Skip to main content
U.S. flag
 

Staff Accountant

Department of Veterans Affairs
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Finance
Office of Management, Financial Services center, Financial Accounting Service (FAS).

Summary

The position is located in the Financial Accounting Service (FAS), Financial Services Center (FSC). FAS is responsible for high-level VA departmental wide accounting functions for all VA appropriations and funds from recording the appropriation of funds, to managing funding within multiple financial management systems, including both the legacy system (FMS) and the new system (iFAMS), to departmental-level external reporting to OMB, GAO, and Treasury.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—Ad hoc telework (situational telework) available as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$107,446 - $139,684 per year

The salary range listed reflects the GS base rate (not including locality). Upon selection, the salary will be adjusted to include locality.

Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel may be required up to 10% of the time.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
NCS/High Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CCLQ-13100215-27-YF
Control number
890388600

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS and CTAP/ICTAP eligible applicants. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

Videos

Duties

Help

The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 50 applications. The first 50 applications received will be considered first. Applications received after the initial cut-off number (50 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. If management requests additional certificates, applicants will continue to be reviewed in groups of 50 in the order they applied.

Note:
Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed.


Major Duties:

  • Uses expert knowledge of financial and accounting operations to provide solutions to eliminate or reduce significant bottlenecks and barriers to production, promote team building, or improve business practices.
  • Solves significant problems in the development of VA's multiple accounting systems and in the financial management of VA programs.
  • Recommends alternatives and solutions and initiates revised standards and procedures when needed for programs and policies that are highly legalistic, technically intricate, and administratively detailed in nature.
  • Conducts in-depth analysis and testing to ensure transactions comply with tie points reconciliations and USSGL scenarios for the legacy (FMS) and the new (iFAMS) financial management system.
  • Analyzes interface and system files to ensure compliance with Treasury's United States Standard General Ledger (USSGL).


Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm.
Compressed/Flexible: Available with supervisory approval.
Telework: Ad hoc telework (situational telework) available as determined by the agency policy.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Staff Accountant/PD20291A.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • 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. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.

Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.

Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/03/2026.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirements: This position includes an Individual Occupation Requirement. Individual Occupational Requirements are requirements that must be met, in addition to the specialized experience and/or education requirement. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. Evidence of the Individual Occupational Requirement must be reflected in your application materials (resume/transcript).

Individual Occupational Requirements: 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

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.

AND

In addition to the above, you may qualify based on your experience as described below:

GS-14 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as experience serving as a technical expert on federal accounting or financial reporting matters and coordinating the resolution of complex accounting or financial reporting problems for a federal agency. This experience includes analyzing and reconciling complex financial transactions across multiple financial management systems; interpreting and applying federal accounting standards, regulations, and policies; developing or recommending accounting policies, procedures, and corrective action plans; and preparing or reviewing financial reports and technical recommendations to resolve significant accounting, financial management, and internal control deficiencies.

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; religions; 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.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Financial Systems
  • Communication
  • Leadership
  • Problem Solving
  • Principles of Accounting
  • Technical Competence
  • Accounting Operations
  • Control of Funds
  • Computer Skills
  • Compliance
  • Budget Administration
  • Financial Analysis
  • Specialized Experience Statement


The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified for this vacancy, you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and meet the well-qualified criteria below:
  1. Financial Systems Analysis and Compliance: Demonstrated expertise in analyzing, testing, and reconciling complex financial transactions across multiple accounting systems, including legacy FMS and iFAMS, to ensure compliance with the U.S. Standard General Ledger (USSGL), applicable federal accounting standards, and internal control requirements.
  2. Accounting Policy Development and Problem Resolution: Demonstrated ability to research, interpret, develop, and implement complex federal accounting policies, procedures, and standards; identify root causes of financial reporting and internal control deficiencies; and develop effective corrective actions and solutions to resolve significant accounting problems.
  3. Financial Reporting, Technical Guidance, and Stakeholder Coordination: Demonstrated experience preparing and analyzing complex financial reports, briefings, memoranda, and technical recommendations; providing authoritative accounting guidance to senior leadership and stakeholders; and coordinating the resolution of significant financial management issues involving auditors, Treasury, OMB, GAO, and other organizational partners.

Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Austin, TX, Waco, TX or District of Columbia, DC .This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from Austin TX, Waco TX or District of Columbia, DC.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing part of your qualifications on education.


Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.


Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Accountability
  • Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


USA Hire Assessments include a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Your 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. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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; religions; 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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Finance

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

Agency contact information

Yissel Flecha
Phone
5123266052
Email
yissel.flecha@va.gov
Address
DAS Finance
1615 Woodward St
Austin, TX 78722
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Deputy Assistant Secretary for Finance, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.va.gov/jobs/

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.