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Accountant

Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The position is located in the Office of Chief Financial Officer. You will serve as a staff accountant and work with a team of professionals responsible for conducting a variety of assignments and responsibilities involving moderate tci complex accounting, financial management and reporting matters. In performing these functions, you are expected to have knowledge of accounting, financial management, internal management controls; arid financial statements data.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
12/20/2024 to 12/27/2024
Salary
$99,200 to - $153,354 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework. The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
Travel Required
25% or less - This position is expect to travel 25% of the time or less.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes - The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
NHTSA.NFO-2025-0003
Control number
825361000

Duties

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The Accountant:

  • Analyzes and reconciles fund financial data in the accounting system, researches and makes recommendations to correct errors, and analyzes account fluctuations between accounting periods.
  • Prepares weekly cash report of the Highway Trust Fund balances for submission to the Federal Highway Administration.
  • Implements agency accounting policies, standard business practices, and operational procedures.
  • Coordinates and maintains an internal control program for finance and accounting operations, performing periodic risk assessments, and monitoring correction of internal control weaknesses.
  • Reviews Fund Balance with Treasury reconciliations as well as reconciliations of subsidiary ledgers. Coordinates action to resolve any significant differences.
  • Assists lead accountant in reviewing of monthly SF-133 (Report on Budgetary Execution and Budgetary Resources) for the direct appropriations and Trust funds and the quarterly Financial Statements for the agency.
  • Participates in NHTSA accounting and financial user groups to provide timely, accurate information to financial, and program managers and ensure implementation of policies and procedures.

The ideal candidate for this position possesses experience in overall federal financial accounting. The individual must be able to analyze and reconcile federal financial reports, be able to evaluate proposed work programs to identify actions to be taken to bring the reports into federal accounting compliance. Using his/her knowledge, the candidate should be able to validate data entered into a variety of basic and specialized accounts which are integrated into a large, complex accounting system and prepare statements and reports containing essential financial information such as financial and contractual status, general ledger accounts system, monthly, quarterly and annual reports. The individual would have experience in providing variety of accounting services including accounting data analysis, internal and external cash and general ledger reconciliations, fund control activities, and providing professional accounting input through analysis and interpretation of financial data and reports.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
  • You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
  • Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
  • DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet the experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for the GS-12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11, it must include:

  • Experience preparing accounting reports (i.e., budgetary resource reports, financial statements).
  • Experience using accounting system to analyze and reconcile fund financial data.
  • Experience working with accounting standards and accounting systems.

To qualify for the GS-13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include:

  • Experience preparing accounting reports (i.e., budgetary resource reports, financial statements).
  • Experience using accounting system to analyze and reconcile fund financial data.
  • Experience working with accounting standards and accounting systems.
  • Experience reviewing, implementing, and executing an internal control program to identify and correct issues that could result in fraud, waste, abuse or misuse of financial resources.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

  1. Skill in analyzing financial data using an Oracle Federal Financial System.
  2. Experience in preparing financial statements in accordance with government accounting principles and generally accepted accounting practices.
  3. Knowledge of financial management and accounting principles, methods, techniques, including knowledge of government accounting and controls of the Treasury Department, Office of Management and Budget, and General Accounting Office.
  4. Knowledge of financial management reporting requirements including trust fund programs.
  5. Ability to effectively communicate financial issues and information to the financial management staff and senior level management.


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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Basic Requirements

  1. 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

  2. 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.

Additional information

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

To compete with U.S. Citizens:  If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of two categories: Highly Qualified and Qualified which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top-rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.

To compete with other competitive status government employees: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top-rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position must indicate interest in the assessment. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.

All applicants:  Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package.  If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.


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