Accounting Assistant at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Accounting Assistant

Location: Banjul, Gambia
Grade: G4 / G5 / G6
Status: Permanent
Institution: ECOWAS Regional Competitive Authority (ERCA)
Agency: Ecowas Regional Competitive Authority (Erca)
Department: Trade, Customs, Free Movement And Tourism
Directorate:     Administration & Finance
Division: Finance
Line Supervisor: Accountant

Role Overview

• Under the supervision of the Accountant, the incumbent assists with activities in the area of accounting as stated in the roles and responsibilities below.

Role and Responsibilities

• Assist in the year end closing of accounts and preparation of the financial statements;
• Monthly exports and review of the trial balance of the year in review and note areas with issues;
• Assist in analyzing of all general ledger accounts (Payables, receivables, Income & expenses) and adjust/propose corrections where necessary;
• Preparation of journal vouchers and post into accounting system;
• Amortization/expensing of utilized prepaid accounts;
• Clearing of General Ledger open items;
• Respond and provide requested information/documents to external auditors on issues raised during the year-end audit and recommend/ propose ways to correct them;
• Assist the ERCA Departments in liaising with external auditors in closing of accounts and preparation of reports;
• Assist other accounting activities like accounts payables, bank reconciliation, receivables etc and with issues/proposed adjustments raised during the financial year audit;
• Receive vendor invoices, scan/import the images, verify data extraction is accurate, and route the documents into electronic workflow for processing;
• Verify and post scanned invoices using appropriate transaction codes in SAP;
• Identify and prevent duplicate invoice processing;
• Identify missing vendor workflow and initiate the vendor creation process;
• Process invoices in accordance with SAP requirements and ECOWAS financial policies and procedures;
• Obtain and attach additional documentation as required for special expenditures including capital expenses;
• Monitor opportunities to optimize timing of payments, based on payment terms;
• Process disbursements in accordance with schedule;
• Reconcile supplier statements and monitor vendor account balances;
• Enter and post cash receipts into accounting software system (SAP) using the appropriate transaction codes;
• Post all payments made or received by wire transfer timely and accurately;
• Prepare accurate bank reconciliation statements on a monthly and timely basis;
• Respond to internal and external queries in a timely and in a professional manner;
• Assist in resolving invoice discrepancies with the vendor;
• Process payable documents in accordance with their legal and compliance policies;
• Process and release cheques for related invoices and claims promptly;
• Verify outgoing cheques for accuracy;
• Assist in the archiving of department documentation;
• Process staff expense claim and travel return forms in a timely manner;
• Provide general filing and administrative support to the finance department;
• Assist in maintaining detailed records of budget estimates, obligations and available balances, producing forecasts of expenditure; reconcile divisional accounts with central accounts;
• Perform any other duty assigned by the supervisor.
• Monitor customer  (donors & community levy) accounts for non-payment and delayed payment
• Analyze discrepancies and unpaid invoices
• Assist in the preparation of budgets
• Verify all claims submitted by contractors and projects for approval, in compliance with the terms of the  relevant contracts and budgets
• Balancing the petty cash in daily basis
• Compile the documents necessary to prepare a monthly reports.

Academic Qualifications and Experience

• Brevet de Technicien Superieur (BTS) / Ordinary National Diploma (OND) or equivalent Certificate in Finance and Accounting or a related field from a recognized University;
• 5 years of progressively more responsible work experience in finance, budget, accounting, or related area;
• Demonstrated professional competence to extract, interpret, and analyze a wide variety of accounting data and to resolve data discrepancies and other problems;
• Knowledge of transactional based accounting activities such as budgeting, payroll, vendor claims processing, reconciliation and financial reporting as related to assigned responsibilities;
• Ability to identify and resolve accounting data discrepancies and operational problems.

Eligible Candidates:

• Nationals of Gambia or other ECOWAS member-states resident in Gambia.

Age Limit

• Be below 50 years old. This provision does not apply to internal candidates.

Salary

• UA16,288.84 ; USD25,700.53 / UA20,581.97 ; USD32,474.24 / UA24,770.16 ; USD39,082.35 annually.

Application Closing Date
3rd June, 2021.