Summary The Lead Accountant position is located at the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), Veteran Health Administration (VHA), Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Salisbury VA Medical Center (VAMC), Finance Service. Responsibilities The Lead Accountant is responsible for providing leadership to lower graded Accountants, Accounting Technicians and an Agent Cashier/Teller within Finance Service. Ensures that the organization's strategic plan, mission, vision and values are communicated to the team and integrated into the team's strategies, goals, objectives, work plans, work products and services. Additional duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following: Leads the team in identifying, distributing and balancing workload and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow, skill level and/or occupational specialization. Adjusts workflow to accomplish the workload in accordance with established priorities to ensure timely accomplishment of assigned team tasks. Ensure that each employee has an integral role in developing the final team product. Articulates and communicates to the team the assignment, project, problem to be solved, actionable events, milestones, and/or program issues under review, and deadlines and time frames for completion. Trains or arranges for the training of team members in methods and techniques of team building and working in teams to accomplish tasks or projects and provide or arrange for specific administrative or technical training necessary for accomplishment of individual and team tasks. Monitors and reports on the status and progress of work, checking on work in progress and reviewing completed work to see that the supervisor's instructions on work priorities, methods, deadlines and quality have been met. Represents the team in dealings with the supervisor or manager for the purpose of obtaining resources (e.g., computer hardware and software, use of overtime or compensatory time), and securing needed information or decisions from the supervisor on major work problems and issues that arise. Reports to the supervisor periodically on team and individual work accomplishments, problems, progress in mastering tasks and work processes, and individual and team training needs. Accounting Operations Enters and reviews Integrated Funds Distribution, Control Point Activity, Accounting, and Procurement (IFCAP), Financial Management System (FMS) and Governmental Invoicing System (GINV Prod) transactions recorded throughout the various software FMS systems, Veterans Health Information System and Technology Architecture (VistA) and GINV Prod) to assure accuracy and uniformity of appropriation charges and accounting concepts applied. Provides accounting expertise and fiscal services to subordinates as well as department, top management and/or VA Central Office (VACO) financial management. Provides FMS, IFCAP, and Fund Management training to accounting technicians, control point officials, service/service line chiefs, and fund control clerks throughout the Medical Center. Verifies payment disbursements, traces cancelled and improper billing as well as generating bills for debt collections as required by VA and VHA financial policies. Audits and Reconciliations Monitors unfavorable trends or deviations and suggests necessary corrective action. Manages processing and inputting of reconciliations and audits as directed by the Centralized Finance Service (CFS). Directs the preparation, reviews and analyzes reconciliation reports. These reports consist of the trail balances, operation of personnel quarters, Real Property Reports, accounts payable, accounts receivable, undelivered orders, Credit Card System and cost reports for all FMS, IFCAP, and Personnel and Accounting Integrated Data (PAID) systems. Responsible for the maintenance, reconciliation and auditing of accounts in a general ledger covering the full range of assets, liabilities, income, expense, cost accounting and budgeting. Responsible for compilation of cost data to develop reports, the accuracy of which has a major impact on the budgetary process for the Medical Center, and which are used as a main tool by the agency to allocate resources within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Maintains and performs monthly reconciliation of various general ledger accounts with related subsidiaries for various independent appropriations, including revolving funds, fund accounts, construction and grant accounts. Assures accounting data, computerized cost accounting reports and trial balances are in balance. Maintains the overall controls for expenditure accounting. Determine transactions are properly processed. Analyzes and views reports to assure they are in balance, that the data is valid and that they adhere to prescribed regulatory manuals and procedures. Work Schedule: Full time, 8:00am - 4:30pm, Monday - Friday Telework: No Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Accountant/PD502410 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/08/2026. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that will not be waived. To qualify for the GS-0510 Accounting occupational series, applicants MUST possess the following: Education: Bachelor's degree or higher, from an accredited college or university, in Accounting, or 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 A 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. OR 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 Individual Occupational Requirements, you must qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience (GS-12): You must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level of GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Professional knowledge of budgetary and accounting theories, practices, methods, and techniques necessary to independently accomplish the completion of a wide variety of accounting assignments pertaining to general ledger accounting, interoffice accounting, revolving fund accounting, budgetary accounting, cost accounting, deposit fund accounting, and trust fund accounting. Skill and ability to analyze the various accounting systems to ensure integrity and in adapting analytical techniques to solve a variety of accounting problems. Thorough knowledge/experience in all fiscal activities and their correlation to advise management with respect to financial data and resources to manage Medical Center programs. Skill and comprehensive knowledge of various accounting concepts that must be applied to a variety of accounting situations and transactions to ensure the successful implementation/effective operation and maintenance of various automated and manual accounting systems utilized by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) such as Financial Management System (FMS), Personnel and Accounting Integrated Data (PAID) and Veterans Health Information and Technology Architecture (VISTA)/other related federal accounting automated/manual accounting systems guidelines. Working knowledge of the Integrated Funds Distribution, Control Point Activity, Accounting and Procurement System (IFCAP) and its interrelationship with the FMS system to analyze and solve system problems that may arise. Extensive knowledge/experience in personal computer programs and the use of spreadsheets and word processing documents to include developing graphs from the data entered to these programs. Performing maintenance, reconciliation and auditing of accounts in a general ledger covering the full range of assets, liabilities, income, expense, cost accounting and budgeting. 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/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. 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. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.
