Accountant

The Division of Enforcement investigates possible violations of securities laws, recommends Commission action when appropriate, either in a federal court or before an administrative law judge, and negotiates settlements.

The Division of Enforcement is seeking an applicant to fill the Senior Accountant position. The successful candidate will be assigned to the Enforcement Division's Office of Chief Accountant located at Securities and Exchange Commission Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Responsibilities

If selected, you will join a team and serve as an expert accounting investigative team member, adviser and/or consultant in the SEC Headquarters for one or more of the Enforcement Division's areas of accounting program emphasis, including, but not limited to, financial accounting and disclosure, auditing, internal controls, asset misappropriation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, insider trading, and/or disgorgement and civil penalties. You will also provide professional accounting advice and assistance for the most complex and difficult cases undertaken by the Division.

Typical Duties:

• Maintains a significant case load of multiples investigations. Actively participates in nearly all aspects of the investigation, including obtaining evidence, analyzing information, developing conclusions, determining and negotiating resolutions, and presenting findings within the agency and externally where necessary.
• Performs financial accounting research, analysis, investigation, and engages in a high order of interpretation and reasoning in order to translate the complex and technical accounting findings into clearly understandable and defensible, evidentiary materials which can be used in SEC enforcement actions. Research would include, but not be limited to, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Standards, International Accounting and Auditing Standards, and certain portions of the United States Securities Laws.
• Produces accounting evidentiary data requiring sophisticated research of several diverse, non-traditional, and voluminous financial records and sources, (i.e., rapidly evolving and changing market financial practices) in order for it to be utilized by the legal staff in enforcement actions.
• Manages and analyzes large sets of data (both accounting and non-accounting) obtained in investigations. This includes directing the process of obtaining, cleaning and analyzing data sets in the investigation process.
• Provides the results of the data analytics in formats and presentations that can be easily understood by interested parties.
• Identifies, analyzes, and develops findings on unique and novel accounting issues, financing, and market practices.
• Generates and executes on investigation generation projects in addition to regular investigative case load. This includes researching, gathering data from disparate sources, developing and executing on work plans.
• Develops and leads training initiatives for attorneys and accountants within the Enforcement Division.
• Coordinates on a constant basis with financial accounting experts and specialized professionals within the agency, at other government entities, and private industry in the interpretation and application of operational and legal issues involved in the conduct of forensic accounting.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

BASIC REQUIREMENT:

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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must also meet the minimum qualification requirement. SK-16: Applicant must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/SK-14 level: applying federal securities laws, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), public accounting and auditing standards, and practical knowledge and experience with investigative processes, strategies, and tools to perform detailed analysis, draw conclusions, provide advice and develop recommendations involving complex investigations.

Education

ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html