Accountant

Veterans Health Administration; Salt Lake City (UT); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Health Administration in Salt Lake City seeks an Accountant to perform the full range of professional accounting duties, applying sound accounting principles and practices. The role involves designing automated systems, supervising technicians, and conducting comprehensive reviews of finance functions.

The position requires robust knowledge of accounting theories and regulations, with responsibilities spanning report analysis, reconciliation, and advisory support to management.

Qualifications

• Degree in accounting or a related field with 24 semester hours in accounting (may include up to 6 hours in business law).
• Combination of education and experience: 4 years of accounting or related work with substantial accounting coursework or credentials.

Responsibilities

• Design automated systems with systems personnel to facilitate processing of accounting data.
• Review the work of Accounting Technicians for accuracy and policy adherence; assign projects.
• Plan and perform comprehensive reviews and internal examinations of finance and accounting functions.
• Verify reports with source documents and reconcile accounts; ensure compliance with laws and regulations.

Skills

Accounting

Financial analysis

Internal controls

Education

Accounting degree

24 semester hours in accounting

Tools

MS Office

MS Access

Excel

Job description

Summary

This position is located at the Salt Lake City VA Medical Center. The purpose of this position is to perform the full range of professional accounting work requiring the application of sound accounting principles, theories, concepts and practices

Duties

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Major duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

• Works closely with systems personnel on the design of automated systems to facilitate the processing of accounting data to assure the results attained meet all accounting requirements.
• Reviews the work of Accounting Technicians to assure accuracy and conformity to policy and procedures, instructing them when necessary on proper methods and assigns projects to be accomplished.
• Plans, coordinates and performs one-time/recurring comprehensive reviews, special studies and selective internal examinations of finance and accounting functions.
• Assignments involve verifying reports with source documents and records, reconciling accounts, investigating to determine if transactions are in accordance with pertinent laws and regulations.
• Applies a professional knowledge of accounting theories, principles, practices, and automated systems.
• Utilizes a large body of guidelines, regulations and statutory requirements to identify such accounting problems as: inadequate maintenance of fund control, inaccurate records and reports, and lack of documentary evidence to support the performance of regulatory reconciliations.
• Reviews report media, directs and/or prepares and analyzes internal and external statements and reports. Examples include: Statement of Financial Conditions, Selected Data, Analysis of Costs Incurred and Statement of Selected Support Data.
• Makes day-to-day decisions regarding unusual and complex accounting transactions, and is available to consult on solution of management problems and to provide alternatives through sound application of professional knowledge of the accounting system.
• Analyzes and evaluates current general accounting methods and procedures in terms of adequacy and effectiveness; recommends changes, modifications and improvements in operating procedures. Assists in designing, developing and installing accounting forms and adapting same to meet the requirements of special activities and conditions.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule

Full Time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

Telework

This position may be authorized for Ad-hoc telework.

Position Description/PD#

Accountant/PD13603A

Requirements

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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.
• 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-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.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and 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;
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/18/2026.

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 by the closing date of this announcement. 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. 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.

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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirement

This position require applicants meet the following Individual Occupational Requirements:

Basic Requirements

• 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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Specialized Experience GS-11

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to....Professional, comprehensive knowledge of theories, practices, methods, and techniques of accounting, organizational or program practices, policies, and functions sufficient to independently plan and conduct a variety of assignments and analyze accounting systems; modifies and adapts conventional accounting and analytical techniques to solve a variety of accounting problems; possesses intermediate excel skills (e.g. pivot tables, lookups, and using macros); experienced with MS Office, to include MS Access database (e.g. importing data and updating reference fields); the ability to review work of accounting technicians to assure accuracy and conformity to policy and procedures, and the knowledge and ability to analyze and evaluate current general accounting methods and procedures in terms of adequacy and effectiveness....

OR,

Education

Applicants may also qualify for this position using their education. To qualify for this position at the GS-11 level using education, applicants must have successfully completed 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree...

OR,

Combination

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond graduate level.

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.

Physical Requirements

The work is primarily sedentary. However, there may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of items such as papers and books.

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

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

TRANSCRIPT REMINDER -

If you are basing your qualifications on education (or a combination of education and experience) or if the position requires a college education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests:

If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for 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.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)

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/.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.