Project Accountant - Johannesburg Verfied

R 35000 per month Johannesburg, Gauteng Johannesburg, Gauteng more than 14 days ago 16-10-2016 3:17:00 PM
04-11-2016 2:20:46 PM
NOTE: Please do not apply if you do not have the relevant skill and experience.

Job Description:
The Project Accountant will be primarily responsible for the day to day performance and monitoring of project accounting functions to ensure that project funds are managed and accounted for in an effective and sustainable manner, in accordance with donor requirements.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Financial and Donor Reporting
Read and understand the donor contracts for the donors that the accountant is responsible for and note the key areas of the contract including:
Requirements for audit;
Treatment of interest;
Start and end dates of the contract;
Applications for extensions and procedures for carry over requests;
Requirements for re-allocations of budget lines and when the donor needs to be contacted to request such approvals;
Requirements for use of foreign exchange gains.
Disposal of assets when the grant comes to an end.
Ensure that accurate project accounting records are maintained in accordance with IFRS and donor requirements.
Ensure that all project management reports balance to the project trial balances and Income and Expense statements and statements of Financial Position for the relevant projects.
Ensure that monthly combined donor control reconciliations and bank account reconciliations are prepared timeously for the Financial Manager review and that differences are followed up and queries resolved
Ensure that relevant and accurate project reports are prepared and handed to relevant project managers for management of the overall projects on a monthly basis (donor and project reports)..
Monitor monthly actual project expenditure against budgets, identify variances and ensure that the necessary follow up action is taken. This involves preparing correcting journal entries for the Financial Manager to review and post in Sage 300.
Prepare and submit accurate donor reports timeously to the Financial Manager for review. This also involves working with programme colleagues to ensure that the financial reporting links to the narrative and programme activities reported.
Ensure compliance with donor contractual requirements. Liaise with donors.
Maintenance of the donor database, including diarising reporting dates.
Design and set up new donor chart of accounts in consultation with the program manager/program executive and open now donor files to facilitate reporting to donors.
Review workplans, expenditure reports and payment requests of sub recipients.
Ensure that the functioning of the Sage 300 Financial design module and the master reporting template is up to date and accurate.
Cash Flow Management
Prepare cash flow projections and cashflow requests for projects and manage the cash flows accordingly.
Send requests to the bookkeepers for transfers of funds from call accounts to the relevant current accounts after monthly reconciliation of the bank accounts.
Monitoring the levels of cash in the relevant donor call accounts and alerting management and the donors to the possibility of shortfalls. In these instances the reporting or disbursement requests will need to be submitted earlier than the required reporting dates to ensure that sufficient funds are available to fund project costs.

Audits
Develop and implement a filing system to ensure that all original source documents are appropriately filed and files are properly labelled to facilitate retrieval of documents.
Prepare and save audit packs and all other necessary information to ensure efficient, effective and successful external project audits. This includes online and paper audits.
Facilitate and manage all project audits.
Respond to positive and negative requests for information and confirmation from donors and their appointed auditors.
Assist the Financial Manager with all other audits and external reviews, when necessary.
Review and/or prepare financial reports and fund accountability statements for donor audits and provide feedback to the Financial Manager. This also includes any specific donor reports required for audit and closeout of donor projects.

General
Assist with the preparation of budgets for proposal submissions, when required.
Conduct training on finance requirements for staff and partner organisations, when required.
Conduct site visits to the provincial offices to ensure compliance with the finance and procurement policies and procedures, when required.
Assist with the implementation of financial and procurement policies and procedures.
Assist with preparation of documents and presentations for management and donor requirements.
Ensure that the necessary analysis of financial data and information is conducted to identify inaccuracies and/or errors.
Human Resources Management
Effectively direct, guide and assist in managing the Junior Project Accountants.
Develop the capacity of the Junior Project Accountants to ensure that they have the necessary knowledge and skills to perform their functions optimally.
Hold the Junior Project Accountants accountable for all deliverables and responsibilities.
Take ownership and accountability for all deliverables and responsibilities assigned to the Project Accountant position.
In consultation with the Financial Manager, identify own training and coaching requirements and developmental areas to achieve optimal performance.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
A diploma, degree or equivalent qualification in Accounting ESSENTIAL
Extensive Accpac / Sage 300 and MS Office knowledge and experience.
Extensive project accounting experience.
At least 10 years work experience in an accounting/finance environment.
Supervisory experience.
Experience in preparing donor financial reports would be an added advantage.
Experience in CDC funding is critical