Financial Compliance Officer at The Nature Conservancy

Description
What We Can Achieve Together:

• The Financial Compliance Officer provides highly specialized finance/accounting-related services to the Africa Region business unit in all compliance aspects of finance/accounting. They ensure that Audit, Taxation, Return Filing and other operational regulatory compliance requirements within the region are met. The position will be based at any of the following TNC office locations: Arusha, Cape Town, or Nairobi regional office.

We’re Looking for You:

• The Financial Compliance Officer provides highly specialized services in one or more of the following functions: audit coordination; taxation; accounting; management controls and reporting; compliance certification or similar financial activities for the Africa business unit financial management. They have a high level of expertise in their area(s) of specialization to administer and maintain finance activities in accordance with TNC policies and procedures and best practices in financial/organizational management. The Financial Compliance Officer provides assistance to all levels of personnel in their specialty area. They respond to complex employee/management questions and problems based on advanced knowledge of the subject area in addressing financial related problems.

RESPONSIBILITIES & SCOPE

• Ensures programmatic commitments, TNC policies & procedures, financial standards & legal requirements are met & managed for compliance.
• Responsible to lead and coordinate external, internal, country, donor, tax, statutory and government regulatory audits to ensure responsiveness, accuracy & timeliness of audits, monitoring and completion of corrective action plans and submission within timelines as required by local laws.
• Lead person for audit engagements, planning and managing auditors to ensure they carry out audit activities promptly; guide audit implementation, and support in development and signing of audit reports.
• Provides audit and financial preparation support to the Africa Region by reviewing financial statements and audited reports.
• Promote and monitor a complete audit trail culture in the support documentation of all financial transactions.
• Maintain register of audit recommendations from financial audits, follow up & keep track of implementation of audit recommendations until they are closed. Anticipate & identify financial compliance risk issues & challenges and the most appropriate solutions to address them. Lead and support region and country programs to implement these solutions.
• In collaboration with management, plan and perform regular transaction processing reviews, other control reviews, fraud allegation reviews, and compliance assessments. Analyze results and provide recommendations.
• Reinforces consistency in the organization's financial policies & procedures and provides support related to relevant field. Regularly performs spot reviews to ensure these are adhered to.
• Occasionally support in the review of accounting transactions such as journal entries and adjustments in line with internal guidelines and ensure proper procedure and support documentation for such entries are maintained.
• Ensure tax and statutory filings, regulatory compliance requirements, other regulatory certifications and internal financial certifications for the region are made timeously.
• Liaise with regions accounting vendors, Operations Administrators and Finance Specialist on audit, tax & regulatory filings and financial compliance certifications.
• Maintains current knowledge of local government requirements related to finance and align with tax & other legal/regulatory requirements.
• Provide advisory support and training to staff and partner organizations on financial compliance aspects e.g., Standard Operating Procedures, tax & statutory matters, regulatory matters and updates in accounting reporting framework.
• Collaborate with World Office finance, audit, technical accounting and compliance leads and the regional level leadership in implementing and strengthening systems and continuous programmatic and process performance improvement. Participate in implementing finance initiatives rolled out to international BUs, on ERPs and accounting processes.

What You’ll Bring:

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or related field and 4 years' related experience or equivalent combination.
• Experience with relational databases especially MS Excel and accounting packages.
• Experience using accounting and financial reporting systems.
• Experience in manipulating, analyzing & interpreting data.
• Technical command of spreadsheet programs, general ledger reports and other financial management tools.
• Experience in supporting multiple projects in various locations and/or countries.
• Experience with government regulations related to Not-for-Profit Sector, tax, reporting framework, grants and contracts.
• Professional certification such as a CPA, ACCA or CIA, or an equivalent for the same.
• Experience in auditing and tax matters.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Multi-lingual skills and/or multi-cultural experience appreciated.
• Advanced expertise in Microsoft Excel.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Non-profit accounting experience preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and reporting skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills, cooperative team player with the ability to multi-task.
• Knowledge of current trends in finance, accounting and regulatory environments.
• May require fluency in a foreign language to support global operations.
• Technical expertise on complex accounting/financial issues with attention to detail and keenness for accuracy.