Auditor (Financial)

Clarification from the agency

Status Candidates (Merit Promotion and VEOA Eligibles) Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL) Federal employees - Competitive service Individuals with disabilities Military spouses Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista Special authorities Veterans

As a GS-13 Financial Auditor, the individual is responsible for planning, coordinating, and conducting or overseeing comprehensive engagements of major scope and complexity. The auditor monitors and provides oversight of engagement teams from contracted independent public accounting firms performing highly complex federal financial statement audits and ensures the quality and integrity of all related products. The auditor may also serve as the auditor-in-charge of an audit or attestation (or lead a portion of larger engagements) performed by the Financial Statement Audit Office. Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Providing technical guidance and expert advice to other auditors and engagement teams from contracted independent public accounting firms on the interpretation of federal accounting principles, concepts, and practices; and the application of government auditing standards as prescribed by the Government Accountability Office.
• Developing new approaches and innovative audit techniques to evaluate the Department's bureaus, functions, and operations.
• Developing audit and attestation program guides for engagements performed by the Financial Statement Audit Office.
• Exercising technical direction over the collection and analysis of data; and ensuring that evidence collected is sufficient, competent, and relevant to support conclusions reached in audit and attestation reports; and properly documented and reviewed in the audit working papers.
• Providing effective team leadership including: (1) proactively identifying and resolving problems that could impact engagement goals; (2) establishing priorities and adjusting schedules to accomplish the work as timely as possible; and (3) effectively utilizing resources.
• Drafting audit and attestation reports that consolidate and integrate the work of others. The reports should provide a logical structure for presenting results, answering all of the audit objectives, and ensuring that all elements of a finding are supported by the data. The Financial Auditor also performs quality control reviews of the independent public accounting firm's audit documentation, summaries, notifications of findings and recommendations, and draft audit reports. Additionally, the Financial Auditor reviews the auditees' responses for reasonableness, factual accuracy, and responsiveness to the findings and recommendations.
• Assisting in developing the message and drafting significant portions of other products, such as briefings, meetings, reports, testimonies, and fact sheets; and ensuring all products are clear, convincing, accurate, and thorough.
• Planning for and conducting or participating in status meetings with key officials of audited activities to obtain information, advise them of the engagement's progress, and develop honest and productive relationships with these parties.
• Providing coaching, mentoring, and feedback to team members, as well as, the engagement manager on performance and providing informal mentorship and guidance to junior staff (e.g., GS-11 and GS-12 Financial Auditors).
• Identifying new areas for audit and planning new engagements by submitting tactical plan suggestions that support the OIG strategic plan as well as audit proposals that detail the benefit of committing resources to performing the work.
• Assisting in developing statements of work, participating on a technical selective panel to evaluate contract proposals, monitoring contract milestones, and inspecting contract deliverables and Performance.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• You must be registered for the Selective Service, if applicable.
• You must successfully pass and are subject to random drug screenings.
• You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• You may be subject to a probationary period.
• You must complete the USAHire Questionnaire in order to be considered for this position.

Qualifications

Selective Placement Factor
Your resume must show in detail that you possess the below Selective Placement Factor.

Experience as an independent auditor in conducting or overseeing federal financial statement audits performed pursuant to the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act or Accountability of Tax Dollars Act.

AND

Education Requirements for Financial Auditors

1. 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

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 such 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

Specialized Experience

To qualify at the GS-13 level, applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience at least equivalent to a GS-12 Financial Auditor position which is in or directly related to auditing and program evaluation or assessment which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Examples of specialized experience includes performing or overseeing independent audits of federal financial statements as the senior auditor (in-charge auditor), which includes directing and instructing audit team, providing team members with technical guidance, independent performance of major segments of assigned tasks, and reviewing completed work; and performing contracting tasks such as drafting statements of work and reviewing contract deliverables for a federal financial statement audit contract. Specialized experience also includes technical knowledge and understanding of the Federal financial statements (i.e., Balance Sheet, Statement of Net Cost, Statement of Changes in Net Position, Statement of Budgetary Resources, and Statement of Custodial Activity).

Only experience gained from a federal financial statement audit performed pursuant to the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act or Accountability of Tax Dollars Act will meet the specialized experience. The applicant must demonstrate an understanding of Government Auditing Standards for Financial Statements audits, and the OMB Audit Bulletin. Experience from any other types of audits (i.e., performance audits, internal audit work related to OMB A-123 requirements) will not be accepted towards meeting the specialized experience. Your resume must show in detail that you possess the above Specialized Experience.

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade level (or equivalent).

Your resume and supporting documents must also clearly demonstrate that you have the experience listed to qualify for this position.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated by a panel of subject matter experts through the following assessment process:

USA Hire Assessment: Applicants will be required to complete a USA Hire Assessment. This assessment is online and measures the following competencies:

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

You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the USAHire assessment.

You will be evaluated by a panel of subject matter experts through the following assessment process:

Resume Review: Your resume will be reviewed to determine your technical qualifications.

Interview: Applicants who pass the resume review may be invited to an interview with an interview panel and/or selecting official.

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), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position and a review of your application by a panel of subject matter experts. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

1. Auditing
2. Principles of Accounting
3. Oral Communication
4. Contracting/Procurement
5. Teamwork

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. If your resume or transcript is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly.

Subject Matter Expert (SME) Resume Review:In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. A subject matter expert, or SME, is a person with bona fide expert knowledge about what it takes to successfully perform in a particular job. The SME(s) will measure potential applicants for the critical competencies. Your resume will be reviewed to determine your technical qualifications, as well as any required certification(s) applicable to the position. Applicants found to meet the requirements will be eligible to move forward for additional hiring consideration.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13047157

If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for further employment consideration.

• Resume
  • Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position. 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, and 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.
• SF-50 documentation (if applicable)
  • Must show (most recent Promotion, Within Rate Increase, or Appointment/Conversion SF-50 or Notification of Personnel Action if you are applying as a current or former Federal Employee) you have acquired competitive status, and the highest grade or promotion potential you held. Award SF-50's are not acceptable alone as they do not show your grade and step.
• CTAP/ICTAP documentation (if applicable)
  • Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and (for scored examining) score 85 or better on established ranking criteria OR (for category rating criteria) rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/ctap/index.asp.
  • The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and (for scored examining) score 85 or better on established ranking criteria OR (for category rating criteria) rate equivalent to the Highly Qualified or better category using established category rating criteria. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: http://www.opm.gov/ctap/index.asp.
• Veterans' Preference documentation (if applicable)
  • If you are a veteran and you are claiming 5-point veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility.
  • If you are a veteran and you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference click here.
• Education documentation
  • Degree: Legible unofficial college transcript that supports the education requirement. If you are selected, an official transcript will be required before your first day
• Schedule A documentation (if applicable)
  • Schedule A: DOJ welcomes and encourages applications from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advanced on the basis of merit within the Department. DOJ also encourages eligible Schedule A applicants to submit their resumes.

Next steps