Job Opportunities at Catholic University of Eastern Africa

The Catholic University of Eastern Africa is seeking to recruit a dynamic, qualified and result oriented person to fill the position of Financial Accountant.

Job Purpose:

To ensure efficient, effective and timely update and maintenance of the general ledger on a timely basis and in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards and review of University policies.

Reporting: The job holder reports to the Chief Finance Officer.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Update the cashbook and balance it on a daily basis.
• Review of investments, assets, loans, and cash and bank reconciliations and ensure they are done within set deadlines.
• Post the ledger batches and the journal entries to the General Ledger Approving allocations for all payments made and revenues received to ensure that such are charged in the appropriate account codes.
• Pull receipts from the students system to the financial reporting system on a daily basis.
• Ensure that the Finance Department’s accounting procedures and policies are properly adhered to by the staff.
• Identify and coordinate training needs of the finance office staff through regular checks, review and supervision of their work.
• Liaise with the internal auditor on matters’ relating to the accounts as well as handling audit queries from both the internal and external auditors.
• Ensure compliance with IFRS and statutory regulations in the areas of taxation, labour laws etc.
• Attend committee meetings.
• Maintain an orderly and clean chart of accounts. Any other duty as may be assigned by the supervisor from time to time;

Minimum Qualifications, Skills and Competencies

• Master’s degree in Accounting or a relevant field from an accredited institution.
• CPA (K) or its equivalent.
• Eight (8) years’ working experience 3 years of which must have been in a similar position.
• Knowledge of the International Financial Reporting Standards.
• Knowledge of financial management principles and practices.
• Hands on experience with IT and in particular Sage ACCPAC.
• Knowledge of Internal and external audit practices and principles.
• Demonstrate sound judgement, tact and diplomacy and demonstrate proven ability to deal with confidential and sensitive issues.
• Confident, organised and an accomplished problem-solver.
• Integrity, honesty and ethics.
• Excellent verbal & written communication.
• Ability to investigate and solve finance related problems.
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Professionalism –maintains a professional approach based on ethics and CUEA values.

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JOB SUMMARY:

To provide effective leadership to the internal and external audit teams in reviewing the operations and controls of the University, managing all internal audit teams and liaison on external audit activities.

REPORTING:

The job holder reports to the Audit and Risk Management Committee of the University Council.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop Internal Audit framework and policy and operating procedures.
• Establish, implement and monitor risk based internal audit mechanisms.
• Ensure that CUEA has appropriate and effective operational planning and management systems.
• Ensure independent appraisals of CUEA’s activities, functions and operations to ensure internal control frameworks are in place and operating efficiently.
• Lead and carry out special investigations and unplanned internal audit work through relevant Internal Audit project teams.
• Lead and carry out systems audits.
• Lead and carry out branch audits and currency destruction independent reviews periodically as required.
• Provide regular reports to the Audit Committee of the Council on progress of work in the department.
• Provide secretarial duties to the Audit Committee of the Council.
• Ensure that appropriate technical advice and support and quality assurance is provided to the University Management Board.
• Develop, train, coach, motivate and evaluate functional staff in the department to achieve their highest levels of performance.
• Identify and evaluate emerging risks and development of risk based audit plans.
• Provide objective and independent opinions on audit findings through written reports.
• Keep abreast of emerging issues in corporate governance practices and advice accordingly.
• Liaise with external auditors to ensure that key risky areas are audited or investigated.
• Any other responsibility as may be assigned by the University Council or Vice Chancellor.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES:

• Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics or any field relevant to operations of the Central Bank.
• A professional qualification in relevant field study i.e. CIA, CPA-K, ACCA, CISA etc.
• Ten (10) years’ experience in audit (internal and or external) and any other relevant area. Should have at least three years management level experience.
• Three (3) years’ experience in leading audit teams, project teams, risk based audits and in undertaking special investigations/ audits.
• Should have proficiency in MS office applications and the ability to promote the use of information & communication technology in the University.
• Must be a mature person;
• Must have excellent and effective communication (oral and written) and interpersonal skills;
• Must demonstrate a high level of responsibility, accountability and dependability;
• Must demonstrate the ability to handle and mange confidential information;
• Must be able to work under minimum supervision;
• Must be able to meet deadlines.

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Job Purpose:

To ensure that all tuition income of the University has been invoiced, collected and accounted for in a timely manner and all scholarships have been credited in the students’ accounts on a timely basis and in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards and University policies.

Reporting: The job holder reports to the Chief Finance Officer.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Follow up on system issues to ensure the system is working efficiently and effectively.
• Ensure all the incomes have been invoiced and collected.
• Pull scholarships, debit notes, credit notes and invoices from the students system to the financial reporting system.
• Review all revenue, scholarships, debtors and student account reconciliations on a monthly basis.
• Prepare audit schedules and respond to all audit queries relating to accounting for revenues and debtors.
• Review and approval of any credit notes, debit notes and any other adjustments to the students’ accounts before they are effected.
• Liaise with other departments and Finance sections relating to student accounts.
• Ensure an effective and efficient process is applied for the collection of student fees.
• Ensure a flexible approach is adapted, within an agreed framework, when dealing with repayment plans in response to internal and external demands.
• Provide assistance and advice on a diverse range of student issues, including student finance regulations, anti-money laundering and withdrawal policies.
• Engage with other departments to ensure the relevant support is in place for the student’s needs, including student funding, welfare, careers, accommodation and faculties.
• Deal with students in a tenacious but empathetic manner to obtain maximum debt collection within a supportive and understanding environment.
• Work closely with the Registry Department on the tuition fee anomalies identified on the attendance confirmation report. Investigate each case and resolve with the appropriate action.
• Under the guidance of the Senior Accountant, take the lead on specific tasks to monitor and analyse the trends of University debt suggesting measures to assist with debt support and utilising funds available in the most cost effective manner.
• Support the debt review panel with analysed reports of the University’s outstanding student debt and provide recommendations.
• Liaise with and inform other departments and faculties of issues relating to outstanding payments.
• Chase overdue invoices for Corporate/Commercial Debt held on the University sales ledger.
• Understand credit control practices and collection process including the legal collection processes and their constraints.
• Any other duty as may be assigned by the supervisor from time to time;

Minimum Qualifications, Skills and Competencies

• Master’s degree in Accounting or a relevant field from an accredited institution.
• CPA (K) or its equivalent.
• Eight (8) years’ working experience 3 years of which must have been in a similar position.
• Ability to generate, analyse and interpret the following documents:
  • Financial Statements
  • Daily cash collection report
  • Receipts
  • University Budget
  • IFRS and IAS
  • HR Manual
  • University policies
  • Finance Manual
• Knowledge of the International Financial Reporting Standards.
• Knowledge of financial management principles and practices.
• Hands on experience with IT and in particular Sage ACCPAC.
• Knowledge of Internal and external audit practices and principles.
• Demonstrate sound judgement, tact and diplomacy and demonstrate proven ability to deal with confidential and sensitive issues.
• Confident, organized and an accomplished problem-solver.
• Integrity, honesty and ethics.
• Excellent verbal & written communication.
• Ability to investigate and solve finance related problems.
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Professionalism –maintains a professional approach based on ethics and CUEA values.