Staff Accountant

Summary

NIST is seeking a Staff Accountant to assist with financial data and reporting in the Reconciliation Group. This role ensures that all financial activities comply with the U.S. Standard General Ledger (USSGL), Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS), and OMB Circular A-123. The accountant will oversee specialized accounting cycles, which may include Fixed Assets (Property, Plant, and Equipment), Lease Accounting, and Inventories.

Duties

This is an Accountant position located in the Reconciliation Group. The candidate will:

• Manage the reconciliation between agency records and Treasury systems (e.g., G-Invoicing, CARS) to ensure zero-sum alignment and timely reporting of disbursements and collections.
• Analyze, review, and reconcile financial data to ensure its accuracy and reliability for NIST and its customer bureaus.
• Provide Financial Analysis & Reporting: Lead the analysis and reconciliation of General Ledger (GL) accounts to ensure the accuracy of financial statements.
• Identify, investigate, and resolve abnormal balances and report discrepancies.
• Provide oversight for Fund Balance with Treasury (FBwT).
• Maintain and test internal controls to mitigate risk and ensure audit readiness.
• Oversee specialized accounting cycles, which may include Fixed Assets (Property, Plant, and Equipment), Lease Accounting, and Inventories.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements

• 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;
  • 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

IN ADDITION:

To qualify, the applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least a GS-11 (or ZA-II at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as experience that includes the following:

• (1) analyzing and reconciling General Ledger (GL) accounts to ensure the accuracy of financial statements,
• (2) managing the reconciliation between agency records and authoritative systems such as Treasury G-Invoicing, CARS for alignment and disbursements and collections;
• (3) overseeing specialized accounting cycles to include fixed assets (property, plant, and equipment), lease accounting and inventories.

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.

The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. If requesting reconsideration of your qualification determination, please refer to the following site: Applicant Reconsideration