Accounting Assistant at Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Location: Banjul, Gambia
Grade: G4 / G5 / G6
Status: Permanent
Institution: ECOWAS Regional Competitive Authority (ERCA)
Agency: Ecowas Regional Competitive Authority (Erca)
Department: Trade, Customs, Free Movement And Tourism
Directorate:     Administration & Finance
Division: Finance
Line Supervisor: Accountant

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Accountant, the incumbent assists with activities in the area of accounting as stated in the roles and responsibilities below.

Role and Responsibilities

• Assist in the year end closing of accounts and preparation of the financial statements;
• Monthly exports and review of the trial balance of the year in review and note areas with issues;
• Assist in analyzing of all general ledger accounts (Payables, receivables, Income & expenses) and adjust/propose corrections where necessary;
• Preparation of journal vouchers and post into accounting system;
• Amortization/expensing of utilized prepaid accounts;
• Clearing of General Ledger open items;
• Respond and provide requested information/documents to external auditors on issues raised during the year-end audit and recommend/ propose ways to correct them;
• Assist the ERCA Departments in liaising with external auditors in closing of accounts and preparation of reports;
• Assist other accounting activities like accounts payables, bank reconciliation, receivables etc and with issues/proposed adjustments raised during the financial year audit;
• Receive vendor invoices, scan/import the images, verify data extraction is accurate, and route the documents into electronic workflow for processing;
• Verify and post scanned invoices using appropriate transaction codes in SAP;
• Identify and prevent duplicate invoice processing;
• Identify missing vendor workflow and initiate the vendor creation process;
• Process invoices in accordance with SAP requirements and ECOWAS financial policies and procedures;
• Obtain and attach additional documentation as required for special expenditures including capital expenses;
• Monitor opportunities to optimize timing of payments, based on payment terms;
• Process disbursements in accordance with schedule;
• Reconcile supplier statements and monitor vendor account balances;
• Enter and post cash receipts into accounting software system (SAP) using the appropriate transaction codes;
• Post all payments made or received by wire transfer timely and accurately;
• Prepare accurate bank reconciliation statements on a monthly and timely basis;
• Respond to internal and external queries in a timely and in a professional manner;
• Assist in resolving invoice discrepancies with the vendor;
• Process payable documents in accordance with their legal and compliance policies;
• Process and release cheques for related invoices and claims promptly;
• Verify outgoing cheques for accuracy;
• Assist in the archiving of department documentation;
• Process staff expense claim and travel return forms in a timely manner;
• Provide general filing and administrative support to the finance department;
• Assist in maintaining detailed records of budget estimates, obligations and available balances, producing forecasts of expenditure; reconcile divisional accounts with central accounts;
• Perform any other duty assigned by the supervisor.
• Monitor customer  (donors & community levy) accounts for non-payment and delayed payment
• Analyze discrepancies and unpaid invoices
• Assist in the preparation of budgets
• Verify all claims submitted by contractors and projects for approval, in compliance with the terms of the  relevant contracts and budgets
• Balancing the petty cash in daily basis
• Compile the documents necessary to prepare a monthly reports.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Brevet de Technicien Superieur (BTS) / Ordinary National Diploma (OND) or equivalent Certificate in Finance and Accounting or a related field from a recognized University;
• 5 years of progressively more responsible work experience in finance, budget, accounting, or related area;
• Demonstrated professional competence to extract, interpret, and analyze a wide variety of accounting data and to resolve data discrepancies and other problems;
• Knowledge of transactional based accounting activities such as budgeting, payroll, vendor claims processing, reconciliation and financial reporting as related to assigned responsibilities;
• Ability to identify and resolve accounting data discrepancies and operational problems.

Eligible Candidates:

• Nationals of Gambia or other ECOWAS member-states resident in Gambia.

Age Limit

• Be below 50 years old. This provision does not apply to internal candidates.

Salary

• UA16,288.84 ; USD25,700.53 / UA20,581.97 ; USD32,474.24 / UA24,770.16 ; USD39,082.35 annually.

Interested and qualified candidates should download the Application Form below, fill it out correctly, attach a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a Motivation Letter and send to: b20accountassterca@ecowas.int using the Job Title as the subject of the email.

Click here to download Application Form (Ms Word)

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