Accountant

U.S. Department of Justice; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, OCFO, FAAD, is advertising an Accountant position at the GS-0510-11 level in Washington, DC.

The role requires a degree in accounting or a related field with substantial accounting coursework, or an equivalent combination of education and experience, including specialized accounting knowledge. Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-09 and may be considered under substitution rules for education.

Qualifications

• A. Degree: accounting or related field with 24 semester hours in accounting (and up to 6 hours business law).
• B. 4 years accounting experience with 24 semester hours in accounting or equivalent, or professional certification (CPA/CIA).
• GS-11 substitution for education allowed with relevant advanced education or equivalent.
• One year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-09 is required.

Responsibilities

• Performing analysis, validation, and reconciliation of fund accounts across multiple financial management systems.
• Processing and recording complex accounting transactions including obligations, disbursements, cost accruals, and reconciliations.
• Administering fund control activities including certifying fund availability and tracking expenditures.
• Evaluating and troubleshooting financial management information systems for data integrity.

Skills

Attention to Detail

Accountability

Customer Service

Integrity/Honesty

Interpersonal Skills

Learning

Self-Management

Stress Tolerance

Teamwork

Decision Making

Arithmetic

Mathematical Reasoning

Reasoning

Education

Accounting degree with 24 semester hours in accounting

Combination of education and experience (4 years in accounting)

Job description

This position is located in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), Finance Accounting and Analysis Division (FAAD).

This job is also being advertised to current and former federal employees who can apply through internal or merit hiring procedures under announcement number JP-26-010.

To qualify for the position of Accountant, at GS-0510-11, you must meet the qualification requirements listed below.

Basic Entry Requirements:

A. 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-

B. 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.

Specialized Experience:

Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level. Specialized experience is experience which is in or related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Examples of specialized experience include:

• Performing analysis, validation, and reconciliation of fund accounts across multiple financial management systems;
• Processing and recording complex accounting transactions including obligations, disbursements, cost accruals, accounts payable/receivable, and resolving out-of-balance conditions in financial reports;
• Administering fund control activities including certifying fund availability, analyzing appropriated fund accounts, and tracking commitments, obligations, and expenditures;
• Evaluating and troubleshooting financial management information systems to identify and resolve technical accounting issues affecting data integrity and system performance;
• Reconciling financial data from multiple internal and external systems to ensure accuracy and compliance with accounting standards and reporting requirements;
• Preparing financial reports, trial balance reconciliations, and financial transactions supporting annual audited financial statements in compliance with governing requirements.

GS-11: Substitution of Education for Experience

A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M. if related.

GS-11: Combination of Education and Experience

Equivalent combinations of successfully completed education and experience may be used to meet the experience requirements.

Online Assessment:

This position requires an online assessment.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Occupational Interaction Assessment:
  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
• Occupational Judgment Assessment:
  • Decision Making
• Occupational Math Assessment:
  • Arithmetic
  • Mathematical Reasoning
• Occupational Reasoning Assessment:
  • Reasoning