Accountant

This position is located in the Fiscal Service of the James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center in Altoona, PA and reports to the Chief Fiscal Officer. This position is fully responsible for the installation, operation, and augmentation of the Accounting system for the Medical Center.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/23/2026.

Basic Requirements:

1. 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,
2. 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.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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.

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Establishes and maintains the double-entry accounting system including asset, liability, expense, income and capital accounts.
• Ensures the accuracy of all accounting data and reports.
• Performs reconciliation of general and subsidiary accounts.
• Writes proper reports, briefing materials, and memos.

OR

3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

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/.

Responsibilities:

Major duties include:

• Incumbent is fully responsible and operates a complex automated, double-entry accounting system. Responsibility includes the establishment and maintenance of the double-entry accounting system, including asset, liability, expense, income, budgetary, and capital accounts.
• Incumbent is responsible for maintaining the accounting system and analyzing accounting data and making suggestions and recommendations to management regarding changing program policies and operations when data discloses unfavorable trends.
• Incumbent is responsible for the accuracy of all accounting reports and advises the Fiscal Officer of any omissions or misstatements of obligations that could result in violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act.
• The incumbent conducts frequent procedural reviews to assure compliance with current regulations and to promote efficient operations. Examines and applies internal controls, modifying, supplementing, or installing any other accounting procedures to adapt the system to fit special circumstances encountered.
• Incumbent provides current accounting information needed for cost analysis, cost comparison, and trends to determine adequacy of funding. The incumbent conducts internal reviews of the accounting section in accordance with accepted accounting standards and VA regulations.
• Incumbent is responsible for the maintenance of the general ledger accounts of numerous appropriated funds for administrative functions.
• Incumbent is responsible for the general post and personal funds of patients accounting system.
• Incumbent is responsible for the planning, directing, reviewing and evaluating of work performed by the accounting section of fiscal service.
• The incumbent serves as lead person within the accounting section and has responsibility for two (2) accounting technicians.
• Other duties as required.

Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday
Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Accountant / PD012730
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Salary : $74,678