Duties

Summary

This position is located in Office of Finance and Accounting (OF&A) in The Smithsonian Institution. The employee is responsible for broad financial management projects and studies relating to planning, developing, implementing and evaluating financial management and accounting policy, systems, and processed.

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Responsibilities

• Responsible for significant portions of broad financial management projects and studies relating to planning, developing, implementing and evaluating financial management and accounting policy, systems, processes, methods and procedures affecting the Department, the Office and/or the SI community at large to enable and ensure the timely and effective collection and delivery of financial information
• Participate in or lead working groups addressing new/improved approaches to SI's financial management systems, system integration, and quality assurance. Ensure automated systems are integrated, function with overall financial systems and/or processes meet functional needs while also ensuring both trust and federal requirements are met
• Utilize broad knowledge of financial management systems to analyze current processes to ensure reports, queries, etc. meet the needs of the office and SI as a whole. Identify areas of improvement; develop systems requirements for new and/or revised reporting requirements; collaborate with Chief Information Officer's group to ensure reports/queries are developed. Test solutions to ensure reports/queries are performing as intended

Travel Required

Occasional travel - May require occasional local and domestic travel.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• Complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer

Basic Requirements

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."). Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.

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. Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable. The applicant's 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 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) 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.

Qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

Qualifications

Experience: You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal Service or comparable pay band system. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) Monitoring and correcting account relationships and trial balance anomalies; 2) Reconciling data between financial and reporting systems; 3) Preparing organization information for the Financial Reporting Package, including the applicable Financial Statements and Footnote data; 4) Analyzing, explaining, and correcting financial statement variances; 5) Analyzing compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP); and 6) Utilizing a comprehensive knowledge of common Government Accountability Office (GAO), OMB, Treasury, and Departmental standards and regulations to prepare financial and accounting reports, execute financial transactions, and implement internal controls

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Education

Basic Educational Requirement :

In addition to the Specialized Experience requirement for this position, applicants must meet the Education Requirements described below:

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.

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:

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 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) 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.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You must submit your transcripts or other verification to verify that you meet this educational requirement.

Additional information

Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/ohr/benefits for a complete description.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application will be evaluated first for the basic qualifications described above. The applications that meet the basic qualifications will be evaluated further against the following criteria:

• Knowledge and skill to apply Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; skilled in fund accounting in not-for-profit or U.S. federal accounting; and knowledge of U.S. federal financial regulations, procedures and budget process.
• Knowledge of automated accounting systems design practices and limitations to identify potential system issues and to discuss and/or describe possible automated solutions
• Advanced analytical ability including knowledge of financial analysis methods and techniques, mathematical/cost models, qualitative and quantitative analytical procedures
• Skill to communicate complex concepts, clearly and concisely, verbally and in writing.

Applicants who meet or exceed minimum qualifications will be assigned to one of three category groups based on job-related criteria: Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above. Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above. Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree. This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAjobs system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

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Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

Your application package should include the following documents:

• Detailed resume created in the USAJOBS Resume Builder.
• Unofficial school transcripts. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment. (See "Basic Requirements" or https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0500/accounting-series-0510/ for information regarding the basic requirements for the Accounting, 0510 series).
• Certificate of Public Accounting (CPA), if applicable (See "Basic Requirements" or https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0500/accounting-series-0510/ for information regarding the basic requirements for the Accounting, 0510 series).
• Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.