Government Publishing Office Logo
Position Title
Accountant
Agency
Government Publishing Office
Announcement Number
25-12709880-DE-RLD Opens in new window
Open Period
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 to Tuesday, April 1, 2025
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
1. Do you claim Veterans’ Preference? (limit characters)
2. Are you a veteran who separated from active duty under honorable conditions AND you:

• have a rating by the Department of Veterans Affairs showing a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more?; OR,

• are retired from active military service with a service-connected disability rating of 30% or more?

 For more information, review USAJOBS Veterans resources:  https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans/.

To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your latest Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214 (copy indicating character of service) or other proof of your service which includes character of service. You must also submit the disability letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs or Armed Service and the Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, Standard Form 15.
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3. This position is open to All U.S. Citizens (Competitive).  When a job opportunity announcement is open to "All U.S. Citizens", it means that anyone with U.S. Citizenship may apply.  Job seekers may use the  Self-Check through E-Verify https://www.uscis.gov to verify citizenship, if available in their state of residence.  
 
Please note that Status candidates, Status (Merit Promotion), may also elect to be considered under  "All U.S. Citizens (Competitive)". 

Are  you a U.S. Citizen?
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4. Are you applying based upon the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011?
 
Many service members begin their civilian job search prior to being released from Active Duty service, and may not have a DD-214 form to submit along with their resume. VOW allows certain Active Duty service members to be treated as preference eligibles in the competitive or excepted service, even though the service member has not been discharged or released from Active Duty. Under the VOW Act, tentative preference will be granted to a active duty service member who meets the following:Submit a certification (in lieu of a DD-214 form) along with their job application materials. (Agencies will verify the individual meets the definition of 'preference eligible' under 5.U.S.C. 2108 prior to appointment).
A "certification" is any written document from the Armed Forces that certifies the service member is expected to be discharged or released from Active Duty service in the Armed Forces within 120 days after the certification is submitted by the applicant.
The certification letter should be on letterhead of the appropriate military branch of service and contain (1) the military service dates including the expected discharge or release date; and (2) the Character of Service.Note:  If the certification has expired; you must provide documentation (e.g., a copy of the DD form 214) that demonstrates the service member is a preference eligible per 5 U.S.C. 2108, in your application package before veterans' preference can be awarded.

To Learn more about VOW, please go to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-employment-initiative/vet-guide
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Preferences
Employment of Relatives
Section 3110 of Title 5, U.S. Code, prohibits a Federal official from appointing, promoting, or advocating the appointment or promotion of a relative in the agency where the official is serving or exercises jurisdiction. In addition, Section 2302(b)(7) of Title 5, U.S. Code, makes it a "prohibited personnel practice" for a person in authority to "appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for the appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement of a relative.

Please respond to the following questions below:
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1. Do you have any relatives working for the Agency for which you are applying? (limit characters)
2.
  • If you answered yes to the previous question, please provide the name, relationship, organization employed within, and location if known.
  • If you did not answer yes to the previous questions, please state not applicable (N/A) in the text box.
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3.
If you are a male at least 18 years of age, born after December 31, 1959, have you registered with the Selective Service System (select "Not applicable" if this question does not apply to you)?
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4. If you are a Federal employee, under what type of appointment are you currently serving? (limit characters)
5. If you are, or ever were a Federal civilian employee, indicate the pay plan of the highest graded position you have ever held. (limit characters)
6. If you are, or ever were a Federal civilian employee, indicate the grade level or pay band of the highest graded position you have ever held. (limit characters)
7. Are you a retiree receiving a Federal annuity, either military or civilian?

Note: If you are an annuitant, your salary or annuity may be reduced upon employment.
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This position has requirements which must be met prior to employment; and, conditions for continued employment. Your answers to the questions in this section will indicate your understanding of, or possession of, these requirements and conditions. (limit characters)
8. This position requires you to successfully pass pre-employment prior to appointment. Are you willing undergo the pre-employment process prior to appointment? (limit characters)
9. This position requires that the applicant obtain and maintain a Top Secret Security Clearance. Are you willing to obtain and maintain a Top Secret Security Clearance. (limit characters)
10. This position requires that the applicant submit to a Background Investigation for Suitability. Are you willing to submit to a Background Investigation for Suitability? (limit characters)
11. Resume Reminder- Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:
  • Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
  • Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
  • Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
  • Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.

Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy. We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.

Have you included all of the above information in your resume
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12. This position requires that the applicant must submit to a Public Trust Security Background Investigation. Are you willing to submit to a Public Background Investigation? (limit characters)
Assessment 1
Thank you or applying to the Accountant position located in Agency Financial Management, at the Government Publishing Office (GPO).  You will be evaluated on your responses to the assessment questionnaire; then we will compare your responses against your resume and supporting documentation.  If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this position. Please Note: Your resume MUST clearly identify the dates that support this experience (month/year); as well as the number of hours per week for each position.
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1. 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
  1. 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; or
    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.
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2. To qualify for the PG-11 level:  You must possess one year of specialized experience at the PG-9 (or equivalent) level or higher.  Qualifying specialized experience is described as: (1) prepare recurring and special journal entries for assigned business units; (2) reconcile inventory accounts and assigned monthly reconciliations through research, trend analysis, and major variance analysis; (3) forecast and develop annual operating budget for assigned business units; (4) review, research, and validate vendor invoices for accuracy and (5) assist in designing, developing, and updating financial accounting and reporting procedures, controls, and processes.  
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From the statements below, please select the response that best describes your education, training or experience as an Accountant.  NOTE: Your resume must reflect the one answer selected or you may be deemed ineligible. (limit characters)
Select the one statement that most accurately describes your training and experience carrying out each task using the scale provided. (limit characters)
3. Prepare, enter, and post recurrence and special journal entries for updating the general ledger and subsidiary ledgers. (limit characters)
4. Receive and process invoices in Oracle upon business unit approval to ensure timely and accurate payment processing. (limit characters)
5. Reconcile balance sheet accounts, monthly reconciliation trend analysis, major variance and special analysis and research discrepancies and account differences. (limit characters)
6. Forecast and develop annual operating budget for business units. (limit characters)
7. Interpret, and apply accounting guidelines, principles, and standards to manage revenue and expenses, assets and liabilities involving a wide variety of conditions. (limit characters)
8. Research vendor invoice payment holds, receive invoices against purchase orders and communicate with business units to resolve any issues. (limit characters)
9. Assists in the design and maintenance of financial accounting and reporting procedures, controls, and processes for an agency or office. (limit characters)
10. Perform inventory reconciliation by reviewing and identifying issues with inventory transactions and reconcile transactions that differ from norms on nature and volume.
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11. Collect, accumulate, retain and analyze accounting information and data using relevant automated financial systems along with microsoft Excel including use of vlookup, pivot table, worksheet composition, and accounting analysis.
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12. Participate in annual audit for reliance testing of inventory subsidiary records and physical count of paper materials, and supplies.
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13. Review, research, and validate vendor invoices for accuracy. (limit characters)
14. Navigate computerized financial interface systems (i.e, Oracle) to prepare, enter, and post recurring and special journal entries for updating the general ledger and subsidiary ledgers.
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15. Receive and process invoices in Oracle upon business unit approval to ensure timely and accurate payment processing.
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