Staff Accountant

Summary

This position is within the Financial Services Center and reports to various levels of management. The Staff Accountant assists with internal controls, policy, processes and procedures for VA; interprets and applies laws, regulations, decisions, rulings and policies to accounting systems and procedures to ensure conformity and proper application; and analyses and resolves systemic obstacles, recommends changes and updates, and coordinates with other offices in accomplishing these tasks.

Duties

The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 50 applications. The first 50 applications received will be considered first. Applications received after the initial cut-off number (50 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management. If management requests additional certificates, applicants will continue to be reviewed in groups of 50 in the order they applied. Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed. Major Duties: Research and analyze issues by reviewing policies, similar situations, and providing suggested resolutions based on expert knowledge of US standard general ledgers, federal accounting, VA's accounting system and other applications in use. Interprets and applies laws, regulations, decisions, rulings and policies to accounting systems and procedures to ensure conformity and proper application. Prepares standard operating procedures, business cycle memos, analyses, financial reports, reconciliation reports, documentation of Treasury data, and other reports; provides explanations to auditors. Performs in-depth financial, accounting analyses, testing, and reports on new system applications, various automated accounting and financial applications and special projects to ensure the final product is the desired result for accounting and financial matters. Work Schedule: Mon - Fri 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Compressed/Flexible: Available with supervisory approval. Telework: Ad hoc telework (situational telework) available as determined by the agency policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Staff Accountant/PD14283A and PD14282A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/30/2026. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Individual Occupational Requirements: This position includes an Individual Occupation Requirement. Individual Occupational Requirements are requirements that must be met, in addition to the specialized experience and/or education requirement. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration. Evidence of the Individual Occupational Requirement must be reflected in your application materials (resume/transcript). Individual Occupational 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. AND In addition to the above, you may qualify based on your experience as described below: GS-12 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as under supervision, applying accounting theories, practices, methods, techniques and analyzing financial and accounting activities. Preparing financial reports and billing statements. Developing and maintaining accounting and/or financial systems and subsystems. Providing financial advice and financial assistance. Validating and analyzing accounting data, reconciling accounts, and interpreting and preparing reports. GS-13 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as independently, Reconciling data between financial and reporting systems to correct account relationships and trial balance anomalies. Reading and interpreting accounting principles and using financial databases. Identifying problem areas related to accounting transaction matters and providing expert recommendations for improvement. Utilizing supporting technology to include but not limited to queries, pivot tables, and macros to research, analyze, and summarize data. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Principles of Accounting Analytical Thinking Communication Control of Funds Customer Service 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/. Local Commuting Area: The local commuting area for this position is defined as a radius of 50 miles from Austin,TX, Waco TX or District of Columbia, DC .This includes all locations that fall within a 50-mile driving distance from Austin TX, Waco TX or District of Columbia, DC.

Education

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