Accountant (Systems)

Summary

These positions are with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Associate Chief Financial Officer for Shared Services, Financial Management Services Center in New Orleans, LA. The purpose of these positions are to provide technical advice to officials and other personnel regarding the operations of accounting, payroll, and/or personnel systems.

Duties

• •Applies knowledge of accounting theories, practices, methods, and techniques to independently plan and conduct a variety of assignments.
• •Assists personnel with analyzing accounting systems to solve a variety of accounting problems.
• •Supports branch and division customer service programs with resolving customer requests, issues, and problems.
• •Assists personnel with analyzing abnormal balances and processing corrective adjustments.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. To be eligible, applicants must meet one of the following requirements: Completed all requirements for an associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution within the previous two (2) years; OR Individuals who, due to military service obligation, were precluded from applying to the Recent Graduates Program during any portion of the 2-year eligibility period described above shall have a full 2-year period of eligibility upon release or discharge from active duty. This eligibility period cannot extend more than 6 years from the date on which the requirements for the academic course of study were met. AND In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements above, applicants must possess the experience and basic education requirements as follows: GS-07 Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as: 1) assisting staff with accounting theories, practices, methods, and techniques to conduct assignments; 2) creating reports from data systems; and 3) assisting staff with analyzing abnormal balances and processing corrective adjustments. OR One Full Year of Graduate-level Education: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent one year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered one year of academic graduate study. OR Bachelor's Degree with Superior Academic Achievement which is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership: 1. Class standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. 2. Grade-point average (GPA) - Applicants must have a GPA of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. OR 3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. OR Combination of Education and Specialized Experience: A combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as described above. The total percentage of higher-level education and specialized experience must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for this position. To compute the percentage of requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 36. Add the two percentages. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Please see below for basic education requirement information.

Education

Basic Education Requirements for Accounting Series, 0510 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: 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.