Job: Accounting Assistant

Location: Chennai, India
Closing Date: Thursday, 14 November 2013

Background / General description:

The Controller's Vice Presidency (CTR) is responsible for all aspects of the financial reporting and internal control framework for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) the International Development Association (IDA) and the extensive Trust Fund/Partnership portfolio of these two entities. The Controller's Vice Presidency is also responsible for expressing Finance's viewpoint on controls over bank operations particularly those which validate the appropriateness of loan disbursements.

Organizationally, CTR is comprised of the (1) Financial Instruments Accounting and Valuation; (2) Loans; and (3) Client Services Departments, as well as the Financial Analysis and Reporting, Accounting Policy, Knowledge Dissemination, and Operational Risks and Controls units. These teams collectively include approximately 400 staff, of which 150 are located at headquarters with the remaining 250 located in regional offices, the largest being in Chennai, India.

The Corporate Expense Services (CTRCS) Division, as part of the Client Services Department, is responsible for the fair recording and reporting of the World Bank Group's administrative expenses and fixed assets which have a combined financial statement value of $3.4b. This includes providing strategic leadership and guidance to Business Units, Bank-wide, on the development and maintenance of an effective system of internal controls over paying, recording and reporting of administrative expenses. The Division is also accountable for developing policies relating to administrative expenses and fixed assets, and for monitoring compliance with policies related to several bank-wide systems, including SAP and the Travel System.

The Assurance and Country Office Accounting team (CTRCA) is located in Chennai, India, and functionally reports to CTRCS. The Country Office Accounting team, being a part of CTRCA, provides guidance to country offices (COs) with regard to accounting policies & procedures and oversees the accounting controls at COs by undertaking various control review procedures. The team contributes to the overall improvement of the control environment at the country offices through enhanced control reviews and continuous knowledge sharing with the country office accountants.

Job Purpose:

The purpose of the job of Accounting Assistant is to assist the clients in country offices in reviewing and processing the administrative expense transactions for compliance with Bank policies and procedures thereby improving the overall control environment.

Narrative: The job holders report to the Team Leader of CTRCA. The clients are the Country office administrators (COAs), Resource Management Officers (RMOs) and Country managers (CMs) of the various country offices and Chief Administrative officers (CAOs) at HQ.

Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year term appointment.

Duties and Accountabilities:

• Establish and maintain accounting practices to ensure accurate and reliable data necessary for business operations. Conduct reviews of administrative transactions (both travel and non-travel related) to verify accuracy of records, compliance with Bank's policies and procedures.
• Provide day-to-day support and technical advice to Country Office Accountants on accounting matters and the related SAP processes.
• Follow-up with Country Office Accountants and other staff members on appropriate and timely submission of documentation for review.
• Advise the Country Office Accountants and other staff members on the payment processes after satisfactory review of documents.
• Review of Administrative Expense accounts and report findings to Washington as input for financial reporting.
• Compile review findings and recommend follow-up actions to the Country Office Accountants and the management.
• Prepare and issue periodic reports on trends and patterns observed to the Country Office and Regional management for appropriate follow-up action.
• Review cash replenishment requirements from Country Offices, perform due diligence in review of write-off requests from Country Managers, and provide guidance for transfer of Imprest Funds into and out of Bank's designated depository accounts.
• Provide inputs and actively participate to support management's initiatives to improve the process quality & process related controls.
• Preparation of the accounting and control procedures documentation for implementation in the Country Offices.
• Participate in designing the business requirements for any new systems, applications, tools and reports for the team; testing the software/report.

Selection Criteria:

• An Associate's Degree or a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce, Finance or Accounts.
• A minimum of two years of relevant experience.
• Good understanding of accounting systems, preferably SAP FI modules and their control features and configuration capabilities/implementation at the Bank.
• Knowledge of Bank's administrative policies.
• Work experience with transaction processing using integrated, automated accounting systems with a comparable level of complexity to SAP R3 enterprise resource planning system and high degree of integration. A proven track record of problem solving skills in an automated accounting environment; experience with SAP enterprise resource planning system R3 is desirable, but not required.
• Good spreadsheet design and manipulation skills, ability to quickly develop effective understandings of logical accounting data structures and data inter-relationships to effectively evaluate and make recommendations on process/system controls; proficiency in using Microsoft Word and Power Point presentation software.
• Good written and oral communications skills (including the ability to write clear, concise and complete procedure); ability to carry out a multi-dimensional, multi-functional work program.
• Exhibit a personality that enables the incumbent to be client focused, flexible and an excellent team player. Ability to effectively work with other staff in the department and elsewhere in the Bank.

More Info and Application