Chief Accountant is Seeking Candidates for 2024 Professional Accounting Fellow Positions

The SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA) is accepting applications for Professional Accounting Fellow (PAF) positions that will begin in the summer of 2024. The PAF program, which began in 1972, is designed to provide participating fellows with outstanding opportunities for public service and professional development. During their two-year term, fellows may participate in teams assigned to study and develop rule proposals under the federal securities laws; assist OCA in administering Commission oversight with respect to accounting, auditing, and other professional standard-setting bodies; and participate in consultations from public companies, auditors, and audit committee members on accounting, auditing, internal control over financial reporting, independence, and reporting matters. 

OCA is seeking candidates who want to engage in public service and who can draw upon their significant experience in auditing the financial statements of, providing advisory services to, or working for public companies, to exhibit an understanding of and an ability to analyze and succinctly explain policy or practice matters affecting public companies that are associated with either (or both) of the following: 

• The application or implementation of accounting standards or corporate reporting by domestic and/or foreign public companies. 
• The application or implementation of auditing, quality control, and independence standards related to the audits of the financial statements of domestic and/or foreign public companies or broker-dealers registered with the SEC. 

Candidates must be U.S. citizens and must be able to adhere to the highest ethical standards in supporting the Commission’s mission. 

Applicants are required to submit to OCA: 

• A resume; 
• At least two professional letters of recommendation from non-relatives; and 
• An eight to ten page essay single spaced (see further information below). 

Applicants are required to submit these items and to complete the application online at USAJobs on or before Friday, January 19, 2024.

Applicants are required to submit an essay on a current accounting, auditing, or corporate reporting topic that either affects or may in the future affect financial reporting by public companies in the U.S. capital markets or broker-dealers registered with the SEC. The essay should meet the following parameters: 

• Include an executive summary section focused on the key recommendations made in the essay. The executive summary should not exceed one page, and it should be included in the essay’s page count. 

• Include the applicant’s identification of the accounting, auditing, or corporate reporting topic, consideration of the associated policy level issues, and the applicant’s specific recommendations. 

• Exclude lengthy or excessive quotations from accounting or auditing literature. References to such literature, where necessary, will suffice. 

For United States veterans, in order to receive credit for military service you must indicate dates of service on your resume and provide proof of veteran status (DD-214, Member Copy 4 or other documentation containing dates of service and character of discharge). Disabled veterans and other applicants eligible for 10-point Veteran's Preference please include documentation to validate your claim (VA letter, SF-15, etc.). 

In considering all applications, OCA will follow the Commission’s policy of affording equal employment opportunity to all eligible applicants. 

For more information about the PAF program and the application process, interested parties are encouraged to contact Ms. Katie Driessen in OCA at (771) 209-1131 or DriessenKa@sec.gov or Ms. Dana Cretu in OCA at (771) 209-1146 or CretuDa@sec.gov.