at Veterans Benefits Administration in Hines, Illinois, United States
Job Description
Summary The incumbent in this position serves a Senior Accountant and under the leadership and the purview of the Division Chief. The incumbent of this position is tasked with providing a wide variety of accounting, analytical, and financial support to the VBA Finance Center to include day-to-day operational and accounting system processing. Responsibilities Specific duties include: Serves as a Certifying Officer for daily Veteran and beneficiary payments, analyzes payment vouchers to accounting reports, and verifies funding Analyzes and interprets laws, regulations, decisions, and directives of other governmental bodies which have an impact on VBAFC’s C&P and EDU Benefit Programs financial accounting and reporting systems Ensures all entries used to record accounting events are accurate and meet guidance provided by Treasury and others Plans, organizes, monitors, controls, and executes projects of short-term and long-term duration to ensure its quality and timely completion Assists in developing, maintaining, and administering a complex set of automated systems/subsystems to produce accurate and timely financial/accounting information Responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the official accounting records and documents for all VA Benefit Programs Analyzes mandatory or discretionary funding and projection of needs based on historical trends and expected growth Performs and provides analysis and advice on financial matters associated with control of funds for Management officials and administrators Solves complex reporting problems encountered in the review, analysis, reconciliation, and consolidation of various accounting and financial reporting applicable to VBAFC appropriations and funds Serves as the VBA Finance Center business lead and representative in the development, implementation, and operation of all systems affecting the programs supported by the Center Estimates, monitors, and reports on status and progress of work and meets established milestones and deadlines for completion of assignments, projects, and tasks Researches, learns, and applies a wide range of qualitative and/or quantitative methods to identify, assess, analyze, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of work products Responsible for the application of appropriate problem-solving techniques, work methods, practices, and procedures, and identifies the parameters of a viable solution Assists in the development of business requirements Performs as a liaison for both internal and external audits Responsible for Finance Center website modifications and maintenance Estimates, monitors, and reports on status and progress of work and meets established milestones and deadlines for completion of assignments, projects, and tasks Provides financial advice and assistance for internal agency operating accounting programs to include research in direct support of the mission and organization objectives Provides technical training and professional assistance to VBA Finance Center staff on accounting policies and procedures Articulates and communicates assignments, projects, problems to be solved, actionable events, milestones, and/or programs issues under review, and deadlines/timeframes for completion Performs financial or management reporting functions for which the Center is responsible Develops guidance to supplement guidelines received from VA Central Office, OMB, GAO, or Department of Treasury Initiates written communication and independently composes documents, correspondence, and reports involving complex or technical information, standard operating procedures, and business requirements Independently prepares reports from a variety of sources identifying problem areas and containing analysis and recommendations for improvement Promotion Potential: GS-13 is Full Potential. Work Schedule: Full time, Monday through Friday Compressed/Flexible: Available Telework: Available Virtual: This is a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Senior Technical Accountant; 41859-0 – GS-13 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Available Financial Disclosure Report: None Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:06/20/2024. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements. To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. You must provide a copy of your most recent SF-50 that indicates proof of status, and shows Time in Grade (for example, you were a career or career-conditional employee) and identifies your position title, series, grade, step, salary, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must also submit your most recent promotion or within-grade increase in addition to your recent SF-50. If you previously held a higher grade, you must also submit any SF-50 showing that grade. DO NOT submit Award SF-50’s and/or General Adjustment SF-50’s as they cannot be used to prove time-in-grade. For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-13 Grade Level: Specialized Experience: The work level is characterized as broad and highly difficult assignments requiring the full range of accounting, reporting, and analytical duties. The incumbent must have extensive professional knowledge of the theory, principles, concepts, and practices of accounting to apply this knowledge to broad and difficult assignments. This entails the ability to develop and promulgate accounting policies and standards covering all financial system operations or to resolve problems of above average difficulty in maintaining accounting systems. The incumbent must have a thorough knowledge of governmental accounting practices and procedures including those established by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Department of Treasury, OMB, and GAO to design, modify, administer, or analyze accounting systems or programs. The incumbent must exercise initiative, resourcefulness, and mature judgment. Deals tactfully and convincingly with Management, staff members, and others within and outside of the organization regarding the coordination of policies and operating procedures. The work is characterized by solving accounting problems in particularly difficult and responsible circumstances. The Accountant may have major responsibilities in accounting systems development, design, or operations and maintains responsibilities with overall responsibility for VBA Finance Center system operations. The work includes advising the Center Director, Deputy Director, and staff as well as preparing written regular or special purpose reports that accurately reflect findings and recommendations regarding accounting and financial system operations. The incumbent typically works with a variety of accounting and financial systems in environments where there is significant interface with automated management systems. The Accountant is an expert in multiple aspects of VA Benefit Program accounting and its application and financial reporting. Education: IOR: 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. Sim
