Staff Accountant

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/01/2026. 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 by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09.The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. 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 provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You must meet the following basic requirements within the Individual Occupational Requirements/Basic Requirements below. Please note that a transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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.") 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. 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirements within the Individual Occupational Requirements/Basic Requirements, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-9 Specialized Experience: You must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7. Specialized Experience isexperience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: reviewing and processing accounting documents; preparing related reports and initiating corrective actions; utilizing methods and techniques required to perform assignments using accounting procedures and practices; performing account reconciliations, audits, and regular reviews to ensure integrity of accounting data in the computerized systems. OR, Education: Completed 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. OR, Combination: A combination of experience and education. Note: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience. GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9. Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: utilizing accounting principles on a daily basis, providing guidance to accounting staff regarding organization budget activities, providing advice to management in regards to facility budget information, reviewing and certifying account reconciliations, audits, and regular reviews to ensure integrity of accounting data. OR, Education: Completed 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR, Combination: A combination of experience and education. Note: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience. Quality Rankling Factor: VHA Accounting Experience in accounts payable, accounts receivable, IFCAP/VISTA, and reconciliations. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Incumbent is an Accountant at the VA Central Ohio Healthcare System in Columbus, OH. The medical system is comprised of one hospital campus, and four Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). The position is aligned in the Accounting Section of the Fiscal Service. Fiscal Service performs professional and technical accounting work and provides advisory financial services that affect a major regional healthcare presence.