Accountant

Job Description

Accountant | GSA

The Tone:
This is an entry-level, one-year Pathways Recent Graduate Program at the General Services Administration (GSA). GSA is a federal agency that provides policy leadership in strategic planning, budgeting, and financial management for the U.S. government. This role is within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and is crucial for ensuring the financial integrity and compliance of GSA’s operations through meticulous accounting practices and analysis. The program is designed to offer professional and technical training, mentoring, and developmental opportunities for new graduates.

The TL;DR
• Role: Pathways Recent Graduate Program / Early Career
• Type: Full-time (one-year program)
• Location: Location not specified
• Pay: GS-05: $41,400 – GS-07: $51,283 yearly
• Team: Office of the Chief Financial Officer, GSA
• Mission: Ensure financial transactions are accurately recorded, analyzed, and managed in accordance with accounting principles and policies.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Reviewing: Review financial and management reports to assist in interpreting trends, identifying abnormal fluctuations, and determining necessary adjustments.
• Evaluating: Evaluate reports and data to confirm that the effect of transactions is properly charged to the appropriate user.
• Participating: Participate in ensuring that the day-to-day operations of accounting systems comply with established accounting principles, policies, and objectives.
• Analyzing: Analyze transactions in terms of their impact on assets, liabilities, and equity of specific programs, and direct the correction of any errors.
• Serving: Serve as a primary point of contact for routine accounting problems, offering solutions based on established principles or escalating to a supervisor.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Graduating student or recent graduate with U.S. Citizenship, holding a 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 (including up to 6 hours of business law).
• Experience: For GS-05, meeting the basic education requirement. For GS-07, at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level, demonstrating a general knowledge of accounting procedures, financial report review and analysis, and subsidiary ledger maintenance, OR one full year of graduate-level education (18 semester hours) in accounting or a related field.
• Skills: Knowledge of accounting principles, financial report analysis, data evaluation, transaction analysis, and problem-solving within an accounting framework.
• Bonus: Superior Academic Achievement (e.g., upper third of class, specific GPA criteria, or membership in a national scholastic honor society) can qualify for GS-07; prior service through a National Service program is also encouraged.