Department of Veterans Affairs

Accountant

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Full time

Accountant

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Salary Range: $52770 - $83198 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located at the Great Lakes Finance Service (GLFS), VISN 12. The purpose of the position is to perform duties involved in preparing, analyzing, interpreting and presenting accounting data. This is a developmental position, leading to the target grade of GS-9. The incumbent performs developmental assignments intended to broaden skills and provide practical experience leading to progressively more complex assignments performed under progressively less supervision.

Major Duties:

  • This position is located at the Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Hospital within the VISN 12 Great Lakes Finance Service (GLFS). This position performs professional accounting work requiring the application of sound accounting principles, theories, concepts, and practices. Major Duties: Preparing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting accounting data. Applies a thorough knowledge of the total accounting system and established accounting principles, techniques, and regulations. Performs a variety of routine, technical, and occasionally more complex accounting assignments. Examines a variety of financial statements for completeness, internal accuracy, accounting classifications and other specific accounting requirements. Assembles information and making comparative analyses. Reconciles financial reports and data on file and finding inconsistencies or errors. Drafts interpretations of accounting requirements as requested. Identify account variances and assists in the proper research and reconciliation of all accounting records. Reviews accounting documents such as travel orders, requisitions, and contracts to determine whether accounts are in accordance with uniform accounting classifications. Develops annual and monthly budgetary schedules for specific cost categories and accounts for the organization. Conducts daily examination of various accounting transaction listings, cost reports, financial statements, project fund balances, and work orders. Develops, prepares, and revises regulations, information papers, etc., for project and revolving fund accounting control and reporting instructions. Develops work sheets and forms necessary to complete assignments. Performs other related duties as assigned. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Full-Time; Monday through Friday; 8:00am to 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Accountant/PD14051A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/15/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. You may qualify based on your education and/or experience as described below. There are education requirements for this position. Basic Requirements: Education: Successful completion of a bachelor's degree (or higher) 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. (Transcripts Required) OR, Combination: Applicants may combine education and experience. Applicants must have at least four years of experience in accounting, or equivalent combination of accounting experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional accounting knowledge. Applicants 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;OR 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. (Transcripts Required) In addition to meeting the Basic Education Requirement listed above, you must also possess the required specialized experience, education, or combination of experience and education as identified below: Grade Requirements: To qualify for this position at the GS-7 level, you must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 in Federal Service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes, but is not limited to: Knowledge of VA programs and their governing statutes, regulations, and practices; Knowledge of accounting practices, concepts, principles, and methods; Knowledge of the organization's business practices pertaining to administrative support or business accounting systems for payroll, purchases, maintenance, sales, and services; and Performing accounting assignments using accounting methods and techniques. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. You must have one year of graduate-level education, OR Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A). The S.A.A. provision is an educational achievement based on class standing, grade point average, or honor society membership. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. (Transcripts Required) OR, Combination: Applicants may combine education and experience. You must have equivalent combinations of specialized experience and education. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. (Transcripts Required) To qualify for this position at the GS-9 level, you must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in Federal Service that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes, but is not limited to: Comprehensive knowledge of accounting practices, policies, and functions including accrual, obligations, and cost methods; Thorough knowledge of the total accounting system and of well-established accounting principles, techniques and regulations; Performing a variety of routine and technical accounting practices including transaction listings, cost reports, financial statements, project fund balances, and work orders; Ability to make decisions regarding complex accounting transactions and reconciling reports and financial data; and Manage the activities of other support personnel and provide direction in solving non-routine transactions. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. You must have two years of progressively higher-level graduate education, OR a master's degree, OR equivalent graduate degree. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. (Transcripts Required) OR, Combination: Applicants may combine education and experience. You must have equivalent combinations of specialized experience and education beyond one year of graduate-level education. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. (Transcripts Required) 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/.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12938062. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 05/15/2026. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit

Application Deadline: 2026-05-15