Accounts Receivable Accountant

Summary

NIST is seeking an Accounts Receivable Accountant to join its Accounts Receivable Group within the Financial Operations Division. This position is responsible for planning and evaluating accounting records financial data and reports.

Duties

As an Accounts Receivable Accountant this role primarily involves analyzing accounts receivable activities.

The candidate will be responsible for:

• Executing billing collection and financing activities.
• Resolving payment discrepancies.
• Serving as a technical advisor in interpreting and applying federal accounting standards financial regulations and internal control requirements to ensure the accuracy integrity and accountability of financial operations.
• Analyzing and resolving complex accounting issues evaluating financial processes and system capabilities and developing and implementing strategic improvements to NISTs financial management policies procedures and internal controls.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• U.S. citizenship
• Males born aftermust be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment
• Merit applicants must meet time-in-grade/band requirements as applicable
• Bargaining Unit Position: No

Qualifications

Basic Requirements

1. 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

1. 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 applicants 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 applicants education training and experience fully meet the specified

IN ADDITION:

ZA-II: To qualify the applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 (ZA-I) level at NIST. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Analyzing accounting data
• Resolving accounting discrepancies
• Managing accounts receivable operations which include billing and collections.

ZA-III: To qualify the applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least a GS-11 (or ZA-II at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as experience that includes the following:

• Experience in accounts receivable operations including billing collections reconciliations or financial reporting
• Resolving financial management issues
• Evaluating the effectiveness of internal controls and financial systems.

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.

The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook.

If requesting reconsideration of your qualification determination please refer to the following site: Applicant Reconsideration

Education

This position has an education requirement. Transcripts must be submitted to validate that the education requirement has been met. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. However an official copy will be required before a final offer of employment.

Use of foreign education for qualifications. An accredited organization must evaluate education completed outside of the U.S. to ensure that it is comparable to education received in accredited institutions in the U.S. Click here to view a listing of accredited organizations from the Department of Educations website. A copy of the foreign education evaluation (containing the results with course-by-course listing) is required with your application.

Additional information

This position is covered under NISTs Alternative Personnel Management System (APMS) a pay-for-performance system with excellent HR flexibilities to help NIST recruit and retain top talent Learn more about the APMS here!

• We may share your application package with other selecting officials. Additional selections may be made through this vacancy.
• Click all links in this vacancy announcement to view additional information or instructions.
• You MUST select at least ONE ELIGIBILITY to be considered for this position.
• All documents submitted for this announcement must be legible to make qualification or eligibility determinations.

• A probationary period may be required.

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 here: Reasonable Accommodation Overview - Agency Resource Center

NIST strives to build a flexible and encouraging work environment to bring out the best in our employees. To help our employees balance responsibilities at home and at work NIST offers a variety of work-life flexibilities. For more information please visit our Careers website.

Applicants who apply under this Job Opportunity Announcement may opt-in (at their request) to allow the sharing of their resume cover letter transcripts certifications and other associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Department of Commerce (DOC) Bureaus/Offices who have vacancies within the same occupational series grade and pay band (or its equivalent) and full performance level in the same duty location or commuting area of the duty location listed on the Job Opportunity Announcement. Applicants that apply for General Schedule (GS) positions can be considered for pay band positions under one of the DOCs alternative personnel systems (i.e. Commerce Alternative Personnel System (CAPS) or Alternative Personnel Management System (APMS)) that have the equivalent GS grade level and full performance level and similarly CAPS and APMS applicants may be considered for GS positions or one of DOCs alternative personnel systems. Upon acceptance of a position the employee will be subject to the corresponding pay system (i.e. GS CAPS or APMS). Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which they wish to receive consideration.

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.