Accountant

Veterans Health Administration; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration at the Portland VA Medical Center seeks a budget/accounting support technician to assist in fiscal functions. The role supports budget, accounting, auditing, and financial management activities with attention to accuracy and compliance.

Applicants must meet time-in-grade requirements and possess the specified accounting education/experience. The position emphasizes proper documentation and reliable financial reporting within the federal system.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-05).
• Experience applying accounting and auditing concepts to financial data.
• Ability to identify accounting problems and reconcile reports.

Responsibilities

• Apply accounting and auditing concepts to maintain financial data integrity.
• Identify accounting problems, reconcile records, and ensure accuracy of statements.
• Utilize appropriate software to present financial data and analyses.

Skills

Accounting concepts

Auditing concepts

Financial reporting

Education

Degree in Accounting

Job description

This position is located at the Portland VA Medical Center in the Fiscal Service, Accounting section. The incumbent performs technician level work in direct support of budget, accounting, auditing, fiscal, and/or financial management function.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet time-in-grade requirements and specialized experience within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 09/02/2026.

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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the GS0510 occupational series. 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 this occupational series, applicants must have one of the following listed below: 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; OR 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.

In addition to meeting the IOR, applicants may qualify based on experience and/or education as described below: GS-07: Specialized Experience: You must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-05, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Applying accounting and auditing concepts and principals sufficient to work independently.
• Identify accounting problems, inaccurate records and reports, and the lack of inadequate documentary evidence to support financial statements.
• Utilizing commercial software programs to present financial data and analysis to customers.
• Develop reports comparing actual results to plans and budgets.
• Reconciling reports and financial data.
• Assembling information and making comparative and statistical analyses.
• Develop cost estimates.

OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. Please see Education section; OR, Applicants may qualify based on superior academi