Duties

Summary

This accounting position is located in the Accounting Analysis/Reconciliation Branch within the Accounting Division of the Chief Financial Officer's (CFO) office. The incumbent is responsible for the Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) accounting and financial reporting.

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Responsibilities

Duties quoted at GS-12 level; If selected at the GS-11, candidate will have non-competitive promotion potential to the GS-13.

As an Accountant, you will analyze the accounting accuracy of all financial data that is generated from the AOC's accounting system and provide accountability of all funds as well as assets and liabilities. The individual selected for this position will perform the following duties:

Operational Accounting and Analysis

• Reviewing, analyzing, and reconciling general ledger accounts and accounting data to assess accounting data integrity.
• Performing general ledger account analyses, accounting for leases and property plant and equipment (PPE), Treasury reporting, and financial audit support.
• Analyzing supporting documents to ensure that the data included is internally consistent, and is accurately recorded in the financial system in accordance with all governing procedures for the reporting of such items. In cases of inaccurate reporting, incumbent takes the necessary action to resolve any discrepancies.
• Reviewing accounting entries to determine the accuracy of the data recorded in the financial system.
• Reviewing and assessing the accounting impact of any changes to laws, regulations and financial management guidance to ensure that accounting processes are in compliance with overarching standards and guidelines.

Accounting Transaction Processing

• Processing accounting adjustments to general ledger accounts in the financial system to ensure that accounts reflect proper balances.
• Preparing and updating accounting entries to reflect AOC business actives such as billing and collections, acquisition and disposal of property, accruals, and other relevant accounting transactions.
• Preparing and posting non-recurring adjustments as needed to correct and reflect accurate general ledger account balances, as needed.

Financial Management and External Reporting

Provide support for maintaining efficient financial management processes and reporting AOC's financial activities to external stakeholders. Such duties include, but are not limited to:

• Performing ongoing analysis to ensure that financial data is compliant with governing procedures and those transactions are accurately classified and presented in the financial reports. In cases of inaccurate reporting, taking the necessary action to resolve any discrepancies.
• Providing support for the preparation of the agency's audited financial statements.
• Assisting with the preparation of externally required financial reports, which include, but are not limited to external reports for submission to Treasury, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Congress.
• Working with management to propose or implement changes that promulgate efficient, compliant and well documented policies and procedures. Identifying and communicating impact of new regulations or financial management requirements on existing policies and procedures.

Financial Audit Support

• Working with external auditors on financial audits and reviews.
• Working collaboratively with auditors and colleagues to clarify and resolve audit issues.

Performing other related duties, as assigned

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13 - Position has non-competitive promotion potential to the GS-13.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• You must be able to pass a drug test.
• Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.
• You must meet the definition of specialized experience.

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Qualifications

Qualifications:

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications .

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must have specialized experience, directly related education OR a combination of experience and education as described below.

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you resume must clearly demonstrate the required specialized experience as described below.

Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, an applicant's one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for successful job performance.

GS-12 Qualifications:

Applicants must possess at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience is defined as having 4 out of 5 of the following:

(1) Interpreting and applying accounting policies and procedures;

(2) Preparing or reviewing financial statements and other financial reports;

(3) Evaluating internal financial reporting controls and support auditor requests;

(4) Analyzing, verifying, and reconciling fiscal transactions and/or records using a variety of accounting systems; and

(5) Preparing written communications to convey information related to accounting processes, policies and procedures for large scale organizations.

GS-11 Qualifications:

Applicants must possess at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience is defined as having 3 out of 4 of the following:

(1) Applying accounting principles, theories, concepts, and practices;

(2) Performing accounting reconciliations in accordance with accounting policies and procedures;

(3) Assisting in the the preparation of financial statements and other financial reports; and

(4) Supporting the evaluation of internal financial reporting controls and auditor request.

OR

Have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or at least 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.M. To be qualifying, the higher-level graduate education must be in a major field of study in Accounting, auditing or other field of study with course work directly related to the work of this position.

OR

Have an equivalent combination of the above specialized experience AND higher level graduate education that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

Education

REQUIRED EDUCATION

A. Degree: Bachelor's degree in 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" and 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. One of the following must be included:

24 semester hours in accounting or auditing courses, 6 of which can be in business law;

A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor through written exam;

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.

Additional information

Welcome Veterans. The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) gives veterans' preference rights in the legislative branch to certain veterans as applied by the Congressional Accountability Act. Veterans' preference is applied on this vacancy announcement. If you are a veteran and have been separated under honorable conditions, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility; SF-15, if applicable; and Department of Veterans Affairs documentation of disability, if applicable. For more information, please visit OPM vet guide

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

DRUG TESTING: The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is a Drug Free Workplace. As part of the AOC's suitability assessment, a candidate tentatively selected for a position who is not currently an AOC employee is required to submit to screening for illegal drug use. Satisfactory completion of a drug test is a condition of employment with the Agency. A candidate must test negative prior to being eligible for appointment into a position. We will schedule, provide and cover the cost for the drug test.

The selectee(s) under the vacancy announcement for this position is subject to a criminal record check by the U.S. Capitol Police and satisfactory adjudication to be eligible for employment at the Architect of the Capitol.

The Architect of the Capitol is an E-VERIFY Participant. E-VERIFY is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment authorization in the United States. If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the DHS Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" electronic system. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm

The Architect of the Capitol is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or disability.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Moving expenses are not authorized.

Relocation expenses are not authorized.

Probationary Period - A newly appointed selectee is subject to the completion of a one-year trial/probationary period, regardless of whether or not a trial/probationary period has been completed previously with the Architect of the Capitol or another Federal agency.

This vacancy announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies in any of the jurisdictions of the Architect of the Capitol.

All application materials become the property of the Architect of the Capitol.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Review your resume and responses carefully. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions.

Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for this position, possession of any specialized experience, and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement. The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies:

PROBLEM SOLVING

WRITING

AUDITING

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Your responses to the self-assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions. Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. Your resume must support your answers to the self-assessment questions. Falsifying your background, education and/or experience is cause for non-selection or disqualification from further consideration.

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the "Required Documents" section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

The Architect of the Capitol's (AOC) job application process is designed to ensure you only provide information necessary to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility for the position vacancy.

To apply for this position, you only need to submit: a) your resume and b) answers to the online vacancy assessment questionnaire. The online questionnaire contains eligibility and screening questions and other relevant information. No additional documentation or attachments are required at the time of application.

Your resume should list your education, training and work experience including job titles, employment dates, duties and accomplishments.

Nothing further is required until it is requested by AOC's Human Capital Management Division. If additional documentation is required for the position, you will be asked to provide it during the interview or selection process. At that time, you may be asked to submit documentation to support statements made in your resume.

For example, you may be asked to provide a copy of your diploma, college transcripts, or proof of Federal employment status. If the position requires licensure or certification, you will be asked to provide proof at the time of selection.

If Veterans' preference is claimed, you will be asked to submit proof (DD-214, and, if claiming a 10-point preference, a SF-15 and the proof required by that form).

Failure to provide the required documents will end further consideration and/or result in the withdrawal of any tentative job offers.

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.