Accounting Technician

Veterans Health Administration • Saint Louis, MO

32d • Onsite

About The Position

This position functions as an Accounting Technician located within the Finance Service at the Jefferson Barracks VA St. Louis Medical Center (VAMC), St. Louis, Missouri. The primary purpose of this position is to lead the work of other accounting technicians who are responsible for receiving, controlling, monitoring, validating, recording, analyzing and reporting on accounting transactions that affect the assets, cost, liabilities, revenue and proprietary accounts of programs serviced.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Must complete all required steps in the process, including an online assessment measuring critical general competencies.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.
• Driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment effective May 7, 2025.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Must serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period.
• 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5.
• An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.
• Performing budget, accounting, payroll and/or financial management functions.
• Interpreting and applying accounting principles, methods, procedures, and techniques.
• Using various accounting systems and computer systems to maintain financial accounts and accounting data.
• Reviewing and analyzing reports and documents for accuracy and authorizations.
• Performing research to resolve any discrepancies relating to obligations, collections, disbursements, or other actions involving complicated adjustments.
• Reconciling accounts, processing and posting payments.
• Examining, auditing, and maintaining accounting transactions and balancing general ledger accounts.
• Knowledge of automated and non-automated accounting systems and subsystems, including knowledge of an extensive body of accounting procedures and methods to enter, retrieve, correct, and delete accounting information.
• Knowledge of accounting methods for a total accounting system with a number of different programs generating transactions requiring use of most classes of accounts in order to validate, reconcile, balance, and adjust records and reports.
• Knowledge of the interrelationship between the appropriations and the various control and subsidiary accounts and the ability to determine the impact of various accounting transactions relating to obligations, collections, and inter-fund transactions in order to research, detect, and correct errors in prior transactions.
• Knowledge of the full range of accounting classifications and fund codes to ensure the accuracy and validity of transactions.
• Knowledge of VA's policies, practices, and regulations related to the appropriation and budgetary process, maintenance of ledgers, and preparation of accounting reports to ensure the proper and accurate accounting treatment is applied to the full range of accounting transactions.
• Knowledge of workflow and work distribution within organizational unit in order to prioritize and equitably distribute work to lower-level technicians.

Nice To Haves

• Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Responsibilities

• Prepares account status reports and performs monthly reconciliation of the general and subsidiary accounts to ensure balancing with computerized reports and/or manual records.
• Assures that transactions have been input correctly and accepted by the system.
• Prepares special reports and financial statements related to the financial condition of accounts.
• Identifies trends, discrepancies, and patterns for further analysis by accountants.
• Assists customers with analysis of budget execution.
• Assists in implementing and maintaining Internal Control Program requirements to protect against waste, fraud, and abuse.
• Reviews and processes unusual or difficult accounting transactions ensuring the propriety and validity of supporting documentation and determining the appropriate account and methodology for processing.
• Researches current accounts, historical data, source documents, etc. in order to develop and explain detailed information that is not otherwise readily available.
• Develops and suggests interpretations of comparative data reflecting relationships between accounts, time periods, costs of different operations, etc.
• Makes suggestions for action, performs other similar activities, and provides interpretations/suggestions based on a good working knowledge of accounting systems.
• Explains procedures and problems and takes corrective actions as necessary to ensure the accuracy and propriety of accounting transactions and records.
• Prepares draft memoranda or letters responding to inquiries of a non-routine nature explaining various aspects of accounting and providing detailed and technical explanations of accounting discrepancies or procedural or reporting requirements.
• Performs fiscal year-end review and close-out of accounts.
• Prepares year-end adjustment entries to balance accounts.
• Analyzes and prepares special reports on the causes of recurring adjustment actions; determines the cause of processing errors or problems and recommends corrective procedures.
• Maintains general ledger accounts.
• Performs administrative and technical functions to ensure the integrity of the general ledger.
• Reconciles electronic interfaces to general ledger from other systems.
• Prepares/posts journal vouchers.
• Reconciles subsidiary ledgers to control/summary accounts.
• Posts inventory accounting transactions, property accounting transactions, and calculates and posts depreciation.
• Prepares and reconciles trial balances.

Benefits

• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.
• As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
• Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed