Senior Financial Accountant - African Development Bank

Established in 1964, the African Development Bank is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 81 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries).  The Bank’s development agenda is delivering the financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten Year Strategy (2013 – 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas (High 5s), all of which will accelerate our delivery for Africa, have been identified for scaling up, namely; energy, agro-business, industrialization, integration and improving the quality of life for the people of Africa.

THE COMPLEX:

The Vice Presidency for Finance oversees the financial management of the Bank Group. This encompasses the Bank Group’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities; controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration; strategic resource mobilization and the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments; the overall asset/liability management for the Bank Group.

THE HIRING DEPARTMENT/DIVISION:

The Financial Control Department is responsible for accounting for the financial consequences of the Bank Group’s transactions and decisions, and for the preparation, fair presentation and overall integrity of the internal financial reports and published financial statements. The department is also responsible for loan administration and accounting and related fiduciary responsibilities, including disbursement of funds to projects and programs financed by the Bank Group. Lastly, the department provides decision support and expertise in the development and implementation of financial control policies, operational and financial strategies and related information systems.

THE POSITION:

As part of the Financial Reporting Division (FIFC.1), the Senior Financial Accountant position is responsible for providing technical accounting, analytical and financial reporting support to the Bank’s senior management and business Units by preparing financial statements with a view to ensuring that financial reports produced by the Bank are accurate, timely and in compliance with current international accounting standards and consistent with prevailing industry best practice.

S/he will ensure:

• Complete, timely and accurate accounting for and reporting of all transactions of the Bank Group and the Trust and Special Funds managed by the Bank in accordance with International Accounting Standards (IFRS) and rules of the Bank Group at the highest level of quality.
• Provision of decision-useful financial reports to Management, Boards of Directors, bilateral donors and other stakeholders.
• Maintenance of the accounting policies and procedures of the Bank Group and provision of accounting and reporting guidance on various Bank Group initiatives consistent with IFRS and MDB industry best practices.

Duties and responsibilities

Under the supervision and guidance of the Division Manager, Financial Reporting; the incumbent’s major responsibilities will be mainly technical accounting with specific responsibilities for:

Financial reporting:

• Participate in the preparation, technical review and analysis of Bank Group and various Trust and Special Fund financial statements including management reporting and other ancillary documents.
• Ensure that monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting is accurate, timely, and in compliance with IFRS and/or internal reporting requirements.

Financial analysis:

• Identify trends and/or potential inconsistencies through critical review of data and fact patterns.
• Assess the Bank’s financial position and results in the context of market movements.
• Specifically, monitor the interest, foreign exchange, and credit risk exposures of all financial instruments used by the Bank, including those in the loan, investment, and the borrowing portfolios.

Accounting Policy:

• Research accounting issues and interpret accounting standards in coordination with the Accounting Policy team to ensure timely and accurate application of existing and new accounting guidance.
• Assist in the implementation of new and/or revised accounting standards as applicable to the Bank.

Internal/external relationship management:

• Work closely with counterparts from other business units within the Bank on financial reporting, accounting, internal control, and external audit activities.
• Provide ongoing technical accounting guidance, including proactively participating in structuring of complex financial transactions including significant credit risk transfers and communicating financial statements implications to Management.
• Interact with external auditors on audit queries and financial statement disclosure matters.

Representation:

• Represent the Division in various Bank-wide working groups as assigned by the Manager

6. Any other ad hoc assignment as may be required.

Selection Criteria

• Hold at least a Master’s degree or its equivalent in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration with an internationally recognized professional qualification in Accounting/Auditing (e.g. “Expert comptable” /Chartered/Certified Public Accountant designation).
• Have a minimum of five (5) years relevant practical experience in the implementation of accounting standards in an internationally recognized professional accounting firm or an International Financial Institution.
• Hands on experience in statutory and management reporting for financial institutions.
• Excellent grasp and knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and leading its application and providing high level professional advice on the financial implications of complex transactions.
• Working knowledge of one or more complex, highly integrated accounting systems and financial reporting tools.
• Ability to prepare financial statements within deadlines reflecting impact of complex transactions and performing an analysis of the key metrics, reaching conclusions, submitting actionable recommendations and persuading superiors on outcomes.
• Experience and demonstrable ability to operate effectively in a matrix management environment mainly as a team member and as team leader when required.
• Demonstrable ability to lead a team of professionals in the preparation of financial statements.
• Ability to deal sensitively in multi-cultural environments and build effective working relations with internal and external clients and colleagues.
• Strong communication skills with ability to explain complex concepts and express views/opinions articulately and confidently to all levels of the organization, in written and oral form, in a persuasive manner.
• Proactive, innovative, with an open and collegial work style and ability to listen and integrate ideas from diverse views, create partnerships, and collaborate with others while maintaining individual responsibility.
• Collaborative work style with ability to work effectively within teams and across boundaries. Able to give own perspective and willing to receive diverse perspectives, appropriately involves others in decision making and communicates with key stakeholders and approach conflicts as common problems to be solved.
• Ability to actively seek and consider diverse ideas and approaches.
• Experience or demonstrable ability to lead and develop innovative solutions, contribute new insights to understand situations and develop solutions to resolve complex problems.
• Demonstrable ability to adapt as circumstances require and identify/ pursue innovative approaches to resolve issues.
• Able to creatively apply and share knowledge to strengthen solutions, leverage department’s expertise and body of knowledge to reinforce internal and/or external solutions and seek to learn from more experienced staff to deepen or strengthen professional knowledge and helps others to learn.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build personal and professional networks inside and outside the department unit.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English or French, preferably with a working knowledge of the other language.
• Demonstrate understanding of the functions and operations of pertinent IT systems and applications. Ability to identify and/or lead opportunities for IT improvements to meet changing business needs and coordinate with IT professionals to design and implement new systems/applications as appropriate based on understanding of the business.
• Competence in the use of Bank standard software applications (Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint).
• Good working knowledge of SAP4/HANA, specifically in the area of Accounting, Finance and Treasury is desirable.
• Certification in one or more SAP modules (preferably FI-MM) is an advantage.

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