ACCOUNTANT

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Finance, Financial Operations, Accounting Division, Indianapolis, IN. Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.

Duties

This is a Recent Graduate appointment in the Pathways Program. Selected individuals are placed in a dynamic one year development program in the excepted service designed to lead to a competitive civil service career in the Federal government. At the successful conclusion of this program, the agency may non-competitively convert individuals to a term (position lasting 1-4 years with an extension up to 120 days) or permanent position within the competitive service. Conversion to a Federal competitive service position will be at the discretion of the agency and is neither guaranteed nor implied. Typical Duties include: Supporting general ledger operations by entering, reviewing, and verifying accounting data and routine financial transactions for accuracy, completeness, documentation, and compliance with established procedures. Identifying recurring accounting data errors, assists with routine reconciliations, gathers and compares account information, and coordinates or elevates discrepancies for review and correction. Compiling, reviewing and organizing accounting data from established sources to support preparation of financial information, report inputs, and required financial reports for internal and external stakeholders. Applying established accounting policies, Federal accounting standards, Treasury guidance, agency directives, and local procedures while assisting with internal control reviews, procedure updates, and compliance-related activities. Reviewing accounting system outputs and assigned workflows, identifies inconsistencies or potential problem areas, and assists higher-graded staff with system reviews, process improvements, audit support, and project work. This position starts at a salary of $50,930.00 (GS-7, Step 1) to $80,991.00 (GS-9, Step 10) with promotion potential to $ 117,446(GS-12 Step 10). GS Salary : Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: Degree: in 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 qualify for this position if you meet the basic requirement listed above AND possess the experience or substitution of education, if applicable, as described below: Experience: You qualify for the GS-7 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Entering and verifying routine accounting transactions in an accounting/financial management system. Reviewing invoices, vouchers, receipts, or transaction records to confirm required information were present before processing. Compiling financial data from accounting systems. Comparing account balances, transaction listings, or system reports to supporting records. Responding to routine requests for transaction status, payment information, account documentation, or report data. Education Substitution: Successful completion of one year of full-time graduate education from an accredited college or university may substitute for the experience required at this level. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise a year of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 18 semester or 27 quarter hours OR Superior Academic Achievement GS-07 may also substitute for the experience required. Review Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) to see if you qualify under this provision. Experience: You qualify for the GS-9 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Reviewing and analyzing recurring accounting transactions. Performing account reconciliations while researching and resolving the routine differences. Preparing recurring financial reports by extracting and validating data from multiple accounting systems. Identifying recurring errors while also researching the cause and coordinating corrective action for routine issues. Working with program offices to obtain missing documentation, clarify transaction details and correct accounting data. Education Substitution: You may substitute a Master's degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education for experience required at the GS-9 grade level. Such education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise two years of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 36 semester or 54 quarter hours. 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. You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 11/09/2026. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application & application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The US