Duties

You will provide leadership and technical guidance and expert execution of a wide range of accounting issues; manage operational planning and execution to correct known accounting deficiencies and to improve financial reporting delivery and compliance; participate in the accurate and timely completion of remediated tasks related to annual audit of the financial statements; provide expert guidance on analysis when required to improve strategic and financial reporting execution; ensure compliance to all laws, Code of Federal Regulations, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards, DHS and CG guidance, policies and procedures pertaining to financial reporting; provide expert interpretation, execution, implementation and financial statement reporting of Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) releases, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), General Accounting Office, Treasury publications and artifact.

Being a Coast Guard (CG) civilian makes you a valuable member of the CG team. Typical work assignments include:

• Directing and coordinating the work of a professional staff at the GS-13 thru GS-14 and field grade officer levels, or equivalent and performing the administrative and technical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the Financial Reporting division charged as the primary point of contact and coordinating, monitoring the preparation/certification of CG wide Financial Reporting, accounting and management reports, as well as the related disclosures, audit remediation and sustainment practices, and related financial management policies and financial system requirements.
• Providing expert advice to the Chief and Deputy Chief, Financial Reporting, Policy and Property, financial and program managers and other accountants in specialized area of accounting or other unusual and difficult accounting problems and developing/updating financial management policies for program users to ensure compliance across CG enterprise.
• Interpreting, assessing implications of new financial reporting requirements issued by FASAB, Treasury and OMB on CG organization and providing authoritative guidance as needed in the execution of special studies and reports needed to evaluate or improve financial management practices; directing or guiding the preparation of written reports and oral briefings to senior management; and representing the CG at various meetings and conferences on matters related to financial management, policy, and audit remediation. Recommending improvements to existing CG wide processes, financial systems, or proposing new processes in order to achieve financial management improvement goals to include supporting development and implementation of new financial system, and related processes and reports.
• Providing a high level review and oversight of all Financial Statements submitted to internal and external agencies to include conducting variance analysis related to monthly financial statements and the related footnotes, the review and approval of all accounting adjustments in the agency's financial statements, capitalization of property, plant and equipment assets, coordination, preparation and submission for the USA Spending deliverables.
• Coordinating the Prepared by Client (PBC) deliverables, responding to auditor questions and assist CG activities/units in the execution of PBC's and audit requests, and process audit Notification of Findings and Recommendations to ensure the accuracy of CG's Management Response.
• Monitoring lower echelon financial management performance measures and coordinating the development of corrective action plans to improve financial accounting and reporting. This monitoring and reporting functions includes the status of corrective actions plans and resolutions to NFRs resulting from the annual financial audit. Assisting in the remediation of CG financial accounting and reporting matters through participation in a comprehensive review, detailed analysis, resolution and compliance with all financial reporting processes.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Unofficial transcripts are required at the time of application
• This position requires a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI)
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service
• You may be required to serve a one-year supervisory probationary period

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. This includes Time-In-Grade requirements for current status employees applying through merit promotion procedures. Status applicants applying for a promotion must have 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade.

Qualifications

To meet the Basic Requirements, you must meet one of the following:

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 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.

In addition to the Basic Requirement, you must meet the following Specialized Experience:

To be considered at the GS-15 level: Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 grade level in the federal service. For this position, specialized experience includes providing a wide array of oversight, review and analytical activities; providing technical assistance and advice regarding the execution of accounting and financial management; providing technical guidance and expert advice on a wide range of accounting issues in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); strategic planning, financial management, process reengineering, process management, and performance measurement, as well as experience in leading a staff in accounting initiatives.

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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 Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Education

This position does have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here

Additional information

Applicants will be required to complete questions contained on the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) at the time a tentative job offer is made. Certain responses on the form could pose a problem with suitability for employment determinations. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete/make updates to the OF-306 and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, or imprisonment.

DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about e-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities at click here

Recruitment incentives may be authorized.

This is a supervisory position, under provisions of the Civil Service Reform Act, first time supervisors and/or managers will be required to serve a one-year probationary period.

Professional certification as Certified Public Accountant, Certified Government Financial Manager or Certified Defense Financial Manager is preferred but not required.

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans , Peace Corps / VISTA volunteers , and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

More than 1 selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 45 days from the date the certificate was issued.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for the application and hiring process, please contact 202-795-6272. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Visit Reasonable Accommodation