Summary This position is in Region 5, Mission Support Division, Comptroller Branch. About Region 5: Region 5. This is an office-centered position--you must physically report to the duty station stated in this announcement on a regular basis. Responsibilities At the highest advertised grade, you will: Serve as a professional accountant applying a wide variety of established accounting and financial rules to agency financial transactions, accounts, and reports to ensure accuracy, compliance, and informed decision-making. Provide technical advice and assistance to program managers and accounting staff on accounting transactions and related processes to ensure accurate, compliant, and timely recording and effective issue resolution. Utilize professional accounting knowledge to interpret and apply accounting policies, regulations, and procedures to financial transactions ensuring compliant and accurate execution and readiness. Perform all aspects of the accounting function, review, research, and reconciliation on financial transactions, accounts, and supporting records to ensure accurate, compliant, and timely reporting. If you are hired at a lower grade level, your duties will be less complex and you will have more supervisory oversight. You may be promoted to more complex duties and work more independently, as your career progresses. NOTE: Career ladder promotions are not automatic, and all eligibility and qualifications requirements must be met in order to progress to the next grade level. One or more positions may be filled (in the organization advertised and/or in other organizations), if appropriate to the position. Requirements Conditions of Employment #LI-Onsite You must be a U.S. citizen. If you are selected, the entire period served under the Recent Graduates program will be a trial period. If you are selected, a written participant agreement must be signed. This position is designated as Moderate Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date. REAL ID requirements became effective on 05/07/25. If you are selected for this position and plan to use your driver's license or identification card during the onboarding process (i.e., for employment eligibility verification or to obtain your EPA identification card), the document must be a REAL ID-compliant state-issued driver's license or identification card that includes the REAL ID-compliant star marking, or must be an Enhanced Driver's License (EDL). You will receive information about alternative acceptable documents (e.g., passport) prior to onboarding. For more information about REAL ID, see Dept. of Homeland Security and REAL ID FAQs. If you are still completing coursework, offer of employment will be contingent upon completion of degree/certificate/program. Proof showing completion date by August 31, 2026 will be required before entry on duty. If you are selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure form within 30 days of your first day of employment and annually thereafter. Qualifications NOTE: If you are qualifying on the basis of general or specialized experience, you must meet the experience requirements by the closing date of this announcement. In addition to the basic education requirements, you must have specialized experience and/or directly related education as described below: To qualify for the GS-05 level, you must meet the basic requirements as described in the Education section below (i.e., there are no additional requirements to qualify for this grade). To qualify for the GS-07 level, you must have one of the following: 1 year full-time specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level defined as assisting in validating, maintaining, and/or processing accounting data or transactions in accordance with policies, procedures, and regulations. 1 year of graduate-level education; or superior academic achievement (Superior Academic Achievement Definition); the education must be directly related and provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position equivalent combination of education and experience NOTE: 1 year of full-time graduate education is the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study; if that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours is considered an academic year of graduate study. You will need the following competencies in order to perform the duties of this position successfully: Accounting Operations (both GS-05 and GS-07) Clerical (both GS-05 and GS-07) Customer Service (both GS-05 and GS-07) You will be evaluated on these critical competencies. 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. If you have part-time work experience, read this: Part-Time Experience. Education In addition to the eligibility requirements for the Recent Graduates program, you must meet the following basic requirements in order to qualify for this position: You must have a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in accounting and/or auditing; or in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting and/or auditing (the 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in business law); OR combination of education and experience with 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; your background must also include one of the following: 1) 24 semester hours in accounting or auditing courses (this can include up to 6 hours of business law); 2) certificate as Certified Public Accountant or Certified Internal Auditor; or 3) completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in accounting or auditing (e.g., 15 semester hours), provided that: (a) you have 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 2 higher level professional accountants or auditors has determined that you have 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 above; and (c) except for literal nonconformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, your education, training, and experience fully meet the specified requirements. For information about accreditation requirements, visit Accreditation. Additional Information ATTENTION VETERANS: If you are a veteran (as defined in 5 USC 2108) who, due to a military service obligation, was precluded from applying to the Recent Graduates Program during any portion of the 2-year eligibility period (described in the "This job is open to/Clarification from the agency" section above), you have a full 2-year period of eligibility upon your release/discharge from active duty. In no event, however, may your eligibility period extend beyond 6 years from the date you completed the requirements for a qualifying degree or certificate or a qualifying career or technical education program. Except in special circumstances, those new to the federal government will be hired at the starting salary (step 1) of the applicable grade range listed in the Overview section. EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information: E-Verify. If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility. This position is not in the bargaining unit.
