Accountant

Position Title

Accountant

Department

Finance

Location

Dakar, Senegal

Language required

Bilingual (English-French)

Reports to

Finance Manager

Employment Type

Full-time

Purpose

The Accountant is responsible for maintaining accurate, complete and timely accounting records and supporting the effective financial management of TrustAfrica's institutional and donor-funded activities.

The role provides hands-on responsibility for general accounting, treasury and banking, accounts payable, payroll and statutory obligations, grants and project accounting, reconciliations, budgeting support, donor financial reporting, fixed assets, audit preparation and financial systems.

The accountant will help ensure that financial transactions are properly supported, correctly coded, reconciled to the general ledger and compliant with TrustAfrica policies, donor requirements and applicable statutory regulations. The position also supports timely month-end and year-end closing, accurate management and project reporting, and the effective use of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and other finance systems and training of other junior officers.

Key Responsibilities

General Ledger, Month-End and Year-End Close

Maintain complete and accurate accounting records in the financial management system.

Prepare and post approved journal entries, including accruals, prepayments, reclassifications, foreign-exchange adjustments and other month-end entries.

Perform monthly analysis of the trial balance and investigate unusual, aged, unsupported or incorrectly classified balances.

Prepare reconciliations for assigned balance sheet and control accounts and ensure reconciling items are investigated and cleared promptly.

Support timely monthly, quarterly and annual financial closing in accordance with the agreed finance calendar.

Maintain accurate project, donor, cost-centre and account coding and ensure transactions are recorded in the appropriate accounting period.

Support year-end adjustments, financial statement preparation and related schedules and disclosures.

Maintain appropriate accounting records for inter-project, inter-fund and other internal transfers.

Treasury, Banking and Cash Management

Prepare approved payments through bank transfers, cheques and other authorized payment channels.

Maintain accurate records of all bank accounts and ensure bank transactions are recorded promptly in the accounting system.

Prepare monthly bank reconciliations for local and foreign currency accounts and investigate outstanding items.

Monitor cash balances and provide updated cash-position information to the Finance Manager.

Support cash-flow forecasts, funding requests and transfers between bank accounts and currencies.

Maintain appropriate records relating to bank mandates, authorized users, cheque books, bank correspondence and electronic banking arrangements.

Support foreign-exchange accounting, including application of approved exchange rates and recording of realized and unrealized foreign-exchange gains and losses.

Maintain appropriate segregation of duties in payment preparation, review, authorization and bank release.

Accounts Payable and Supplier Management

Review payment requests and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, authorization, budget availability and compliance with TrustAfrica policies.

Record supplier invoices and other liabilities accurately and in a timely manner.

Ensure vendors and service providers are correctly established in the finance system and that approved banking information is independently verified before payment.

Prepare supplier payments in accordance with agreed payment schedules.

Reconcile supplier accounts and statements and follow up outstanding, duplicate, disputed or aged items.

Maintain accounts-payable ageing and support timely resolution of outstanding balances.

Apply the correct accounting and tax treatment to supplier, consultant, rental and professional-service payments.

Maintain complete electronic and physical support documentation for all payments.

Grants, Grantees and Project Accounting

Maintain accurate accounting records for donor-funded projects, grants and fiscal-sponsorship arrangements.

Process approved grantee and partner disbursements in accordance with grant agreements, approved budgets and payment conditions.

Reconcile grants payable, grantee advances and partner accounts and investigate differences promptly.

Review financial reports and supporting documents submitted by grantees and partners and assist with liquidation or retirement of advances.

Verify expenditure against approved budgets, eligible cost categories and donor requirements.

Support financial due diligence and financial-capacity assessments of prospective grantees and partners.

Follow up ineligible, unsupported or questioned costs and assist in resolving financial issues with partners.

Maintain accurate grant and project information between the accounting system and relevant grants-management systems.

Support programme teams with financial information required for effective management of donor-funded activities.

Donor Financial Reporting and Compliance

Prepare assigned donor financial reports by extracting accounting data, reconciling reports to the general ledger and mapping expenditures to donor-approved budget formats.

Ensure donor reports are supported by appropriate schedules and reconciliations before submission for review.

Maintain reporting schedules and support timely preparation of financial reports in accordance with donor deadlines.

Monitor expenditure against donor budgets and identify overspending, underspending and unusual variances for follow-up.

Support preparation of budget modifications, reallocations and financial information required for no-cost extensions or other donor approvals.

Apply donor-specific requirements relating to eligible expenditure, exchange rates, cost allocation, procurement, assets, supporting documentation and reporting.

Maintain accessible records of donor agreements and key financial compliance requirements.

Support donor reviews, verification exercises, spot checks and project-specific audits.

Conduct Sanctions and Antiterrorism Checks on TA beneficiaries before contracting.

Where assigned, participate in partner monitoring, conducted expenditure verification and training of partner staff in financial management.

Budgeting, Forecasting and Financial Analysis

Support preparation of TrustAfrica's annual institutional and project budgets.

Coordinate with project leads and consolidate budget inputs and ensure budgets are appropriately coded and uploaded into the financial system.

Prepare regular budget-versus-actual reports for assigned projects, departments and cost centres.

Support the Finance Manager and budget holders by reviewing material budget variances and providing accurate analysis to inform timely follow-up and decision-making.

Support preparation of forecasts, reforecasts and cash-flow projections.

Maintain and update approved budget-monitoring tools and schedules.

Apply approved methodologies for allocating shared costs and institutional overheads across projects and donors.

Assist project and programme teams in understanding financial performance and available budget balances.

Payroll and Statutory Compliance

Support the accurate and timely preparation and payment of monthly payroll.

Prepare salary payment schedules and ensure approved payroll agrees with amounts submitted through bank portals.

Prepare and reconcile payroll journals and payroll-related control accounts.

Calculate, declare and arrange timely payment of applicable Senegal payroll taxes and statutory deductions, including IPRES, IR, TRIMF and other required deductions.

Process approved staff loans, salary advances and other payroll ded