Accountant

Position Overview

This position is in the Fiscal Service at the Hudson Valley VA Health Care System. The accountant is responsible for the detailed and efficient operation and control of day-to-day fiscal activities at the Hudson Valley VA Health Care System.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/07/2026.

Time‑In‑Grade Requirement

Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at 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.
• 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.

Individual Occupational Requirement

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:
  • 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.

Minimum Qualification 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:

• Professional knowledge of accounting principles, theories, concepts and practices;
• Knowledge of financial accounting regulations, policies and procedures;
• Knowledge of functional areas in accounting, the work performed in each, the various appropriations and general knowledge of command organizations;
• Knowledge of automated accounting systems, local procedures and management reports;
• The ability to analyze accounting systems or modify and adapt conventional accounting and analytical techniques to solve a variety of accounting problems.

OR

Education

Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

• NOTE: Copies of transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

OR

Combination

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience, as described above, to meet the total requirements.

• The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.
• NOTE: Copies of transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

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 Documentation

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

• 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/.

Employment Type

OTHER