Staff Accountant

Summary

The Accountant is responsible for the detailed and efficient operation and control of day-to-day fiscal activities at this facility. The incumbent must be experienced in applying professional concepts and methodologies as well as knowledgeable in functional program characteristics and requirements.

Duties

The Accountant position is located in a VA Medical Center within the Midsouth Healthcare Network (VISN 9). The Accountant is organizationally aligned within the Fiscal Service.Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Performs daily assignments involving the review and processing of Accounting documents.
• Maintains, analyzes, and reconciles general ledgers and subsidiary ledgers.
• Monitors and ensures compliance with Financial Indicators.
• Performs administrative duties such as: reviews, coordinates and monitors implementation of policies.
• Assists in monitoring reports generated by FMS to identify and correct any out-of balanceconditions that may exist from a variety of sources, such as: (1) the FMS interfaces with AR, CCS, FAP, IFCAP, IPPS, and transactions generated by FSC.
• Uses judgement in interpreting and adapting guidelines, such as agency policies, regulations, precedents, and work directions, for application to specific cases or problems.
• Provides advice and assistance to technicians, analysts, and clerical personnel on transactions requiring professional accounting determinations.
• Resolve operating problems by influencing or motivating individuals or groups who are working toward mutual goals.
• Determine proper transactions and accounts, or series of transactions to effect proper accounting entries and execute corrective action when necessary for a variety of accounting problems.
• Performs internal audits, vulnerability risk assessments, and any other audits deemed necessary for the Fiscal Section as assigned.
• Performs numerous detailed accounting monthly reconciliations to ensure compliance with policy requirements and procedures.
• Provides analysis and technical expertise for all accounting matters
• Studies, analyzes, and interprets manuals and other accounting regulations and policies and uses that information to complete daily tasks.
• Performs various assignments such as tracking on-going operations and solving problems that arise.
• Reviews existing procedures and develops an appropriate method of accounting to resolve unique situations.
• Analyzes current procedures and systems to determine if improvement or simplification is needed.
• Assists budget staff in resolving out of balance issues, developing/forecasting budget needs/excess
• Conducts training of both new and seasoned employees to ensure efficient and qualified coverage within the section.
• Uses various computer programs such as Excel, Power Point, Word, TEAMS.
• Able to use time management skills effectively to determine importance of daily tasks to ensure timely completion.
• Works with various Service Chiefs and Administrative officers to determine spending and costing trends.
• Resolves out of balance issues with Treasury with research and communication.
• Works with supervisor and team to provide coverage for employees that are out of office.
• Provides excellent customer service to include internal and external customers.
• Uses effective interpersonal and communication skills in order to properly, effectively andconcisely disclose the vast amount of accounting information needed by fiscal management, facility leadership, other managers throughout the facility, front line staff, vendors, veterans and VISN staff.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/21/2026.
Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9.
The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.
Applicants must submit documentation verifying that they meet time-in-grade requirements in accordance with federal regulations. Human Resources will not review or access official personnel records to determine eligibility if supporting documentation is not provided. Failure to submit required documentation will result in an ineligible rating.
Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
Occupational Requirements: The Accountant (Staff) series has Individual Occupational Requirements that must be meet. Failure to document these Individual Occupational Requirements on your resume will result in non-referral to the hiring manager.
Basic Requirements:
Individual Occupational Requirements: This occupation also has Individual Occupational Requirements. The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify for the GS 0510 occupational series, applicants MUST have one of the following:
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
Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-level.
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.

• .Applying professional accounting theories, concepts, practices, principles, methods and techniques to programming, budgeting and financial systems;
• utilizing analytical tools and research techniques to solve accounting issues and providing recommendations for improvement;
• knowledge and experience maintaining fund accounts; preparing financial statements and reports; monitoring, analyzing,
• reconciling a variety of accounting reports, ledgers, and data utilizing financial management and automated accounting systems;
• providing training on queries to standard systems and the use of individual applications;
• project management and delegating assignments to accounting staff;
• collaborating with systems personnel on designing automated systems to facilitate the processing of data; planning and coordinating accounting closeouts or reorganization events.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or 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://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.
Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.
The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.