Summary The incumbent works to ensure the accuracy of the reporting of all accounting, cost, and budget data and to facilitate the efficient use of allocated funds. Provides financial advise and performs financial assistance work for internal agency operating programs. *RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE MAY BE OFFERED TO HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Performs analytical, evaluative, and interpretive duties on any accounting matter related to the above functions. Provides technical expertise to accounting staff, as well as an adviser to higher management throughout the facility on service line activities. Apportions their time reviewing existing systems and workflow procedures to identify discrepancies or opportunities for system enhancements and analyzing systems requirement and designs of VA Financial Management and Accounting Systems. Serves as a "Go To" expert for these issues and must be knowledgeable of these performance measures as well as methods and procedures to correct any errors or irregularities that may occur. Knowledgeable in several computerized accounting information systems (i.e. IFCAP, FMS, IPPS, RSD, and others) to work more effectively. Responsible for monitoring reports generated by FMS to identify and correct any out-of-balance conditions that may exist from a variety of sources such as the FMS interfaces with AR, FAP, IFCAP, IPPS; omitted transactions; or transactions generated by the Financial Services Center. Responsible for performing account reconciliations, audits, and regular reviews to ensure the integrity of the accounting data within the computerized systems. Responsible for evaluating the validity of the accounting records and recommending and establishing necessary procedural changes to maintain proper records. Responsible for implementing the corrective action plan for any discrepancies in the Quality Assurance Reviews by conducting training for both new and seasoned employees to ensure these discrepancies are corrected and don't become recurring items on future reviews. Ensures that all employees in the section are kept informed of all new or revised procedures, as well as interpreting published accounting regulations and procedures. Provides assistance and guidance to fellow accountants, accounting technicians, and others daily for unique or irregular situations and transactions. Provides analysis and technical expertise for all other accounting staff and the completion of miscellaneous or special assignments from the Supervisory Accountant, Accounting Officer, AFO, or CFO. In the absence of the Supervisory Accountant, may be designated to act on behalf of the Supervisory Accountant or Accounting Officer and may sign documents on behalf of the Supervisory Accountant or Accounting Officer. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Accountant ( Open Continuous)/PD502120 Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Requirements 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) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2024. Basic Requirements: Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify for the GS 0510 occupational series, applicants MUST have one of the following: 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: 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; (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: CANDIDATES MUST SUBMIT TRANSCRIPT'S WITH THEIR APPLICATION. In addition to the IOR, you must also meet the Time-in-Grade requirement as described below to qualify for this position. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: work that involves demonstrated knowledge in Financial Management System (FMS) and Integrated Funds Distribution Control Point Activity (IFCAP) and reconciling data between these financial systems; review undelivered orders and conducting necessary follow-up with services, vendors, and contracting including date changes, passing receiving reports, requesting invoices, processing modifications, etc.; reviewing and reconciling accounts receivable accounts monthly and conducting necessary follow-up with debtors, services, vendors, and payroll including posting follow-up comments, posting payments, processing actions such as but not limited to waivers, disputes, repayment plans, etc. Performing multiple Quality Assurance Audits (e.g. Accounting, Agent Cashier, Voucher, Payroll, Purchase Card, etc.) and Improper Payment Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act (IPERIA) audits for two years, accompanied by write ups of findings (criteria, condition, cause, and affect) and corrective action plan recommendations to ensure a product fulfills functional requirements and standards. Reconciling transactional data (subsidiary ledgers) to the general ledgers (summary); Review and approve reconciliations, travel authorizations, travel vouchers, CME reimbursements, Tort claims, etc; have applied Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to accounting processes and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS), works with automated accounting systems; AND analyzes accounting data and providing communication to various stakeholders. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-11. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accounting Operations Analytical Thinking Communication Computer Skills 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. Note: 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. 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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or 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 Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary, but does require review of computer printouts, microfiche and teletype messages which can cause eye fatigue. Occasional lifting of computer printer paper and computer generated schedules/listings is required. Filing and boxing prior and current year papers to move to VA's main records and storage vault is performed regularly. The work is performed in an office setting. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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/. 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.