As an employee of the APA, you are eligible for retirement through the VA Retirement System (VRS). VRS administers the following two programs. We have included some of the highlights of each program.

Retirement Account

• Employees contribute 5% of their annual salary towards their retirement and the state pays an additional amount towards funding a defined benefit payment upon retirement.
• Generally, employees are eligible for retirement at the normal Social Security retirement age but can retire early when the age and service credit equal at least 90 (e.g.: age 60 with 30 years of service credit).
• You become vested after 5 years of salaried employment and are eligible for the Commonwealth’s retirement plan.

To read more about the Virginia Retirement system go to their website at www.varetire.org

Deferred Compensation Plan

• The State offers a voluntary Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) with a cash match 401a retirement plan. The state will match 50% of your voluntary contributions up to $10/pay period.
• The money you contribute into this account is pretax, which lowers your tax burden each year.
• Salaried State employees hired after January 1, 2008 are automatically enrolled into the 457 Deferred Compensation and Cash Match Plans.
• Contributions in this account cannot exceed $15,500 or 25% of your salary.

The APA provides a professional work environment, and we also provide flexible work hours. Depending on your audit assignment, you may be approved to work an alternative schedule to the standard 8-hour work day. This provides our staff with concentrated workdays and at the same time allows them to have extra time away from the office to take care of personal appointments.

In addition to the flexible work hours, APA offers teleworking to our staff members. Current and future employees can work out a work schedule with their supervisor where they are able to work from home once a week. Our agency is an advocate for telework because it is important to the environment, reduces commuter traffic, emissions, and stress.

Permanent part-time employment allows some of our employees to work a reduced work schedule on a permanent basis.

Patrice Mays on being a part-time staff member with APA:

“Working part time allows me to have the perfect balance between my professional and personal life. As a student, mother, and wife I don't always have much time to myself. By working part time I am able to have a very exciting and rewarding career and still spend time doing other things that are essential to my well being.”

The APA encourages all qualified staff to sit for the Certified Public Accountant, Certified Information Systems Auditor and various other professional certification exams. Listed below are the certification and membership benefits you could be eligible to receive:

• Annual membership dues in up to two professional organizations such as the AICPA, VSCPA, or ISACA
• Three days of education leave per year to study for a professional exam or an approved college course exam
• Professional Exam leave for the time you are away from work to sit for an exam
• Upon successful completion we will reimburse you the exam sitting fee
• In addition, the APA has established a bonus plan for staff that are successful in passing their professional certification exams.

Training is one of the top priorities of the Auditor of Public Accounts. We understand that our staff are our most important assets and help make us successful in meeting our mission. Maintaining well-trained staff also helps us satisfy the government auditing standards that we are committed to follow.

At the APA, you will be constantly learning, whether informally from other specialty team members, fellow audit team members, on the job at your clients, or in formal training programs. You will be supported by people who are committed to helping you develop and grow as a professional and as an individual. No matter where you are in your career path, you will be able to further develop your skills and expand your knowledge base through a wide range of programs and resources that can be tailored to your needs.

Our auditors attend a variety of general and specialized training classes throughout their careers. Each auditor receives at least 40 hours of training annually. General training classes are designed to provide staff with professional development in governmental accounting and auditing, and personal development in the areas of supervision and leadership. Specialized training classes are designed to develop staff to have an advanced level of knowledge in their selected area of expertise.

Training is not an area we take lightly! The needs of our staff are carefully considered and not everyone receives the same training. Instead, our auditors meet semi-annually with their supervisors to develop their training plans for the following year. These plans are individualized and consider audit experience, specialty area, and areas of improvement in work performance.

Many of our staff come to the APA with a variety of experience and degrees. In addition, once employed many of our staff seek tuition assistance to return to school and further their education. Regardless of your tenure with us, you may request reimbursement for job-related courses.

Under our Tuition Assistance Program, staff are eligible to receive tuition reimbursement for up to three classes annually at any public college or university. If staff elect to go to a private college or university the Office will still reimburse staff for the class using the public college/university tuition rate. Currently we reimburse staff for classes they are attending to obtain their undergraduate or graduate degrees and post-baccalaureate certificates in various business-related disciplines.

All full-time APA employees are eligible to receive health insurance through the Commonwealth of Virginia’s various plans. Employees may elect different coverage levels depending on the number of family members and may choose a variety of options for dental, vision, and prescription medication coverage.

Life insurance is provided at no cost to the employee. Coverage equals the annual salary rounded up to the next thousand, then doubled. Accidental death coverage is twice the normal death benefit. Additional life insurance is available through the Commonwealth’s Optional Life Insurance Plan.

For more information on the Commonwealth’s health insurance plans, please visit Department of Human Resources.

The APA also offers opportunities for participation in a variety of after hours and weekend events designed to enhance team unity and build camaraderie. The social committee is responsible for coordinating these special events. The committees’ objectives are to help improve the quality of life for the staff by coordinating efforts for recreational, social, civic, charitable, and any other activity suggested by the staff.

The APA also offers an outlet for our sports enthusiasts. Some of the state sponsored athletic events APA employees have participated in include:

• Softball
• Kickball
• Dodgeball
• Basketball
• Golf

APA is not "all work and no play." If you enjoy being a team player, sharing rewards of your hard work with others and, most of all, striking a balance between your personal and professional life, then the APA may be the place for you!