Accountant (GS-9/11)

Summary

West Palm Beach VA Medical Center is looking for Accountant. The Accountant serves within Fiscal Service supporting the West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System (WPBVAHCS), with responsibility for complex financial management, accounting operations, internal controls, reporting, and stewardship of federal resources across the health care system and its outpatient-care network.

Duties

Accountant performs professional accounting work supporting VA programs by preparing, reviewing, and reconciling general ledger and related subsidiary activity. Analyzes accounting data, researches discrepancies, and determines root causes (e.g., timing differences, miscoding, missing documentation, or interface/processing issues) to support accurate financial reporting and data integrity. Prepares and maintains reconciliation schedules and working papers; identifies abnormal balances and out-of-balance conditions; and recommends corrective actions (e.g., recoding, adjustments/journal vouchers, suspense/clearing resolution) consistent with governing standards and established VA/VHA procedures. Participates in process improvement and quality assurance reviews by identifying control weaknesses, recommending improvements to accounting procedures, and coordinating with appropriate system support personnel and stakeholders to resolve transaction and data issues. Prepares written instructions, desk guides, or SOP updates for assigned processes, and provides technical input to supervisors/lead staff and business partners regarding proper documentation and accounting treatment. Additional Duties Include But Not Limited To: Prepare, review, and reconcile general ledger and subsidiary accounts in accordance with USSGL/Treasury guidance (including applicable Treasury Financial Manual requirements), FASAB SFFAS, OMB Circular A-136, and VA/VHA financial policy, as implemented through VA and VHA/FSC standard operating procedures (SOPs), close checklists, job aids, and local desk guides. Perform month-, quarter-, and year-end close activities; compile trial balances and working papers; and investigate and resolve abnormal balances, prior-period adjustments, and dearing/suspense accounts. Applies professional judgment to select the most appropriate governing guidance and method depending on the transaction, timing, system/interface conditions, and reporting requirement. Determining whether discrepancies are attributable to miscoding, timing differences, missing/insufficient supporting documentation, feeder-system/interface errors, or out-of-balance conditions; assessing the scope and potential materiality of identified issues; and selecting corrective actions. Coordinates with Fiscal, Supply Chain, and program offices to resolve data integrity issues across VA financial/procurement systems. Recommends decisions and corrective actions to the supervisor/lead accountant, finance leadership, and affected stakeholders. Recommendations include the corrective approach, required documentation, and any needed control or process changes to prevent recurrence. Documents reconciliation outcomes, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions, and prepares clear written guidance/instructions for staff and stakeholders. Designs, refines, and implements data validation checks and reconciliation tools to improve accuracy, timeliness, and compliance. Documents facts and impacts, identifies applicable requirements across USSGL/TFM/SFFAS/OMB and VA/VHA policy, develops compliant options with a recommended course of action, and elevates novel/high-risk matters through supervisory channels and, when appropriate, to the responsible policy authority for definitive interpretation. Analyzes current and/or required accounting procedures to design new or improved processes. Participate in process improvement and quality assurance reviews to streamline close processes and reduce reconciliation backlogs; identifies control weaknesses, recommend updates to local procedures, and coordinates with appropriate system support personnel to address transaction flow, edit checks, and data integrity concerns. Drafts SOPs and quick-reference guides. Validates current processes with respect to regulatory requirements. Recommends revisions affecting local accounting process based on specific objectives and approaches. Performs quality assurance review of existing and proposed accounting processes to provide assurances as to financial integrity and conformance to Federal laws and agency regulations and practices, Refines assigned phases or sub-processes of complex accounting procedures to improve accuracy, timelines, and compliance. Performs reviews of existing and proposed accounting processes for financial integrity and conformances to Federal laws and agency regulations and practices. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am- 4:30pm. Telework: Telework May be Eligible within VISN 2 Catchment area for highly qualified staff. Still reporting to an office. VISN?2 covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Virginia. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Accountant/PD03142A and PD03141A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/12/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. -AND- Individual Occupational Requirement: Positions in the occupational series 0510 MUST MEET 1 of the following bullet points: 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: 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; 2. A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; 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. -AND- For GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience analyzing data. Experience with reviewing and adhering to policies and procedures. Experience reviewing financial records and data. Experience organizing funds/or responsible for budgets. -OR- 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. -OR- combination of specialized experience and education. The total qualifying experience as a percentage of the specialized experience required plus the total creditable education as a percentage of the education required equals at least 100 percent. For GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience analyzing data in accounting systems. Experience with accounting policies and procedures. Experience reviewing financial records, cost reports and other financial data. Experience performing monthly reconciliation of assets recorded in general ledgers. -OR- 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. -OR- combination of specialized experience and education. The total qualifying experience as a percentage of the specialized experience required plus the total creditable education as a percentage of the education required equals at least 100 percent. ***Please note: You must have the IOR AND time in grade AND specialized experience to meet minimum qualifications***The IOR, Time In Grade and Specialized Experience are 3 completely separate items and all 3 must be met to meet minimum qualifications***** You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accounting: Knowledge of traditional accounting practices including accrual, obligations, and costs methods. Financial Systems: Knowledge of the standards, architecture, and specifications of automated financial systems, including source documents, system flows, system interfaces, and related internal controls. Analysis and Problem Solving: Applies the process of discovery that involves the diagnosis of a problem or issue, identification and gathering of relevant information, formulation and evaluation of alternative solutions or courses of action, and selection or recommendation of the preferred solution or course of action. Customer Service: Works and communicates with clients and customers (e.g., any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit provides, including individuals who work in your agency or in other agencies or organizations outside the Government) to satisfy their expectations. Committed to quality services. 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. Physical Requirements: Position is mostly sedentary; some walking, standing, bending, or carrying of light files/binders. 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/.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 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 identification 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Education

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/.

How you will be evaluated

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position. For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document. Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position. It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/12/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13103241. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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/. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Other information

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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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. Whole Health Statement: The VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8) advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model that is based in a partnership across time, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.