JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Reference:
Job Title: / Assistant Accountant - Projects
Work Unit: / Finance Section
Responsible To: / Accountant
Responsible For: / Finance Assistant Projects
Job Purpose: / Responsible for the financial management & auditing of all Project funds.
Date: / 11/02/2011
Vision:

“All CROP (Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific) agencies contribute to achieving the vision embodied in the Pacific Plan of a region of peace, stability, economic growth, good governance and sustainable development.

Organisation Context:

SOPAC Division – Finance Team Structure

The Assistant Accountant – Projects works under the Finance team within the Corporate Services Programme of SPC’s SOPAC division.

The Assistant Accountant – Projects reports to the Accountant who is overall responsible for the provision of financial services to the SOPAC division. This position is responsible for the provision of reliable and accurate financial management & auditing of all Project funds. The Assistant Accountant – Projects interacts with the programme project teams and also with donor agencies.

Key Result Areas:

The position of Assistant Accountant - Projects encompasses the following major functions or Key Result Areas (KRAs):

KRA 1: Project Accounting

KRA 2: Project Financial Management

KRA 3: Country Projects Management

KRA 4: Capacity Building

KRA 5: Annual Session Paper(s)

KRA 6: Miscellaneous Finance Tasks

The requirements in the above Key Result Areas are broadly identified below.

Jobholder is accountable for

/
Jobholder is successful when
KRA 1: Project Accounting
Auditing
  • Facilitate all project audits in line with donor requirements as per MOU/LOA
  • Prepare financial reports (audit accounts)
  • Design Navision templates for audit accounts
  • Assist and liaise with auditors on queries.
  • Prepare all necessary reconciliations for audit purpose
  • Respond to auditor findings.
Donor Reporting
  • Prepare donor reports as required by project MOU/LOA
  • Attend to queries raised by donors
  • Design Navision templates for donor reports
Project Work plan and Budgets
  • Assist project teams in compiling work plans and budgets
Project Postings
  • Project postings in all financial areas
/
  • Audit Queries resolved in a timely manner
  • Unqualified audit reports received from auditors.
  • Nil Management letter issues
  • Timeliness (report prepared, audited and submitted to donor within the time frame required by the donor).
  • Reports are signed off by finance management.
  • Approval from project managers stating report to be ok.
  • Approval from donor that report is acceptable.
  • Timeliness (reports done and sent on timely basis)
  • Work plans and budgets prepared timely and accepted by donors
  • All postings done accurately and in a timely
fashion
KRA 2: Project Financial Management
Reconciliations
  • All financial reconciliations for projects
Cash Flow Management
  • Ensure all project bank balances are sufficient for payments at all times
  • Liaise with SOPAC and funding advance to have sufficient bank balances
  • all project investment portfolio
  • Request funding from donors as per MOU/LOA
File Management
  • Ensure all project MOU/LOA and project related documents are filed properly
  • Ensure all project audit reports are maintained properly
  • Ensure all project vouchers, receipts, invoices, etc are filed correctly
  • Maintain project GANTT chart
Verification
  • Verify all project payment requests before posting and payments are made
  • Verify project contracts
  • Verify acquittals
/
  • All reconciliations done accurately and in a timely fashion
  • All project banks should have sufficient bank balance at all times
  • Ensuring projects earn a good return on investment and their funds are invested
  • Project funds are acquired as per MOU/LOA
  • All MOU/LOA and audit reports are easily retrievable
  • Ensure that filings are done on a timely manner
  • Chart reflects all project timelines and budgets accurately
  • All payments are made from the correct project codes and correct bank accounts.
  • Contract payments are as per signed contracts
  • Acquittals have proper documentation and compiled accurately

KRA 3: Country Projects Management
  • Design reporting templates to harmonize reporting from country projects
  • Develop training manual and train country projects to use the reporting template
  • Assist and advice country projects compile reports
  • Attend project meetings and address issues raised by country projects
  • Design audit TOR for country projects
  • Formulate annual financial reports for country projects to audit
  • Review and comment on country project audit reports
  • Review country projects cash advance requests
  • Consolidate country reports to report to donors
  • Assist and train country projects to formulate work plans and budgets
/
  • Reporting template outputs correct reports.
  • Country personnel are able to use the reporting template correctly and report accordingly.
  • Country projects issues resolved in a timely manner.
  • Audit TOR drafted and given to countries in a timely manner
  • Annual financial drafted and given to countries in a timely manner
  • Audit reports reviewed and commented on in a timely manner
  • Cash advanced to countries at the earliest possible.
  • Reports sent to donors as per MOA/LOA
  • Country personnel able to prepare work plans and budgets correctly

KRA 4: Capacity Building
  • Train and supervise Assistant Finance Officer Projects
/
  • Ensure the project assistant can handle role of finance officer projects in his/her absence

KRA 5: Annual Session Paper(s)
  • Prepare donor support paper
  • Prepare any other paper as required by accountant (such as Auditor selection paper)
/
  • Paper prepared accurately and accepted by director.

KRA 6: Miscellaneous Finance Tasks
  • Post all SOPAC FX transactions
  • Verify project cheques when required
  • Process cheques and orders when required
  • Match invoices when required
/
  • Ensure all postings are done correctly and in a timely manner
  • Ensure all delegated duties are carried out in a professional manner

Note

The above performance standards are provided as a guide only. The precise performance measures for this position will need further discussion between the jobholder and supervisor as part of the performance development process.

Work Complexity:
Most challenging duties typically undertaken:
  • Facilitating several project audits simultaneously
  • Consolidating country reports and reconciling their acquittals

K

Functional Relationships & Relationship Skills:
Key internal and/or external contacts / Nature of the contact most typical
External -
  • Donor agencies
  • Auditors
  • Bank officials
  • Suppliers/Vendors
  • Member Country Finance Staff
  • Grant Recipients
  • NGOs/ CROP Agencies
  • Consultants
/ Courtesy, providing and receiving information, explaining things to people, clarifying donor / work requirements,
Interacting, advising, gaining assistance, resolving minor conflicts, negotiating.
Internal –
  • Project Teams
  • Corporate Team (Finance / IT / HR / Admin)
/ Team working, collaborating, advising, receiving and providing technical input
Courtesy, giving and receiving information, explaining things to people, clarifying needs
Interacting, advising, gaining assistance, resolving minor conflicts, negotiating
Level of Delegation:

The position holder:

- Has no delegation of authority

Person Specification:

This section is designed to capture the expertise required for the role at the 100% fully effective level. (This does not necessarily reflect what the current position holder has.) This may be a combination of knowledge / experience, qualifications or equivalent level of learning through experience or key skills, attributes or job specific competencies.

Qualifications
Essential: / Desirable:
Degree in Accounting, Financial Management

Knowledge / Experience

Essential: / Desirable:
  • Strong numeric skills, advanced excel spreadsheet skills including macros, and effectively used a recognized accounting package for generation of financial reports.
  • Excellent PC based computer skills, preferably with current Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Projects, PowerPoint and Access.
  • Operating experience with accounting software packages, where experience in particular with Navision system would be an advantage.
  • Understanding of database fundamentals.
  • Familiarity with Internet and email.
  • Minimum 3 years relevant work experience – project accounting.
  • Demonstrated ability to use initiative.
/
  • Must be used to working in dynamic and challenging environment, committed to provide excellent service to clients, be highly motivated and organized, with strong work ethic, proactive attitude to problem solving and an inclination to work smart as part of a competent team and possess excellent interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills in English.
  • Navision accounting system user
  • Advanced user of Microsoft Excel including
macros.

Key Skills /Attributes / Job Specific Competencies

The following levels would typically be expected for the 100% fully effective level:

Expert level /
  • Accurate and effective processing of financial data according to international accounting standards;

Advanced level /
  • Ability to analyse and assess financial
information.
  • Ability to manage budgets.
  • Make decisions on timely basis and have a flexible approach

Working Knowledge /
  • Accounting practices
  • Financial systems software
  • Corporate policies
  • International and local banking procedures
  • Knowledge of SPC finances rules and regulations as well as corporate service rules.
  • Understanding of exchange rates – foreign currency
  • Ability to deal with confidential information.
  • Ability to work well with section colleagues, corporate services staff and staff at all levels.
  • Good oral and written communication skills
  • Knowledge of working with project finances, project management and budgets.

Awareness /
  • IFRS accounting standards
  • Organisational vision.

Key Behaviours

All employees are measured against the following Key Behaviours as part of Performance Development:

  • Change and Innovation
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Teamwork
  • Promotion of Equity and Equality
  • Judgement
  • Building Individual Capacity

Personal Attributes

  • Excellent, Clear and effective communicator and work with team members.
  • Ability to establish good relationships with internal and external clients.
  • Ability to analyse/evaluate information and recommend course of action
  • Self motivated and able to manage yourself
  • Ability to focus on priorities and meet strict deadlines
  • Ability to work under pressure with minimum supervision.
  • Ability to think creatively, and solve problems to meet work requirements
  • Ability to sum up the situation and make decisions quickly if required
  • Able to handle work pressure, high workload environments
  • Flexibility and enthusiasm to learn new concepts and opportunities

Change to Job Description:

From time to time it may be necessary to consider changes in the job description in response to the changing nature of our work environment– including technological requirements or statutory changes. Such change may be initiated as necessary by the Director Corporate Services. This Job Description may be reviewed as part of the preparation for performance planning for the annual performance cycle.

Approved:

Manager/SupervisorDate

EmployeeDate

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