Staff Accountant

Summary

The position is located within the Financial Services Center and reports to various levels of management. The staff accountant assists with internal controls. policy, processes, and procedures for VA; interprets and applies laws, regulations, decisions, rulings and policies to accounting systems and procedures to ensure conformity and proper application; and analyzes, resolves systemic obstacles, recommends changes and updates, and coordination with other offices, as necessary.

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Duties

This is a bargaining unit position.

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.

VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Compressed/Flexible Schedule: May be available with supervisor approval

Telework: Available

Duty Location Status: Will work from a VA owned or leased space

Position Description Title/PD#: Staff Accountant/ PD14283A and PD14282A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary in nature. May require walking and standing in conjunction with travel, and meetings and conferences away from the office. Some light lifting may be required.

This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-13. At the GS-12 grade level, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-13. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. Promotion is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied.

Major Duties:

• Prepares and analyzes financial statements, financial transactions, financial statement and general ledger variance analysis, actual to planned analyses and explanations, and other financial reports for the VA Franchise Fund. Analysis of VA accounting information systems and applications to collect, process, and analyze data; initiate and track financial and non-financial data; obtain up-to-date information; generate, analyze, and disseminate report information to ensure accurate financial position.
• Reviews, reconciles, and reports on VA unmatched transactions within multiple accounting information systems, reclassifies transactions to ensure that proper coding is aligned with VA and Treasury standards, analyze variances between VA collection and disbursements to identify solutions to negative fund balances and missing transactions.
• Researches and analyzes unknown issues by reviewing policies, similar situations, and providing suggested resolutions based on expert knowledge of US standard general ledgers, federal accounting, VA's accounting system and other applications in use.
• Provides financial support in the execution of short-range (up to one-year) detailed financial plans for interrelated complex substantive programs with widely varying needs, goals, objectives, work practices and timetables.
• Ensures that all reconciliations are made for VA stations regarding workload data, accuracy, distribution and collection of transactions, etc.
• Contacts various levels of management officials including top management in VA, adjacent VA sections, and other internal organizations, and must understand the level of authority of each individual contacted.
• Prepares audit reports covering all aspects of the audit of basic financial programs including the purpose, background and detailed findings and recommendations.
• Establishes and maintains close liaisons with Financial Services Center personnel, Franchise Fund Enterprise Center personnel, VACO operational elements, and other VA operational personnel, VA management and executives, and other governmental agencies regarding financial and accounting matters to ensure the needs of the Financial Services Center and VA are being met at the highest standard.
• Performs advisory duties associated with the management and control of resources of funds for VA and Franchise Fund.
• Meets the needs of customers while supporting VA missions.
• Consistently communicates and treats customers, Veterans, their representatives, visitors, all VA staff, and staff of other agencies in a courteous, tactful, and respectful manner.
  
  

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Requirements

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.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 
  
  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
  
  

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/02/2025.

AND

You may qualify based on your education/experience as described below.

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

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). The Individual Occupational Requirements for this position are:

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.
  
  

AND

For the GS-12:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Experience applying accounting theories, practices, methods, and techniques;
• Experience preparing financial reports;
• Experience analyzing/validating accounting data and/or reconciling accounts;
• Experience maintaining accounting or financial systems; and
• Experience providing financial advice and/or performing financial assistance activities.
  
  

This experience MUST be evident in your resume to receive consideration.

For the GS-13:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Experience interpreting and applying accounting theories, practices, methods, and techniques;
• Experience preparing and managing multiple financial report assignments simultaneously;
• Experience analyzing/validating/reconciling data between financial and reporting systems to correct account relationships/trial balance anomalies;
• Experience identifying and correcting systemic or recurring financial problems within accounting financial systems;
• Experience briefing leadership on financial matters and producing recommendations for management;
• Experience identifying problem areas related to accounting transaction matters and providing recommendations for improvement; and
• Experience utilizing supporting technology including queries, pivot tables, and/or macros to research, analyze, and/or summarize data.
  
  

This experience MUST be evident in your resume to receive consideration.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Principles of Accounting
• Analytical Thinking
• Communication
• Control of Funds
• Customer Service
  
  

Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.

To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.



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

There is an educational requirement as stated in the Individual Occupational Requirements for the GS-12 and GS-13 levels. A transcript MUST be uploaded with your application.

There is no educational substitution for the GS-12 or GS-13 levels.

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

"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/.

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DAS Finance

1615 Woodward St

Austin, TX 78722

US