Accountant

Summary

This position is located in the DEA, Financial Management Division (FC), Office of Finance (FN).

This position(s) primary purpose is to receive training and experience in monitoring accounting and financial systems and processes for regulatory compliance, develop and conduct interview review programs, and track DEA's performance on scorecard initiatives.

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Duties

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As a your typical work assignments may include:

• Under the guidance and directions of a higher-graded employee, reviews data to assess the degree to which program goals are met, and may make recommendations for operational problems and required corrective action.
• Participates with higher-graded Accountants to provide analysis and reconciliation of integrated accounts for a variety of accounting systems.
• Meets individually, or with a higher-graded Accountant, with program officials to explain audit purpose and procedures; informs them of audit findings, conclusions, and recommendations; discusses critical or controversial recommendations, and assists with corrective actions required to be completed.
• Assists in developing audit plans depending on the unique nature of the project, reliability of internal controls, anticipated problem areas, and time restraints; and plans audits and gathers, organizes, and evaluates complex accounting program data.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Employment is subject to the successful completion of a background investigation. Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
• Incumbent is subject to random drug testing.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit:
• Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see

Qualifications

For more information on eligibility requirements see: DEA Employment Eligibility

Applicants must meet the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of the announcement. If you are qualifying based on education or if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcripts with your application.

Basic Qualification Requirements:

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 oneof 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.

AND

Applicants applying for the GS-07 must meet one of the following requirements:

A. Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-05 grade level. Specialized 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.

Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Assisting in the review and analysis of accounting functions; 2) Assisting with performing routine analysis and reconciliation of administrative accounts; 3) Processing basic accounting transactions and identifying discrepancies; and 4) Assisting in validating data entered into accounting systems.

OR

B. Education: 1 year of graduate-level education OR Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (SAA). In order to be creditable under this provision, SAA must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position and is based on: Class Standing: Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class, based on completed courses; Grade Point Average: applicants must have a grade point average of: 3.0 or higher: 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: 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; 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 recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies.

OR

C. Combination of Experience and Education: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Applicants applying for the GS-09 must meet one of the following requirements:

A. Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-07 grade level. Specialized 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.

Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Reviewing and analyzing various accounting functions and procedures; 2) Performing routine analysis and reconciliation of administrative accounts; 3) Identifying and resolving complex accounting transactions and discrepancies; and 4) Preparing drafts of findings, recommendation, or reports to meet established reporting milestones.

OR

B. Education : 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.

OR

C. Combination of Experience and Education : A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Additional information on the position qualification requirements are located in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Standards Handbook.

Time-In-Grade Requirement : Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

See the qualification section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit:

If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.

Additional information

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 CompetencyBased 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. (

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If an applicant is currently, or has been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, applicants must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office listed in this announcement.

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement . If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Division/Office listed in this announcement. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

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.

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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.