Principal Financial Accountant - Expenditure Control at African Development Bank - AfDB

Reference: ADB/17/317
Location: Côte d’Ivoire
Grade: PL4
Position N°: 50053775

The Complex

• The Vice Presidency for Finance oversees the financial management of the Bank Group. This encompasses the Bank Group’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities; controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration; strategic resource mobilization and the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments; the overall asset/liability management for the Bank Group.

The Hiring Department/Division

• The Financial Control Department is responsible for accounting for the financial consequences of the Bank Group’s transactions and decisions, and for the preparation, fair presentation and overall integrity of the internal financial reports and published financial statements.
• The department is also responsible for loan administration and accounting and related fiduciary responsibilities, including disbursement of funds to projects and programs financed by the Bank Group. Lastly, the department provides decision support and expertise in the development and implementation of financial control policies, operational and financial strategies and related information systems.
• The primary purpose of the Bank’s Administrative Expense division is to provide efficient transaction processing services with respect to the capital and administrative expenses of the Bank and of all bilateral funds. The Division not only ensures that expenses incurred are in accordance with Bank policies, but also actively seeks opportunities for savings for the Bank in the management of expenses.

The Position

• The responsibility of the Principal Financial Accountant will be to perform verification of all types of payments and journal vouchers, except for loan-related and pension payments, to ensure correctness and proper application of international accounting standards in the treatment of transaction.
• The Position holder will also ensure effective transaction processing services which include effective controls over all financial transactions to safeguard the assets of the Bank and respective Grants, and to perform continuous business process improvement for administrative expense processes.

Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision and guidance of the Division Manager, Administrative Expenses, the Principal Financial Accountant will perform the following:

• Manage system development and upgrade activities for the division. This involves analyzing user requirements for enhanced business processes, designing required specifications to enhance SAP applications based on these requirements within the Division’s overall need and objectives and liaising with the IT department to implement same, carry out data;
• Supervise and follow up on resolution on all IT and SAP technical problems and issues;
• Establish procedures and controls to improve efficiency of service to identify cost savings and promote the efficient use of Bank resources;
• Provide guidance on accounting treatment and classifications of financial transactions to all documents of the Bank;
• Check that the deadlines / lead time for the processing of payments are respected; and generate payment proposals;
• Ensure that general ledger and vendor accounts are regularly analysed, and that required entries are made;
• Carry out reasonableness checks and analytical review of Administrative Expenses by comparing expenses of one period to another, provide explanations and reports on the variances and supply input for monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements;
• Generate and / or prepare various SAP and other reports and follow-up of outstanding issues with other departments;
• Participate in the review and formulation of accounting procedures, policies and practices, drafting proposals or parts thereof and reviewing proposed drafts by other staff members;
• Assess best practices of other organizations; analyse their methodologies and procedures and draft issue papers and recommendations on their adaptability to the Bank's environment;
• Advise Management on methods to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the control environment in the department in particular and the Bank in general;
• Represent the Division on relevant Bank-wide working groups;
• Monitor the follow up and implementation of Audit recommendations.

Selection Criteria
Including desirable skills, knowledge and experience:

• Hold at least a Master’s Degree or its equivalent in Accounting, Finance, Audit or Professional qualification from internationally recognized professional accounting body e.g CA, CPA, ACCA or Expert Comptable.
• Have a minimum of six (6) years of practical experience in an accounting firm or international financial organization.
• Private sector experience is an added advantage.
• Good knowledge of working environment to the resolution of problems and identify solutions to the benefit of the client (internal and external) and the organization.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language.
• Competence in the use of standard software (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint). A very strong working knowledge of SAP R/3.
• Certification in one or more modules (preferably FI-MM) is an advantage.