Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Office of the Auditor-Master of the District of Columbia Superior Court. The Office of the Auditor-Master is responsible for investigating, auditing, and stating fiduciary, business, and other accounts in matters referred to the Office by Judges and Magistrate Judges of the Superior Court.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This is an investigative accounting position. We are investigating the accounts of persons who are in charge of, and who have failed to properly account for, the assets of elderly persons, decedent's estates, and children who have assets under the control of the Courts, and small businesses with accounting disputes. The accountant has the primary responsibility of securing, reviewing and assembling all available financial data into a restated account that shows the beginning and ending assets and all income and expenditures, with a determination of the precise amount of assets that have not been accounted for, and for which a judgment should be entered. The accountant has the following specific responsibilities:

• Preparing accounts from documentation that is most often in the form of hand-written receipts and notes, bank and investment statements, cash register receipts, check and money order stubs. Documentation is supplemented through testimony of the parties on how assets were used or misused. The final account is presented to the Court with our report.
• Creating financial activity ledgers and schedules, often based on hundreds of submitted financial documents in the forms noted above. The ledgers are used in the preparation of a complete, restated account.
• Reviewing accounts submitted to the Court in our referred cases by auditing, analyzing and reconciling all financial transactions in order to discover any discrepancies or errors, and to determine the documentation that we must secure in order to prepare an accurate account.
• Reconciling and comparing bank account activity to corresponding balance sheets and noting any discrepancies.
• Transferring hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of financial transactions, into financial activity ledgers. Accounting interns are sometimes available to assist in this process.
• Performing calculations of interest, amortization, annuitization, gains and losses, and other financial computations for hearings and reports.
• Reviewing accounting principles, laws, rules, and regulations applicable to accounts, investments, calculations, and tax returns.
• Collecting, analyzing, and summarizing evidence in support of accounting conclusions.
• Participating in court hearings and advising the judicial officers and attorney advisors on financial issues.
• Maintaining, indexing, and organizing all office performance data for internal and external reporting.
• Writing reports as assigned by the Auditor-Master and Deputy Auditor-Master.
• Supervising and recruiting accounting and business interns and temporary accountants.
• Enabling the office to speed up its accounting processes by Investigating, finding, sampling, recommending and purchasing software programs or platforms into which financial documentation received from institutions can be scanned and the financial transactions accurately captured and imported into Microsoft Excel or other financial software for manipulation so that manual entry can be reduced or eliminated.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• A background and/or security investigation is required.
• Probationary period of one (1) year.

To qualify for this position, the following must be submitted:
1. Resume
2. Completed Vacancy Questionnaire
3. Documentation /Proof of Education (copy of college transcript)
4. Certified Public Accountant (if applicable)

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the vacancy questionnaire. Click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process.

All required documentation must be received by the closing date of the announcement.

For more information about vacancies, visit us on the web at www.dccourts.gov or call 202-879-0496.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance or Business Administration with 24 semester hours of accounting and three (3) years of experience preparing accounts (e.g., tax, fiduciary, business and/or investment) from source documentation.

Education Substitution:

• Master's Degree in Accounting, Finance or Business Administration with 24 semester hours of accounting and two (2) years of experience preparing accounts from source documentation.

Certification Substitution:

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a minimum of two (2) years of experience preparing accounts from source documentation OR
• Certified Forensic Accountant (CRFAC) and a minimum of two (2) years of experience preparing accounts from source documentation.

One year or more of experience preparing fiduciary accounts which includes investments is preferred.

The incumbent should be an enthusiastic and engaged professional who enjoys working with a diverse group of Court personnel and customers and lives the DC Courts' values of Accountability, Excellence, Fairness, Integrity, Respect, and Transparency.

Documentation of education must be submitted with your application or your application will not be considered.

Please note that authorization for the release of your adult criminal record revealing any convictions and forfeitures, and any criminal cases currently pending before the courts are required. If you are selected for the position, a criminal history records check will be conducted.

Education

To qualify based on education, upload copy of your college transcript. The transcript must show the name of the college or university, your name, list of courses with credit hours, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.

Additional information

This job is being filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive civil service.

Please note there is a mandatory one year probationary period for all non-judicial new employees.

All required information must be received by the closing date.

The safety of DC Court employees, contractors and the public is a top priority. In compliance with the guidelines published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Courts has maximized its telework flexibilities. The ability and readiness for employees to telework impacts operational requirements and capabilities. This includes having a personal computer, tablet or mobile device which is not shared with secure internet connectivity.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Upon receipt of your complete application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure that you meet the minimum qualification requirements. Answers submitted in the questionnaire must be supported on your resume.

Your resume must reflect the relevant experience and that you meet the minimum qualifications or your application will not be considered.
To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

1. Résumé
2. Completed Vacancy Questionnaire
3. Documentation /Proof of Education (e.g. copy of college transcript or degree)
4. Certified Public Accountant (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.