Accountant job with USAJobs | 41548787

Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Office of Finance and Accounting (OF&A), Accounts Payable Team (AP) Smithsonian Institution (SI). The AP Tax Specialist is responsible for various duties within the AP including, but not limited to, proper withholding and payment of U.S. income taxes for non-employee vendors, filing of all relevant IRS tax forms such as forms 1042 and 1099, maintenance of electronic and paper files, problem resolution and audit support and serving as backup to the AP Supervisor.

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Responsibilities

The incumbent will serve as the AP Tax Specialist and reports to the AP Supervisor. The AP Tax Specialist is responsible for various duties within the team including, but not limited to, proper withholding and payment of U.S. income taxes for non-employee vendors, filing of all relevant IRS tax forms such as forms 1042 and 1099, maintenance of electronic and paper files, problem resolution and audit support and serving as backup to the AP Supervisor. The incumbent will also perform the following duties and other assigned duties:

• Ensures proper withholding and payment to the IRS of income taxes withheld from vendor payments.
• Files 1042s, 1099s, and other IRS related forms, verifying information for completeness and resolving issues and discrepancies as they arise.
• Verifies the accuracy and completeness of tax data entered into the financial accounting systems.
• Reconciles financial general ledger accounts related to non-employee vendor income taxes.
• As an expert authority, researches and provides guidance to non-employee vendors, Smithsonian Institute units and management.
• Design and develop briefings, standard and ad-hoc single use reports.

Travel Required

Occasional travel – Travel may be required by this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on the web at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

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; 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.

In addition to the Basic Requirement, applicant must meet specialized experience.

Experience: You qualify for this GS-12 position if you have one year specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal service or comparable pay band system related to the work of this position. For this position specialized experience is defined as: preparing and filing 1042s, 1099s and other IRS related forms; reconciling general ledger accounts related to non-employee vendor income taxes; analyzing and resolving problems; advising on issues; and developing reports

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U/S. accreditation for foreign study. For instructions on where to fax these documents, see the “Required Documents” section of this announcement.

Education

See Qualification section above. Education may be substitued for experience.

Additional information

Recruitment incentive may be authorized.

Flexible Spending Accounts – https://www.fsafeds.com/
Health Insurance – http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
Leave – http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
Life Insurance – http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
Long Term Care Insurance – http://www.ltcfeds.com
Retirement Program – https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume will be used to evaluate your experience, education, and/or training that address the competencies below:

Knowledge of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations regarding non-employee vendor income tax requirements.

Knowledge of accounting theories, policies and procedures to analyze and manage data in an automated financial and accounting system.

Ability to and record, reconcile, verify and analyze general ledger activity and accounting resolve problems data.

Ability to communicate verbally to advise management on non-employee tax issues, status, exemptions, etc.

Ability to communicate in writing to prepare and update policies and procedures and prepare reports and briefings that present tax or research findings.

BASIS OF RATING: Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a HR Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the KSA’s required of this position. If, after the HR Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA): If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. (“Active Service” under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

• Primary Appointing Authorities for Career and Career-Conditional Appointments
• Hiring Authorities for Veterans
• People with Disabilities

Important Note:

Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

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Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

Important Note: The review of your resume will determine your final rating and should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Your application package should include the following documents:

• Resume – Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. If you want to receive full credit for relevant experience your resume MUST contain the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), duties, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary.

  USAJOBS has guidance on how to ensure that you submit a complete resume: If you have not written a Federal resume before, you may watch this Resume Writing Tutorial video on the USAJOBS YouTube channel , or read through a helpful Resume Writing FAQ article on the USAJOBS Help Site to learn what details you should, and should not, include in your resume. If any of the above information is not included in your resume we may not be able to fully credit you for your experience.

• Proof of Veteran’s Preference – DD214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter.
• Unofficial school transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
• Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
• A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination, if applicable.
• Proof of prior federal service such as the latest SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action.
• A recent performance evaluation.
• Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
• Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
• Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.