Accountant at Defense Health Agency

About the Position: This position supports the mission of the Financial Operations J-8, Financial Reporting and will be recruited for following locations: Falls Church, Virginia San Antonio, Texas Columbus, Ohio Indianapolis, Indiana Rome, New York Salary negotiation may be available for those candidates who are new to Federal service.Leave accrual negotiation may be available for those candidates who are new to the Federal service. This is a Direct Hire Solicitation

Major duties

• Compile and analyze monthly budgetary reporting.
• Compile and analyze quarterly and annual financial statements, disclosures, and supporting schedules in compliance with applicable accounting standards (e.g., GAAP, GASB, or Federal Accounting Standards/FASAB).
• Lead period-close checklists, execute complex journal entries (accruals, prepayments, allocations), and ensure adherence to established financial reporting schedules.
• Perform in-depth analyses of system inputs, outputs, subsidiary ledgers, and interface feeds to assess the overall adequacy, capacity, and reliability of financial management systems.
• Design, document, and test internal controls over financial reporting to identify system weaknesses, prevent data loss, and support audit readiness.
• Coordinate internal and external audit requests, assemble required workpapers, prepare sample packages, and formulate corrective action plans for any identified findings.
• Provide technical direction, structured onboarding, and day-to-day mentorship to junior accountants, budget analysts, and financial technicians.
• Foster continuous improvement within the accounting team through cross-training on core ledger systems, policy updates, and analytical best practices.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement for Accountant GS-0510-13: A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher 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: Must include 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; OR (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; AND (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. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes reviewing financial statements, performing general ledger and trial balance reconciliations, and conducting complex accounting analyses.. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-12). Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.