ACCOUNTANT

Your tasks

This is a Recent Graduate appointment in the Pathways Program. Selected individuals are placed in a dynamic one year development program in the excepted service designed to lead to a competitive civil service career in the Federal government. At the successful conclusion of this program, the agency may non-competitively convert individuals to a term (position lasting 1-4 years with an extension up to 120 days) or permanent position within the competitive service. Conversion to a Federal competitive service position will be at the discretion of the agency and is neither guaranteed nor implied. Typical Duties include: Supporting general ledger operations by entering, reviewing, and verifying accounting data and routine financial transactions for accuracy, completeness, documentation, and compliance with established procedures. Identifying recurring accounting data errors, assists with routine reconciliations, gathers and compares account information, and coordinates or elevates discrepancies for review and correction. Compiling, reviewing and organizing accounting data from established sources to support preparation of financial information, report inputs, and required financial reports for internal and external stakeholders. Applying established accounting policies, Federal accounting standards, Treasury guidance, agency directives, and local procedures while assisting with internal control reviews, procedure updates, and compliance-related activities. Reviewing accounting system outputs and assigned workflows, identifies inconsistencies or potential problem areas, and assists higher-graded staff with system reviews, process improvements, audit support, and project work. This position starts at a salary of $50,930.00 (GS-7, Step 1) to $80,991.00 (GS-9, Step 10) with promotion potential to $ 117,446(GS-12 Step 10). GS Salary : Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table.

Requirements

Basic Requirements: 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. (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. You qualify for this position if you meet the basic requirement listed above AND possess the experience or substitution of education, if applicable, as described below: Experience: You qualify for the GS-7 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Entering and verifying routine accounting transactions in an accounting/financial management system. Reviewing invoices, vouchers, receipts, or transaction records to confirm required information were present before processing. Compiling financial data from accounting systems. Comparing account balances, transaction listings, or system reports to supporting records. Responding to routine requests for transaction status, payment information, account documentation, or report data. Education Substitution: Successful completion of one year of full-time graduate education from an accredited college or university may substitute for the experience required at this level. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise a year of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 18 semester or 27 quarter hours OR Superior Academic Achievement GS-07 may also substitute for the experience required. Review Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) to see if you qualify under this provision. Experience: You qualify for the GS-9 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Reviewing and analyzing recurring accounting transactions. Performing account reconciliations while researching and resolving the routine differences. Preparing recurring financial reports by extracting and validating data from multiple accounting systems. Identifying recurring errors while also researching the cause and coordinating corrective action for routine issues. Working with program offices to obtain missing documentation, clarify transaction details and correct accounting data. Education Substitution: You may substitute a Master's degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education for experience required at the GS-9 grade level. Such education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise two years of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 36 semester or 54 quarter hours. 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. You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 11/09/2026. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application & application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The USA Hire Assessments includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You are eligible for this appointing authority if you are an individual who: Completed, within the previous two years by 11/09/2026, a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or completed a qualifying career or technical education program (which may include Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Job Corps, AmeriCorps, and Peace Corps) . Review Recent Graduates for additional eligibility information. If you are a veteran who was unable to apply within two years of receiving your degree due to military service obligation, you have a full 2-year period of eligibility upon your release or discharge from active duty. Your eligibility period may not extend beyond 6 years from the date you completed the requirements of your academic course of study or a qualifying career or technical education program. You must submit a copy of your transcripts showing type of degree received and date degree was received. In addition, if you are a veteran who was unable to apply within two years of receiving your degree due to military service obligation, please provide a copy of your DD-214 or a written statement from the armed forces certifying your dates of service and your rank, expected type of discharge and anticipated date of separation. To be eligible for conversion, Recent Graduates must: Successfully complete at least year of continuous service in addition to all requirements of the program; Meet the qualification standards for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted; Meet agency-specific requirements and expectations as specified in the Participant's Agreement; and Perform their job successfully. If you have applied to this announcement prior to the completion of your degree or program you must complete the academic requirements for your program or degree with 9 months after the closing date of this announcement and your academic requirements for your program or degree must be completed prior to entering on duty

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information.

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below) All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English You may be required to pass a background investigation CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link. Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions - NTEU. For local chapter contact information see Chapter Websites - National Treasury Employees Union - NTEU Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions: Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government

Other

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Finance, Financial Operations, Accounting Division, Indianapolis, IN. Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.