
Accountant
Western Area Power Administration
Lakewood, COFull-time$83–130K/yrPosted today
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At a glance
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Requirements
Credentials this posting asks for.
Job overview
The Accountant supports the Rocky Mountain Region of the Western Area Power Administration by advising management on accounting data for problem-solving and decision-making. The role coordinates regional accounting functions and serves as a principal source of cost, plant, fiscal, and systems accounting information. It covers financial analysis and review, project-account activity, reconciliation, and audit support.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
Summary
This position is part of the WAPA-RMR-Rocky Mountain Region. As an Accountant, you will provide advice and assistance to RMR management to interpret accounting data for problem-solving and decision-making purposes. As the Region's principal source of cost accounting, plant accounting, fiscal and systems accounting information, you will be responsible for all phases of financial analysis and review.
Duties
As an Accountant, you will: Coordinate all RMR accounting functions, as they relate to the centralized accounting system, including elements of cost, fiscal, and systems accounting. Review and advise on all accounting requirements, relating to broader-based financial management activities, which include accounting, auditing, budgeting, project management, and internal controls. Initiate and review work outputs that affect project accounts, to include project creation, accounting adjustments, project close and end-of-year transactions. Works with Rates staff to reconcile differences on crosswalks between financial statements and power repayment studies. Serve as a contact to auditors, preparing documentation requests, answering questions, and preparing or assisting in the preparation of responses to audit findings. Analyze information for trends and deviations from management/customer plans; reconciles account balances; and makes corrective adjustments. Requirements
Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. This employer participates in the e-Verify program. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation. May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period. Employees serving on a probationary or trial period may be terminated at any time during the probationary or trial period for performance, conduct, or business-related reasons in the interest of Federal service. In accordance with Executive Order 14170, applicants are encouraged to respond to the four short, free-response, essay questions in the questionnaire. Answers to these questions are not scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration. Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Security clearance and associated requirements- Moderate Risk. Shift work and emergency overtime may be required. Employee may be required to work other than normal duty hours, to include evenings, weekends and/or holidays. Total salary varies depending on location of position. Qualifications
To be found qualified, you must meet the basic requirement AND minimum qualification requirements for the grade level(s) in which you apply. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: A) 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 B) 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. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: Specialized Experience, GS-11 Level: Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-09) in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as having all of the following: developing, preparing, and analyzing financial statements and reports; and reconciling accounts payable and receivable activity and standard general ledger accounts. OR Education Substitution: successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or at least three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field related to the work of this position as described in the vacancy announcement. OR Combination of Education and Experience: combination of specialized experience and graduate education beyond the first two years of graduate study that together meet the requirements for this position. Specialized Experience, GS-12 Level: Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as having all of the following: preparing or reviewing month end and year end journal entries; planning and tracking capital assets through their useful life; reviewing and analyzing data, identifying errors and formulating questions; applying Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and providing guidance to non-finance stakeholders. "Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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. Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Working Conditions: The work is primarily sedentary. Physical Effort: The work is performed in an office setting.
Education
This position has a positive education requirement. If you are relying on education to meet the qualification requirements, you must provide your transcripts. 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. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. DO NOT email or mail in any of your application documents. Documents will not be accepted outside of the online application system. 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. How You Will Be Evaluated
Once the application process is complete, the first two pages of your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. Minimum Qualifications: Once the application process is complete, the Human Resources Office will review the first two pages of your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum job qualifications. USAHire: To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Rule of Many Rating Procedure: You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. Once the application process is complete, your resume, supporting documentation, and questionnaire/assessment responses will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the USA Hire rating assessment(s) will be scored. You will be ranked in score order plus any Veterans' preference points. All candidates who score a predefined cut score will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. All applicants tied at the cut line will be referred. If additional candidates are needed, groups of three per vacancy will be referred. Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed ahead of non-preference eligibles with the same score. Preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more are listed at the top of the certificate in the order of their ratings unless the job is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or above (or equivalent). Simultaneous Listing: Candidates may be referred simultaneously on multiple certificates for which they are interested, eligible, and within reach. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics): Accountability Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified". You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (11/12/2026) of this announcement. To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13102301. Other Information
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE. For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.telework.gov. Applicants may request Reasonable Accommodation (RA) when applying or competing for a job due to a medical condition or to exercise religious beliefs. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or selection process, please contact the Agency Contact listed on this vacancy announcement. Promotion Potential: full performance level is GS-12. The selectee for this position may be eligible to receive a recruitment or relocation incentive. You will need to sign an employment agreement to be eligible for this incentive. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs are not authorized. This position may be eligible for creditable service towards annual leave. Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. DOE may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Salary negotiation may be available for those candidates who are new to Federal service. Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement will be adjusted to include locality payment for selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages. Rocky Mountain Region - $83,265 - 129,742 Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.
How this job compares
Set against the 3,496 open Accountant jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 31, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$83–130K/yr
- Colorado median$77–103K/yr58 salary ranges
- US median$75–100K/yr1,032 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $107K, is 18% above the Colorado median midpoint ($90K) — in the top quarter of Accountant salary ranges in Colorado.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 98 open Accountant jobs in Colorado and 3,496 across the US. 4% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Colorado
- Beacon Hill Solution12 open
- Robert Half Finance & Accounting8 open
- Crusoe5 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience — less than three in four Accountant postings that state a minimum ask for (median 3 years, across 2,309 postings).
- Education
- 1,844 of the 3,496 open Accountant jobs (53%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 31, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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