Supervisory Accountant (Staff)

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), Financial Management & System Division (FM&S).

The primary purpose of this position is to develop and maintain the policies, controls, and systems necessary for tracking, spending, and reporting financial results.

Non-BU: This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Duties

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As a Supervisory Accountant (Staff), GS-0510-15, your typical work assignments may include the following:

• Facilitates comprehensive scoping and risk assessment processes to include reviewing, analyzing, and providing inputs and feedback on Component proposed and/or submitted scoping plans and business process risk assessments.Facilitates comprehensive scoping and risk assessment processes to include reviewing, analyzing, and providing inputs and feedback on Component proposed and/or submitted scoping plans and business process risk assessments.
• Identifying potential significant changes / emerging risks and actively engaging
  to proactively mitigate financially related risk areas. Monitors DHS-wide assessment execution and results as well as annual budget and execution trends to proactively recognize changes to the financial environment and identify risk
  changes or control degradation in a timely manner.
• Lead reviews of financial risk registers and existing risk identification procedures, monitor and communicate the Department's pervasive issues, and assist in developing a framework and guidance to mitigate Department-wide risk areas.
• Collects, analyzes, and aggregates all business process internal control over financial reporting assessment results and develops / applies consistent guidelines to evaluate the nature of internal control deficiencies, to include those internally identified as well as the annual financial audit results or results of audits conducted by the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) or the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that may be related to a financial impact, and determines program maturity.
• Establishes and updates corrective action guidance and coordinates with DHS Component entities and business process owners to develop efficient and effective corrective action plans and then monitors remediation progress to include the performance of verification and validation testing, as applicable.
• Partners in determining compliance and enhancing DHS compliance with the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA) and encourages a strong control environment over financial management systems and any associated data integrity and/or financial process risks.

All DHS-HQ announcements have a 5 business day open period due to the number of applications received. This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 100 applications have been received, whichever happens first.

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement: Common Definitions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation.
• Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.
• You must submit to a pre-employment drug test.
• Current federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements.
• You may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.
• Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
• You will be required to complete an OGE 450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Form.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement for Accounting:

Degree: Possess a 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" in this standard. Similarly, "accountant" should be interpreted, generally, as "accountant and/or auditor."). (Must provide transcripts)

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 of the following: (Must provide transcript and/or other document):

(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;

OR

(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.

Specialized Experience:

You qualify for the GS-15 grade level if you possess one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal government, performing duties such as: 1) Planning, analyzing, coordinating, implementing, and integrating all actions necessary to orchestrate the Department's business process and financially related internal control oversight program; 2) Applying the rigors of the professional accounting discipline when conducting reviews and recommendations for compliance; 3) Serving as a subject matter expert on all areas of professional accounting application to the Department's financial business processes and internal control over financial reporting; and 4) Leading and overseeing the activities associated with the internal control over financial reporting provisions of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-123, "Management's Responsibility for Internal Control" across all Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Components and Headquarters in alignment with DHS Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Financial Improvement Act (FMFIA) requirements.

Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience may not be used for this grade level.

All qualifications and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Time-in-grade: Current General Schedule (GS) federal employees, and those that have served in GS positions within the last 52 weeks, must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade, or a combination of the next lower grade level and an equivalent band in the federal service by the closing of this announcement.

Note: Current or former Federal employees MUST submit a copy of their SF-50 Form which shows competitive service appointment ("position occupied" block 34 on the SF-50 should show a "1"), tenure group (block 24 should show a 1 or 2), grade, and salary. If you are applying for a higher grade, please provide the SF-50 Form which shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade (examples of appropriate SF-50s include promotions, With-in Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s dated a year apart within the same grade/job). If you have promotion potential in your current position, please provide proof. Employees applying with an interchange agreement must provide proof of their permanent appointment. IF YOU DO NOT SUBMIT ALL OF THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE CONSIDERATION AS A STATUS CANDIDATE.

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.

Current or Former Political Appointees: 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

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; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home.

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage on the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here:

https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time