Accountant

Full Job Description

This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), Finance Office (FO), with five vacancies in Silver Spring, MD.

This position is also announced under vacancy number CFO FO-26-12912421-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards.

This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified.

Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: To qualify for the 0510 series: EDUCATION: 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: 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 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.

This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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, 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.

To qualify at the ZA-2 or GS-07 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-1 or GS-05 in the Federal service.

Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Assisting with reviewing or reporting of financial data; Using accounting standards or regulatory requirements; and Applying accounting principles, practices, methods, or techniques to support accounting activities.

OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: One year of graduate-level education.

OR SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: As demonstrated by a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with one of the following.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your application clearly states how you meet the provision below: A grade point average (GPA) of 2.9 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last 2 full years of undergraduate study; A GPA of 3.5 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for required courses completed in a major field of study, or those courses completed in a major field of study during the last two years of undergraduate study; Class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision of the college; Membership in a national Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies.

OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of graduate-level education and specialized experience.

To qualify at the ZA-3 or GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service.

Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Using regulations to contribute to the formulation of financial and accounting reports; Supporting the preparation of procedural instructions for accounting processes; and Assisting with the review, analysis, and validation of financial data.

OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and professional experience.

Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements.

(Note: Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience.) Major Duties:

As an Accountant, you will perform the following duties: Carry out complex accounting assignments and functions using a broad knowledge of Federal accounting regulations, procedures, policies, and precedents.

Identify and discuss discrepancies or compliance risks with management and resolve appropriately.

Provide accounting experience by preparing recommendations for financial and accounting processes and solutions.

Ensure that standards and policies of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce (DOC), Office of Management and Budget, Government Accountability Office, Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles are met by applying a broad knowledge of Automated Financial Systems.

Develop financial reports and analysis, including but not limited to: SF132 (Apportionment and Reapportionment Schedule), SF133 (Budget Execution and Budgetary Resources) in conformance with the U.S.

Standard General Ledger. Develop Government Treasury Account Symbol reports, and the Chief Financial Officers Act (CFO) financial statements, including footnotes.

Document financial impacts of complex transactions in order to advise stakeholders on impacts, risks, and recommendations on enhanced controls.

Reconcile cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, labor, property, and other general ledger accounts, and correct all differences between the subsidiary ledger balances and the control account balances in the general ledger.

Identify process improvements to operational effectiveness and efficiency, as well as to minimize risk.

Analyze accounting systems and functionality in order to modify and adapt accounting practices and procedures to solve a variety of accounting problems.

May require independent analysis, review, and reconciliation of financial data to ensure accuracy, reliability, and compliance with federal tax regulations, including quarterly IRS filings (Form 941), federal tax payments, and year-end reporting.

Formulate a variety of financial reports in order to provide management information on the analysis of financial data, summary of issues and risk, and recommendations of alternatives to resolve difficult problems.

NOTE: These duties are described at the Full Performance Level of the ZA-3; the ZA-2 is developmental leading to such performance.