Accountant

Clarification from the agency

This vacancy announcement is open ONLY to current, permanent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees and current/former VA employees who are CTAP eligible. For this job announcement, Fiduciary Hub bargaining unit employees in the commuting area are considered facility employees.

Typical duties include, but are not limited to:

• Oversees all accounting functions. This includes operation and augmentation of the comprehensive accounting system for the various, complex, inter-related programs of the DVA.
• Oversees budgetary accounting and as required, exercises authority to commit the station to fiscal and accounting administrative actions involving the RO's funds and accounts.
• Assists in preparing and maintaining financial budgets, enforces compliance with good accounting principles and maintenance of all series of accounting records.
• Conducts internal audits and test audits to verify the validity and accuracy of accounting records and reports. Responsible for establishing and monitoring a system of internal controls to prevent over-obligation of funds, omission of obligation, or obligation of funds at a rate that would cause untimely exhaustion of station funds and violate the provisions of the Anti-Deficiency Act.
• Reports to management any omission or misstatement of obligations that may be considered delinquent obligations or any apparent statutory violations
• Develops and implements electronic applications and spreadsheets within the division and the RO; and prepares SAOs, internal control reviews and other division reports.
• Analyzes pertinent accounts, furnishes information for management that may provide the basis for establishing RO policies or corrective action with respect to rates of expenditures and determination of charges to be made for services furnished; and provides analytical and organizational expertise for all division activities, including financial, budgetary, and administrative.
• Serves as either primary or alternate liaison with ALAC and serves as ALAC POC within the RO, Liaisons with staff in the Finance section, division supervision and management, as well as other RO managers and supervisors, Liaisons with Treasury Regional Disbursing Office, IT Centers in Austin, Philadelphia and/or Hines; Treasury Disbursing Centers, Federal Reserve Bank, GAO and V ACO.
• Receives, analyzes, and interprets regulatory, fiscal, and accounting directives issued by VACO, the Comptroller General, Treasury, 0MB, etc.
• Performs other duties, as assigned.

Promotion Potential: None
Duty Hours: 8:00am to 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible: May be available as determined by the hiring office.
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Accountant; 37347A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Conditions of employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness & whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• Your performance and conduct;
• The needs and interests of the agency;
• Whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• Whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.Additional Conditions of Employment are as follows:

• 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 or trial 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 I-9 Acceptable Documents.
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement: 08/11/2026.

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.

• For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 level. 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 you are a current VA employee outside of the commuting area seeking reassignment or change to lower grade via this vacancy announcement, you must currently hold the GS-11 (or higher).

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS (IOR): This position is classified as a Professional/Scientific position and has an Individual Occupational Requirements that must be met to be found minimally qualified for the series. Additional information on the Individual Occupation Requirement can be found on the OPM qualifications website.

All applicants are required to have one of the following basic education requirements.

• Education: A 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" 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.

To be creditable, your 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;
• 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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to the IOR, applicants must have specialized experience and/or directly related education as described below

GS-11 Grade Level:

Specialized Experience: One year of Specialized Experience, which was equivalent to the GS-9 level. Specialized experience is defined as maintaining and correcting accounting records; preparing, reviewing, and analyzing accounting records and statements; researching, interpreting, and analyzing pertinent laws, regulations, policies, and guidance to accurately administer financial programs and providing guidance and advising managers on accounting and financial matters.

OR

• Education Substitution: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 full years of progressively higher level education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in accounting, or a related field which was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting.

Combining Education & Experience: If you do not fully meet the length of experience and education described for a specific grade level (e.g. have six months of experience and some coursework but not a degree), the two can be combined to total 100% of the requirement.
Click here for more information.

Volunteer Experience: 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.

Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.

Physical Requirements: The work is principally sedentary.

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

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.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. 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 (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics)

• Accounting: Knowledge of traditional accounting practices including accrual, obligations, and costs methods.
• Planning and Evaluating: Determines objectives and strategies; coordinates with other parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors and evaluates the progress and outcomes of operational plans; anticipates potential threats or opportunities.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis: Knowledge of the principles and methods of cost-benefit analysis, including the time value of money, present value concepts, and quantifying tangible and intangible benefits.
• Writing: Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a brief, clear, and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.
• Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.
• Organizational Awareness: Knows how social, political, organizational, and technological systems work and operates effectively within them. This includes the policies, procedures, rules and regulations of the work unit or organization.
• Oral Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13004738

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package to include the documents detailed below.
Failure to submit the required documents may result in your application being considered incomplete and you being deemed ineligible. It is your responsibility to ensure your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. We will not request additional documentation or accept late or missing documents after the announcement has closed.

• Resume, limited to 2-pages, detailing specialized experience and competencies as they relate to this position.
  • For each position in your resume, you must specify the start and end dates (month/year) and a description of duties. If the position was Federal, you should also indicate the grade level. Resumes containing a general summary of all positions held, not specifying start/end dates, and/or not including documentation supporting Federal grade level(s) are insufficient to determine basic qualifications.
• Your most recent NON-AWARD SF-50. The SF-50 must indicate proof of status and should identify your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted).
• Your SF-50 reflecting when you entered your highest grade (e.g. Promotion, Appointment, etc.) in order to verify time-in-grade requirements.
• Transcript if you are using education to qualify. Your transcript must show coursework and the total number of credits earned to include graduation date and degree. A diploma is NOT sufficient to determine qualifications.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please use this checklist to make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Most recent Performance Appraisal (VA Form 0750)
• Award SF-50s
• Documentation to be considered under non-competitive eligibility (if applicable) such as a member-4 DD-214, civil service preference letter, or Schedule A letter.
• CTAP documentation - RIF notice, SF-50 showing VA employee, and performance appraisal

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing 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
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Next steps