Accounts Officer - Plan International

This position is to ensure that all Plan’s payments, advance management and statutory requirements are discharged in accordance with Plan’s policies and procedures and Ghana’s laws.

Dimensions of the Role

[This section provides a summary of the size and authority of the post. It covers the size of the budget held, the numbers of direct reports, other key stakeholders who may depend on it, the type of communication required, the external representation involved and the reach of the role.]

Financial measures or statistics relevant to post such as budget; list of direct and indirect reports

Area of Responsibility – country office

Accountabilities

[This section is critical for clarifying expectations of the role, providing the framework for its relationship with colleagues and providing areas of accountability against which performance can be managed.

This should include a series of brief statements that define the end results required. e.g. drive, contribute, identify, manage, responsible for, advise/coach, build, develop, provide, conduct, oversee, establish, participate etc.

Statements should ideally be worded so that they will lead to thoughts of measurement.  For example, it is better to state something like "achieve maintenance standards" than "undertake maintenance".  The former leads to a measure against the maintenance standards.]

“What” is done and “why”, but not “how”; include indicators for success

Operation of the General Ledger (GL) to meet Plan’s spending and financial reporting requirements. To do this, the role will:

• Prepares journal, journal entries and receipt vouchers using the corporate accounting software General ledger (GL.
• Ensures that transactions are complete and accurate with selfexplanatory and understandable description.
• Maintains good filing for all vouchers in a limited access area to ensure easy retrieval.
• Maintains a record of vouchers borrowed by staff and ensures that they are returned and filed appropriately.
• Supports the monthly GL closure process.
• Prints the monthly GL reports for signing.
• Ensures that the GL balances of the advances account agrees with the sub ledger balances.
• Enters all recharges from PUs promptly before GL closure. 

Support internal Financial Controls and process payments to ensure Plan attains value for money at all times. To do this, the role will:

• Ensures that the documentation for payment is acceptable and accurate with all arithmetic calculations being correct.
•   Approved payment request should be processed within one week of receipt.
• Prepares the Withholding tax and VAT schedule where relevant before payment is done.
•   Cancels (stamped PAID) all vouchers (payment, journal and receipt) and its supporting documents to forestall reuse. 
• Cheques should be exact in both words and figures and match with the supporting documents.
• A valid signed cheque should have two signatories and should be signed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
• Ensures that cheques issued and vouchers cancelled follow the requirements in the Operations Manual (OM).
• Issues cheques as per weekly payment list; exception should be approved by CFM.
• CO cash books in the GL should never be negative in both the cedi and the USD accounts
• Releases cheques to the right payee and ensures the appropriate receipts are issued. 
• Attaches receipt, material receiving report etc. promptly to the correct payment voucher.
• Ensures the availability of enough cheque booklets.
• Pays the SSF and PAYE deductions per required dates.

Provides Support for Advance Management to ensure advances are properly accounted and liquidated as required. To do this, the role will:

•   Prepares and maintains the sub ledger for all advances (travel, purchase etc.). 
•   Ensures timely liquidation of staff advances.
•   Ensures that more than one advance is not be given to a staff at a time.
• Make available weekly to the Country Accountant a list of all unliquidated advances and supports with the follow up of these advances.