Accountant

Job Summary

We are looking for a competent, detail-oriented, and experienced Accountant to manage the company’s day-to-day accounting and financial activities.

The Accountant will be responsible for maintaining accurate financial records, preparing financial statements and management reports, handling accounts payable and receivable, performing bank reconciliations, supporting taxation and audit activities, managing month-end and year-end closing, and ensuring compliance with applicable accounting standards and company procedures.

The ideal candidate should have strong practical accounting knowledge and be capable of independently handling the full accounting cycle and serving as a reliable point of contact for routine accounting and financial matters.

Key Responsibilities

• Record, verify, allocate, post, and reconcile financial transactions.

• Maintain accurate books of accounts, journals, ledgers, and supporting schedules.

• Manage accounts payable and accounts receivable.

• Prepare supplier payments and monitor outstanding payables.

• Issue and record customer invoices and monitor outstanding receivables.

• Follow up on overdue accounts and maintain proper aging reports.

• Perform daily, weekly, and monthly bank reconciliations.

• Investigate and resolve differences between bank statements and accounting records.

• Maintain the general ledger and ensure all transactions are correctly classified.

• Prepare journal entries, accruals, prepayments, provisions, depreciation, and adjustments.

• Support and complete month-end and year-end closing activities.

• Prepare trial balances and supporting accounting schedules.

• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, including:

  • Balance Sheet

  • Income Statement / Profit and Loss Statement

  • Cash Flow Statement

  • Changes in Equity

  • Supporting schedules and reconciliations

• Prepare management accounting reports and financial summaries.

• Analyze revenues, expenses, margins, costs, and variances.

• Monitor company expenses and identify unusual or unnecessary expenditure.

• Assist management with budgeting and financial forecasting.

• Prepare budget-versus-actual reports and explain significant variances.

• Assist with cash-flow planning and monitoring.

• Maintain fixed asset registers and calculate depreciation.

• Maintain schedules for loans, advances, deposits, accruals, provisions, and other balance-sheet accounts.

• Handle intercompany transactions and reconciliations where applicable.

• Prepare and maintain proper supporting documentation for all accounting transactions.

• Ensure proper filing and retention of invoices, vouchers, receipts, bank documents, contracts, and financial records.

Taxation & Statutory Compliance

• Assist with preparation and submission of applicable tax returns and tax-related reports.

• Handle tax calculations, tax settlements, withholding taxes, VAT or other applicable indirect taxes where required.

• Maintain supporting documentation for tax filings.

• Reconcile tax accounts with accounting records.

• Coordinate with tax consultants and relevant authorities when required.

• Assist with tax audits, assessments, and regulatory inquiries.

• Ensure accounting records comply with applicable laws, regulations, and statutory requirements.

Audit Responsibilities

• Prepare schedules and supporting documentation for internal and external audits.

• Liaise with auditors and respond to audit queries.

• Assist in resolving audit findings and implementing recommendations.

• Ensure proper financial documentation and controls are maintained throughout the year.

• Support management in maintaining audit-ready accounting records.

Financial Controls & Procedures

• Follow and maintain established accounting policies and procedures.

• Assist in developing and improving accounting processes and internal controls.

• Identify accounting errors, weaknesses, or inefficiencies and recommend corrective actions.

• Ensure proper authorization and documentation of financial transactions.

• Support segregation of duties and other financial control procedures.

• Monitor compliance with company financial policies.

• Recommend improvements to accounting systems, reporting processes, and financial procedures.

Banking & Treasury Support

• Prepare bank reconciliations and monitor bank balances.

• Prepare payment instructions and supporting documents.

• Maintain banking records and transaction schedules.

• Monitor cash availability and upcoming payment obligations.

• Assist with cash-flow forecasts.

• Coordinate with banks regarding routine banking transactions when required.

• Maintain records relating to bank charges, transfers, deposits, guarantees, and other banking transactions.

Accounting Systems & Data Management

• Enter and maintain accounting information accurately in the company's accounting or ERP system.

• Ensure accounting system balances agree with supporting documentation.

• Maintain proper chart of accounts and transaction classifications.

• Assist with accounting system implementation, upgrades, or process improvements where required.

• Prepare financial data and reports using Excel and accounting software.

• Ensure financial data is properly backed up, organized, and accessible to authorized personnel.

Required Accounting Knowledge

The candidate should have strong knowledge and practical experience in:

• General accounting

• Bookkeeping

• General ledger accounting

• Accounts payable

• Accounts receivable

• Bank reconciliation

• Cash and bank management

• Journal entries

• Trial balance preparation

• Accruals and prepayments

• Provisions

• Fixed asset accounting

• Depreciation

• Revenue and expense recognition

• Financial statement preparation

• Month-end closing

• Year-end closing

• Tax accounting

• Tax settlement

• VAT and withholding tax, where applicable

• Budgeting

• Forecasting

• Cash-flow preparation

• Financial analysis

• Expense control

• Cost accounting fundamentals

• Audit preparation

• Internal controls

• Accounting policies and procedures

• Financial documentation and record keeping

• Balance-sheet reconciliations

• Supplier and customer reconciliations

• Intercompany reconciliations

• Payroll accounting fundamentals

• Inventory accounting fundamentals

• Foreign currency transactions and exchange differences, where applicable

• Financial reporting standards and accounting principles
  

Accounting Standards

The candidate should have a good working knowledge of:

• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)

• Applicable local accounting standards

• IFRS, where applicable

• Revenue recognition principles

• Expense recognition and matching principles

• Asset and liability classification

• Financial statement presentation

• Basic internal control and audit principles

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Commerce, Business Administration, or a related field.

• Professional accounting qualification such as ACCA, CMA, CPA, CA, CIMA, or equivalent is preferred.

• Relevant practical accounting experience.

• Previous experience with an international accounting firm or Big Four firm will be considered an advantage.

• Experience working in a commercial, trading, industrial, logistics, energy, engineering, or service business will be an advantage.

• Experience handling full-cycle accounting independently is strongly preferred.

Microsoft Excel Skills

Strong Microsoft Excel skills are essential, including practical knowledge of:

• VLOOKUP

• XLOOKUP

• HLOOKUP

• Pivot Tables

• INDEX and MATCH

• IFERROR

• Conditional formatting

• Data validation

• Sorting and filtering

• Text functions

• Date functions

• Reconciliation worksheets

• Financial schedules

• Data cleaning

• Basic charts and reporting

• Importing and organizing financial data

The candidate should be comfortable working with large Excel files and using Excel to perform reconciliations, analysis, reporting, and financial calculations.

Accounting Software & ERP Skills

Experience with one or more accounting or ERP systems is preferred.

Analytical Skills

The Accountant should be able to:

• Analyze financial transactions and identify discrepancies.

• Reconcile multiple sources of financial information.

• Investigate unusual account balances.

• Identify accounting errors and correct them.

• Analyze costs and expenses.

• Understand financial trends.

• Prepare variance analysis.

• Interpret financial statements.

• Identify potential financial risks.

• Provide accurate financial information to management.

Communication & Coordination Skills

The candidate should have:

• Good written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to communicate financial information clearly.

• Ability to coordinate with management, employees, suppliers, customers, banks, auditors, consultants, and government authorities.

• Ability to respond professionally to accounting and financial queries.

• Ability to prepare clear financial reports and supporting explanations.

• Good English communication skills.

Organizational Skills

The candidate must be able to:

• Work independently with limited supervision.

• Manage multiple accounting tasks simultaneously.

• Prioritize work according to deadlines.

• Maintain organized accounting records.

• Meet monthly reporting deadlines.

• Handle confidential financial information responsibly.

• Maintain accurate documentation.

• Work under pressure during month-end, year-end, audit, and tax periods.

Essential Requirements

The candidate must have strong hands-on experience in:

• Bank reconciliation

• Accounts payable and accounts receivable

• General ledger accounting

• Financial statement preparation

• Tax calculation and tax settlement

• Month-end and year-end closing

• Audit preparation and coordination

• Advanced Microsoft Excel

• Accounting software or ERP systems

• Balance-sheet reconciliations

• Financial reporting

• Maintaining accurate accounting records and supporting documentation