assigned program area;
• Works independently on continuing assignments or projects that require application of VA generally accepted principles, practices and theories of professional accounting;
• Performs special projects and assignments for automated financial systems, daily review of accounting outputs and maintains oversight of the edit master files;
• Works closely with systems personnel on the design of automated systems to facilitate the processing of accounting data to assure the results attained meet all accounting requirements;
• Performs special reviews and analyses to ensure the integrity of the general control system and prepares special reports and financial statements relating to the financial condition of specified program activities;
• Reviews the work of other fiscal staff to assure accuracy and conformity to policies and procedures and instructs them when necessary on the proper methods and assigns projects to be accomplished;
• Works closely with activities and their designated resource personnel in promoting understanding and effective application of financial management/accounting policies and procedures and monitors the implementation of new and/or supplemental accounting systems and procedures;
• Identifies source of problems, impact on other elements in the accounting systems, accounting adjustments required and recommends procedural changes to preclude reoccurrence of problems identified;
• Assists program managers in developing accounting data structure and participates in the planning, coordination, direction of meetings and telephone conferences associated with accounting closeouts or reorganization events;
• Makes day-to-day decisions regarding unusual and complex accounting transactions and is available to consult on solution of management problems and provides alternatives through sound application of professional knowledge of the accounting system; and
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

Basic Educational Requirement:

Degree: Bachelor's degree in 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". NOTE: You must submit transcripts with your application. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED unofficial or official)

~OR~

Combination: 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:
a. Twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality. This can include up to 6 hours of business law (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED unofficial or official); or,
b. A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination (Copy of Certificate required); or,
c. 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 above. (SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED); 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.(TRANSCRIPT unofficial or official and ALL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED) ~AND~

In addition to meeting the Basic Educational Requirement, you must also meet one of the following Minimum Qualification Requirements for the GS-11 level:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-9) in Federal Service that has equipped you with knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this Accountant position, and that is typically related to the work of the position. Qualifying experience includes serving as a professional accountant, applying knowledge of various accounting systems and of well-established accounting principles, techniques, and regulations to process a wide variety of transactions; developing a variety of financial reports, worksheets, etc.; examining and analyzing accounting documents to verify accuracy of computations and transactions; advising management on financial management problems and issues. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~
Education: You must have three (3) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree with a major field of study directly related to the Accountant position. NOTE: TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED unofficial or official. ~OR~
Combination: You must have equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate-level education (beyond 36 semester hours) directly related to the work of this Accountant position and specialized experience, as described above. NOTE: TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED unofficial or official.


You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Accounting
• Accounting Operations
• Analytical Reasoning
• Cost Accounting

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.