Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from all US Citizens.

As an Auditor you will participate in the full range of the Branch’s oversight and examination functions and activities that include:

• Conducting oversight and examinations of swaps dealers, major swaps participants, and futures registrants such as futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, retail foreign exchange dealers, etc., to assess their compliance with the Act and Commission financial regulations, including data reporting and compliance obligations of commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors;
• Conducting oversight and examination of self-regulatory organizations to evaluate their audit and financial surveillance programs over member firms, including supervision of such firms’ compliance with Commission requirements;
• Executing financial surveillance activities including reviews of financial reports and other financial data submitted by all categories of registrants, onsite review of issues disclosed by such reviews, and follow up of notices received from registrants, self-regulatory organizations, and public accountants relating to financial issues;
• Conducting surveillance of introducing brokers, commodity pool operators, and commodity trading advisors through monitoring of the supervision thereof conducted by the National Futures Association (NFA), a registered futures association, through analysis of information maintained by NFA, and through direct inquiries as appropriate;
• Preparing reports of examination that set forth the findings, conclusions, and recommendations, and communicating results to appropriate officials, and preparing other work product such as examination guides, workpapers, and supporting documentation;
• Interpreting Commission regulations with respect to the financial integrity of Commission registrants and customer protection, including the segregation of customer funds by such registrants; and
• Providing support to the Capital, Margin, and Segregation Branch in its review of capital and margin requirements for swap dealers, major swap participants, and applicable futures registrants.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship
• Background/Security Investigation
• May be required to serve a one-year probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

Degree: accounting, auditing; or a degree including auditing courses 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.

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.

In addition to these basic requirements, you must also possess one year of specialized experience at least equivalent to the next lower grade level in the Federal service.

CT-14 Level: To qualify for the CT-14 level you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS/CT-13 level).  Specialized experience is defined that through which one has gained experience:

• Evaluating the adequacy of a financial entity's risk management program to analyze and evaluate the actual and potential impact of various scenarios on DCOs and their clearing members.
• Applying expert-level knowledge of accounting and/or auditing principles (such as GAAP or IFRS) sufficient to conduct difficult assignments involving interfaces and interrelationships between and among programs.
• Skill in applying expert-level financial and risk methodologies to develop new approaches in conducting financial and risk surveillance of DCOs.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application will be evaluated and rated under CFTC Category Rating and Selection Procedures. 

Your application will be evaluated based on your responses to the Situational Judgement Test (SJT), which includes a series of Situational Judgement items. These items are designed to simulate the complex regulatory and technical challenges faced by an Auditor. Your responses to the situational items will be used to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications standards at the CT-14 level. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. Your application will then be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Names of candidates in any of the quality categories may be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration. Qualified candidates who are eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veteran preference eligibles.

The SJT will evaluate your proficiency in the following competencies:

• Auditing
• Accounting
• Communication (Oral/Written)

Read Carefully: Each situational question requires you to identify the Most Effective or Least Effective course of action. There is no "partial credit" provided for sub-optimal choices. 

Consistency: Your resume must provide evidence that supports the level of expertise you claim in your questionnaire responses. 

Verification: The CFTC may verify your responses through an interview, a technical exercise, or a reference check. Providing inaccurate information may 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; 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.

You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:

• Resume showing all relevant and related experience (two pages max). If selected, your resume will be used to determine your initial pay setting decision;
• Cover Letter (optional);
• Performance appraisal (optional);
• Transcripts (an unofficial copy is accepted for application package, but an official copy with the date the degree was awarded is required prior to firm offer letter being extended)

Veterans Preference: If you are entitled to veteran preference, you should indicate the type of veteran preference you are claiming on your resume. In order to verify your veteran preference entitlement, please submit a copy of your veteran's documentation including a DD-214 (member 4 copy preferred, however, the documentation provided must contain dates and character of service); official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty; or other official documentation (e.g., documentation of receipt of a campaign badge or expeditionary medal) that shows your military service was performed under honorable conditions.  In addition, if you are a disabled veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, or widow/widower of a veteran, the spouse of a disabled veteran or the natural mother of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, “Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference,” and the other required documentation identified on the reverse side of the SF-15 to support your preference claim. Although veteran preference points are not assigned under the category rating procedures described under “How You Will Be Evaluated,” veteran preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-veterans within each category for which they are qualified. 

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