Forensic Accountant

Job Summary

Forensic Accounting is one of the most sought-after FBI careers. You will investigate financial crimes including corporate, healthcare, mortgage securities, and commodities fraud. Your expertise will also apply to counterintelligence. counterterrorism, cybercrime, virtual currency, organized crime, and public corruption investigations.

Physical Demands

Work is primarily sedentary; however, some physical effort may be required such as bending or walking.

Work Environment

Must be able to work under stressful conditions.

Major Duties

• Provides knowledge with respect to accounting and financial practices, securities, banking laws and systems, conventional and non-conventional financial institutions, and profit/non-profit businesses.
• Develops or assists with developing new forensic accounting techniques applicable to various financial investigations.
• Independently conducts forensic analysis of financial data.
• Conducts and coordinates the examination of financial aspects of the investigation in cooperation with case agents, prosecuting attorneys and others.
• Assesses the value of financial evidence; unravels sophisticated techniques for moving funds and shielding illegal activity.
• Provides financial profiles of individuals and groups.
• Compiles detailed financial findings and conclusions to prepare in-depth forensic accounting reports.
• Utilizes various computer applications to review and interpret implications on a vast number and variety of financial transactions, and other corporate, business, and financial processes, associations, and recordkeeping systems.
• Produces detailed financial investigative reports and exhibits.
• May participate in subject and key witness interviews and testifies as needed as a fact and/or expert witness in judicial proceedings.
• Develops and provides forensic accounting presentations/briefings.

Qualifications and Evaluations

Please ensure that your specialized experience and requirements are clearly identifiable in your resume. Your application will be evaluated using the FBI's Candidate Rating Procedures. Your resume and supporting documents will be reviewed to verify that you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement and will be compared against your responses to the online assessment questionnaire. Applicants must meet the qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

If you are found minimally qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process.

The competencies will be used in a Structured Resume Review to objectively evaluate applicant resumes. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Your resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies:

• Accounting
• Analytic Thinking
• Collaboration
• Customer Service
• Technology Application

Positive Education Requirement

This position has a specific education requirement; all applicants must verify completion of this basic educational requirement by submitting a copy of their college transcripts by the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Applicants possessing certifications (e.g. Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, or Certified Internal Auditor) MUST provide proof of such certifications along with their college transcripts. Candidate MUST submit a transcript attesting to possession of the required education as described under the Basic Requirements Section of the vacancy announcement.

ALL APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE BASIC REQUIREMENT BELOW:

A) Degree in 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.

OR

B) 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. 24 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 a Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination.

OR

C) 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 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.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements provided you can show foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States.

All applicants MUST verify completion of this requirement by submitting a copy of ALL college transcripts by the closing date of this job opening.

Specialized Experience (SE)

GS-11: Applicant must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level. SE is defined as follows:

• Performed examination and analysis over several financial investigative or audit areas. Analysis utilized accounting, auditing, analytical, technical, and/or investigative skills.
• Provided knowledge of various accounting and financial practices, securities, banking systems, financial institutions, and/or businesses to colleagues or clients.

GS-12: Applicant must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level. SE is defined as follows:

• Independently performed complex examination and analysis over several financial investigative or audit areas. Analysis utilized advanced accounting, auditing, analytical, technical, and/or investigative skills.
• Provided guidance regarding forensic accounting and financial practices, world-wide securities, banking laws, regulations, and systems, financial institutions, and/or national and international businesses to various audiences.
• Reviewed work and/or provided guidance to lesser experienced staff.

Education

All degrees must be from an accredited college or university. Education may be substituted for specialized experience as follows:

GS-11: Applicant must have a Ph.D. OR equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.M., if related.

GS-12: Education cannot be substituted for Specialized Experience at the GS-12 level.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements provided you can show foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States.

How to Apply

For detailed instructions related to applying, uploading documents, withdrawing an application or updating your application, please review instructions on How to Apply. If applying online is a hardship, please use the contact information listed in the vacancy announcement prior to the closing date for assistance.

Required Documents

To apply to this position, interested applicants must provide a complete application package by the closing date which includes:

• Utilizing the Resume Builder, outline your relevant work experience and associated start and end dates. Uploaded resumes will not be reviewed or used for qualification purposes.
• Other supporting documents (if applicable):
  • College transcripts, if qualifying based on education or if there is a positive education requirement
  • Former civilian Federal employees must submit a copy of your MOST RECENT SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your tenure, grade and step, salary, and type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive); or similar Notification of Personnel Action documentation, i.e., Transcript of Service, Form 1150, etc. This is a requirement to verify your Time in Grade (TIG). Actions such as promotion, within grade increase, or reassignment actions must be submitted as your most recent SF 50.
  • Most recent Performance Appraisal; not applicable to current FBI employees
  • Veterans: DD 214; Disabled Veterans: DD 214, SF-15, and VA letter dated 1991 or later
  • Memorandum for Record (MFR): Work performed outside assigned duties (that would not normally be documented on an SF-50, i. e., back-up duties), has to be documented in detail by an immediate supervisor in order to receive full credit for amount of time worked in that position. If no documentation is furnished no credit will be given for time worked in that position. The following notations must be specified in the documentation:
    • Percent of time worked in the particular position (cannot conflict with main duties.
    • The month/year work began
    • Frequency worked (i.e., daily, monthly, etc.)
    • Specific duties performed

Attach the Memorandum for Record to your application in the "Cover Letters and Attachments" section of My Career Tools on the Careers Home page. Please upload the attachment as type "Other."

While applicants might see these documents in their profile, HR Specialists may be unable to access them. Therefore, all applicants MUST upload another copy to ensure that staffing units can review the complete application.

Please note: Failure to provide the necessary and relevant information required by this vacancy announcement may disqualify you from consideration. Incomplete applications will not be supplemented with additional requests for information; your application will be evaluated solely on the information you submit. You must complete the application process and submit all required documents by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the announcement's closing date.

What to Expect Next

Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualif...