Accountant in El Paso, Texas

Summary Serves as an Accountant responsible for performing professional accounting work relating to the financial activities of the agency; assists the Accounting Officer in providing accounting and systems guidance to accounting staff; and serves as a liaison to multiple agency departments and field offices. Responsibilities Queries data, formats and organizes reports such as cost reports, cash forecasts, data reflecting the interrelations of accounting, payroll, budget, and other accounting data. Provides interpretation of accounting reports, statements, and data to detail trends, and identify deviations from standards; and project future data. Accurately prepares, and enters timely, all required accounting information into the accounting systems. Completes technical reviews of financial data and analysis, and interpretation of accounting data; and provides timely financial reconciliations. Reviews and certifies data entry of invoices, receipts and other financial transactions. Monitors and maintains strong internal controls over accounting data. Monitors, tracks, and reports any deficiencies and material weaknesses. Stays current with laws, regulations, and accounting pronouncements and applies necessary changes. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Qualifications must be met by 07/01/2024 To qualify for this position, you must have and/or meet the education, specialized experience, and certification requirements as listed below. Basic Educational Requirement for Accountant: 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”) 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. Your 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 a 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) you have 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 you have 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, your education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements. Grade Differential: Each grade level of the position performs a wide range of tasks similar to those described in the listing of functional area duties and responsibilities. At the lower grade level, GG-09, the employee will be assigned work to further develop and refine their technical knowledge and skills. Assignments will combine productive work with ongoing training and instruction. Supervision received at the GG-09 grade level will be closer with oversight and review being provided on a regular basis. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for all grade levels for which both education and experience are acceptable. Specialized Experience GG-09: In addition to the requirements listed above, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GG/GS-07 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience is defined as: applying accounting theories and practices to new problems, operations, and situations; entering accounting information into an accounting system; reviewing and reporting data entry of invoices, receipts, and other financial transactions for certification; preparing timely financial reconciliations and data analysis; maintaining strong internal controls over accounting data; monitoring, tracking, and reporting deficiencies and material weaknesses; providing information about expenses, maintenance costs, and distributions costs; keeping current with laws, regulations, and accounting pronouncements; assisting with policy and procedural implementation; and assisting in response to auditors by providing supporting documentation to the Accounting Officer; OR Education: 2 full academic years of progressively higher level education or a masters or equivalent graduate degree or LL.B or J.D. Specialized Experience GG-11: In addition to the requirements listed above, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GG/GS-09 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience is defined as: applying accounting theories and practices to new problems, operations, and situations; entering accounting information into an accounting system; reviewing and certifying data entry of invoices, receipts, and other financial transactions; preparing timely financial reconciliations and data analysis; monitoring and maintaining strong internal controls over accounting data; monitoring, tracking, and reporting deficiencies and material weaknesses; providing information about expenses, maintenance costs, and distributions costs; keeping current with laws, regulations, and accounting pronouncements; assisting with policy and procedural implementation; and assisting in response to auditors by providing supporting documentation and coordinating responses through the Accounting Officer; OR Education: 3 full academic years of progressively higher level education or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Part-Time or Unpaid Experience: Credit will be given for unpaid work on the same basis as for paid experience. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. To receive credit for such experience you must indicate clearly the nature of the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the number of hours per week spent in such employment. Time in Grade (TIG): Current and former Federal employees must have a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level to be eligible under Merit Promotion procedures. An SF-50 must be provided that verifies eligibility as stated in the Area of Consideration section. Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management web site: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1100/contracting-series-1102/ Education This position has a positive education requirement; and This position allows you to use education to qualify as a substitution for experience as listed under Qualifications A copy of your transcripts are required at the time of application to verify that you meet the educational requirement and/or educational substitution for experience. Only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be credited. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: https://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html Additional Information If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming veterans’ preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (member-4 copy preferred) or other proof of eligibility that shows the dates you were on active duty and your character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are claiming Disabled Veterans’ preference you must also submit documentation of disability (i.e. VA Disability Verification Letter) and the SF-15, “Application for 10-Point Veterans’ Preference.” For more information on veterans’ preference see http://www.fedshirevets.gov/ Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see www.sss.gov ). The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal 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 rated in well-qualified by scoring 85 or higher on the assessment for this vacancy. Additional information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM’s Career Transition Resources website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/