Accounting Technician

Summary

The primary purpose of the accounting technician is the technical work of collecting, recording, and maintenance of general ledger accounts and subsidiary records in support of accountants, auditors, and financial officers. Incumbents ensure VHA, VISN 20, and Medical Center financial indicators, goals and monitors are met by following applicable financial guidance and protocols.

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Duties

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Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Performs clerical, assistant, or technician level work in support of a budget, accounting, auditing, fiscal and financial management function.
• Performs budget administration support, financial systems support, cash processing, and accounting technician work.
• Examines, verifies, and maintains financial accounts and accounting data and classifies accounting transactions including the verification of the accuracy and completeness of the accounting data across multiple appropriations.
• Determines the general ledger accounts, journals, and subsidiary accounts affected, and the debit and credit entries to be made.
• Summarizes transactions and prepares control documents or other documents reflecting the entries to be made.
• Incumbent has technical responsibility for the maintenance, auditing, and reconciliation of the general and subsidiary ledger accounts, for the preparation of accurate and timely reports, and for the control of funds.
• Determines the nature of errors and makes adjustments in the correct appropriation to a variety of interrelated accounts.
• Documents financial transactions to assure a proper audit trail.
• Reviews pending items and ensures that follow-up action is taken on all items pending for excessive periods of time.
• Prepares reconciliations of the general ledger to subsidiary accounts, accruals, adjusting journal entries, accounting reports and special reports.
• Ensures the timely preparation of reports for Department of Treasury, VA Headquarters, and local management.
• Assist auditors as required by Fiscal Service regulations, including quarterly audits of Agent Cashier, Employee Accounts, Patient Funds, Voucher Audit and General Post Funds.
• Receives and analyzes various types of documents to determine propriety, validity, budget, expenditure limitation, completeness, and correctness of accounting data.
• Responsible for completing tasks associated with the recovery of receivables such as payments made in error, overpayments made to vendors or benefit recipients, items rejected and returned, returned of authorized advances, and other alternative streams of revenue available to the Medical Center.
• Performs a wide variety of specialized duties for the maintenance of accounting records and monitoring of daily reports such as recording deposits, recording accounts receivable charges and collections, and monitoring revenue streams.
• Functions as the backup Agent Cashier or the Alternate Agent Cashier and as the Accountable Officer and is responsible for proper disbursement, receipt, and deposit of all public and private funds for the organization, in accordance with regulations of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Treasury.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm PST

Telework: Not Authorized

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Accounting Technician/ PD60690S

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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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
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• 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 ( 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)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• 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.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet time-in-grade requirements and specialized experience within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 09/01/2026.

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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. 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. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performing budget, accounting, payroll and/or financial management functions; Interpreting and applying accounting principles, methods, procedures, and techniques; Using various accounting systems and computer systems to maintain financial accounts and accounting data; Reviewing and analyzing reports and documents for accuracy and authorizations, Performing research to resolve any discrepancies relating to obligations, collections, disbursements, or other actions involving complicated adjustments; Reconciling accounts, processing and posting payments; Examining, auditing, and maintaining accounting transactions and balancing general ledger accounts. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position AND the number of hours a week spent in such employment..

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; religions; 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.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

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

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.