Tax & Intercompany Accountant - Nigeria at British Council

The post supports the Senior Financial Accountant and Country Head of Finance with end to end oversight of tax management across the operation; including Tax planning, Transfer pricing management and advisory, centralised management of tax reviews, intercompany accounting, among others in line with standard accounting practices and corporate policies.

The role holder will act as the tax and intercompany focal point for the finance function in Nigeria and acting as one of the key finance business partners to operations, business delivery teams, and management teams across Nigeria operations on tax and intercompany related matters

Main opportunities/challenges for this role:

The ideal candidate will manage end to end tax (tax accounting, tax returns, analysing tax regulations, monitoring industry trends, completing tax reports, etc.) and intercompany accounting (reviewing and verifying intercompany charges, reviewing and resolving out of balance/intercompany reconciling items, Intercompany account settlement, etc.) function for Nigeria while ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of accounting transactions and reporting in line with internal policies and external regulatory requirements..

Main accountabilities but not limited to the following:

• The post-holder will recommend effective tax strategies that comply with relevant laws and promote British Council’s financial well-being.
• Responsible for the management of all Nigeria direct and indirect tax matters, including ensuring tax returns are accurately prepared and filed on time, paid as at when due, and tax audits are managed effectively.
• Management of local tax forecast and local tax projects as part of the financial planning cycle.
• Provide expertise to ensure tax accounting and tax accruals are accurate and recorded appropriately in British Council Nigeria entities.
• Responsible for preparation and filing of Corporate income tax returns which are accurately prepared and filed on a timely basis.
• Develop and prepare tax correspondence and documentation to support the Nigeria entities’ tax compliance checks / reviews.
• Develop continuous technical skills by remaining up to date on trends, new developments and tax authority decisions and applying those learnings to improve British Council tax compliance, suggest policies that diminish tax burden, etc.
• Interpret and implement new tax rules/amendments and train Financial Control, Financial Planning and Analysis, Commercial Finance and Risk & Compliance Teams on the new rules and processes required.
• Identify opportunities for proactive tax planning.
• Chase for the payment of long overdue accounts by sending follow-up emails to the Accounts payable contacts in SSC, and the various branches and subsidiaries
• Identify/review and resolves invoicing issues.
• Generate the cost centre / WBS balances for recharge for the period and prepares draft of the invoices for approval by Senior Financial Accountant or Country Head of Finance.
• Validate dispute by checking the records and supporting documents for accuracy.
• Identify/review and resolves invoicing issues
• Collaborate with the Senior Financial Accountant in the monthly cash forecast process
• Serves as the Nigeria intermediary for all branch and subsidiary related matters
• First point of contact for all Intercompany related matters/queries for Nigeria
• Collaborate with Shared Services Centre (SSC) intercompany team to achieve improved delivery, support services, and learning.
• Receives bank statement and matches payment details against open invoices for clearing by SSC.
• Verify and review details of intercompany requests submitted for / against Nigeria entities
• Determine appropriate Intercompany accounting details (e.g. GL accounts, Cost Centres, Transaction Type, Tax Code, Plant Code, etc.), when required
• Park intercompany account journal entries and submit recharge / billing requests on the Intercompany Portal (ICO Portal).
• Monitor pending Intercompany requests on the ICO portal and follow up relevant parties who need to action such requests.
• In conjunction with SSC ICO team, support preparation of recurring entries’ accruals
• Ensure timely expense recognition for year-end Intercompany related accruals
• In collaboration with the GL Accountant, perform preliminary and final Intercompany reconciliations for all branches and subsidiaries
• Ensure that the approach to tax and intercompany accounting within the Finance function is fit-for-purpose and able to respond promptly to changes in the portfolio and operating context.

As with any business that experiences peaks and troughs of activity, there is likely to be a need to work outside office hours from time to time.

Role specific knowledge and experience:

The successful candidate will need to possess the following requirements:

• Qualified accountant – ACA, ACCA
• Bachelor’s degree
• 4 years progressive experience in middle management tax finance roles, including tax reporting, tax compliance, tax accounting in a in a multi-jurisdiction / international environment.
• Successfully completed bachelor’s degree plus professional qualification (ACA / ACCA, and CITN).
• Experience in dealing with Tax Authorities.
• In depth experience and technical knowledge of tax accounting and disclosures for accounting purposes, including deferred tax, prior year adjustments and multiple years, etc.
• Experience in managing and reconciling intercompany transactions.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel         

Desirable

• Master’s degree
• CFA, CGMA, CIMA
• Previous work in the similar sector is an added advantage.
• Experience building capabilities and capacity of a function in high growth organizations including multi-jurisdictional and multi-currency environments.
• Experience in presenting reports and recommendations to senior leadership team
• Ability to assess risks and exercise judgment in making important decisions.
• Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated experience collaborating with cross-functional teams and engaging with a range of stakeholders.
• Experience of an ERP system (SAP preferably)