Accountant at DAI Kenya - Development Alternatives, Inc.

The Accountant will play a pivotal role in assuring adherence to financial policies, project policies and procedures, regulations, controls, and reporting systems. The Accountant will provide accounting and financial analysis support to the project office and will ensure submission of financial reports based on internal deadlines. This position will ensure compliance of all accounting and financial reporting functions. The Accountant is responsible for recording costs and day to day general accounting, accounts receivable/payable, payroll, risk management, managing partner relationships, assuring all backup documentation is audit ready, and troubleshooting accounting issues. The individual is also responsible for cash flow analyses, and the overall financial well-being of the project.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Financial Reporting

• Develops and maintains reports of status of financial management activities (i.e. monthly and quarterly reporting).
• Responsible for ensuring project assets/inventory report is balanced against the general ledger/vFER/SAP prior to submission to USAID.
• Responsible for ensuring that any/all contractual financial reporting requirements are identified and complied in a timely and accurate manner.
• Ensures that tax reporting procedures are well documented to facilitate preparation and submission in a timely manner.
• Monitors and submits advance, commitment, and grant reports as applicable.
• Develops and submits other project reports necessary and based on registration requirements to local authorities.
• Monitors and reports on partner/vendor payment schedules and obligations.
• Provides annual budgets of expenditure as well as quarterly forecasts against budget statements (accruals, pipelines, etc.) as applicable.

Audit

• Supports preparation of internal and external audits.
• Supports responses and actions to internal audit comments.
• Conducts daily reviews of backup documentation to ensure completeness, accuracy, and full compliance with all regulations and the Field Operations Manual (FOM).
• Performs regular spot audits on project’s files.
• Ensures adequate backup documentation is uploaded to relevant system according to set deadlines.

Policies & Procedures

• Ensures that accounting policies and practices are carried out in accordance with GAAP standards; project internal controls are established and implemented in accordance with DAI policies, USAID rules/regulations and the terms of the contract.

General Accounting

• Initiates wire requests for field project implementation.
• Verifies vendor invoices for accuracy.
• Verifies accuracy of expenses and project accounting codes.
• Conducts regular cash flow analyses to ensure availability of funds and the accurate maintaining of bank balances.
• Ensures accurate and timely processing of invoices, advances and reimbursements, checks, and wire transfer payments.
• Ensures request for payments have appropriate approvals.
• Ensures the timely deposit of cash receipts.
• Responsible for recording and assigning costs based on approved budget in field accounting system (vFER/SAP).
• Performs monthly bank reconciliations and routinely monitors bank account balances.
• Verifies back up documentation for all project-related transactions and ensures completeness and appropriate review and approvals are documented.
• Responsible for ensuring petty cash is maintained according to maximum petty cash policy, and that all petty cash procedures are followed.
• Ensures the safeguard of bank checks, and cash receipts.
• Manages periodic payments to local authorities (Income Tax, Social Security, etc) ensuring they are completed on timely and accuracy manner.
• Ensures availability of bank check books and coordinates periodic updates for checking account signers.
• Prepares, reviews, and submits project cost data prior to submitting Oracle data reports to DAI Washington.
• Maintains file management systems for soft and hard copy documentation.
• Maintains files on grant/procurement/subcontractor documents and modifications as applicable.
• Directs the schedule of financial activities to ensure the timely preparation of budget related reports.
• Performs periodic cash counts.
• Records non-billable expenses as appropriate and ensures they are thoroughly reviewed and are kept to a minimum.
• Ensures that foreign taxes paid, if any, are tracked, recorded, and reported to USAID in accordance with ADS guidelines.
• Analyzes and reconciles project inventory on a regular basis ensuring that the value/purchase price of project assets reflected in the inventory register agrees with the total shown in the cumulative non-expendable account balance.

Travel Advances & Reimbursements

• Reviews travel requests and expense reports for accuracy and compliance.
• Follows procedures to ensure accurate and timely payment and reconciliation of travel advances, reimbursements for staff and partner travel.
• Develops and monitors outstanding advances report by paying close attention to advances that have not been settled after 30 days of issuance.

Payroll

• Processes timely and accurate payroll payments for the office and ensures leave balance and payroll taxes and deductions are accurate.
• Tracks and monitors leave balances and liability payments.
• Ensures staff compliance with timekeeping policy and recordkeeping.

Financial Systems

• Uses field accounting system (vFER/SAP), cloud software for backup documentation, DAI’s project management system (TAMIS), etc. regularly.
• Communicates with home office system support teams on system or operations troubleshooting technical issues.
• Ensures that voucher files are scanned and uploaded to DAI’s System for the Electronic Archival of Financial Documentation - SharePoint.

REPORTING

The Accountant will report to the Associate Finance Director or designee.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or equivalent and 7 years’ experience supporting international donor-funded projects. CPA professional qualification is an added advantage.
• Relevant experience and progressive responsibility in finance and accounting including experience leading and managing the financial aspects of USAID projects, including a demonstrated understanding of applicable finance-related USG contracting regulations.
• Accuracy in working with large amounts of data.  
• Experience with enterprise accounting software, and Microsoft office suite.
• Ability to respond effectively to time sensitive inquiries. 
• An articulate individual who possesses excellent communications and personnel management skills and who can relate to people at all levels of an organization.
• A well organized and self-directed individual with sound technical skills, analytical ability, good judgement, and strong operational focus 
• Excellent writing, speaking, and reading skills in English.