Bank Reconciliation Assistant at African Development Bank - AfDB

The Complex

The Vice Presidency for Finance (FIVP) oversees the financial management of the Bank Group. This encompasses the Bank Group’s treasury activities including borrowings from the capital markets and investment activities; controllership functions including financial reporting and loan administration; strategic resource mobilization and the strengthening of the non-statutory financial resources and instruments; the overall asset/liability management for the Bank Group.

The Hiring Department / Division

• The Financial Control Department (FIFC) is responsible for accounting for the financial consequences of the Bank Group’s transactions and decisions, and for the preparation, fair presentation and overall integrity of the internal financial reports and published financial statements.
• The department is also responsible for loan administration and accounting and related fiduciary responsibilities, including disbursement of funds to projects and programs financed by the Bank Group and the Trust or special Funds it manages. Lastly, the department provides decision support and expertise in the development and implementation of financial control policies, operational and financial strategies and related information systems.
• The Financial Reporting Division (FIFC1) is responsible for, among others, accounting for all Bank Group’s financial transactions, the Bilateral Funds and the Special Funds. In addition to the financial statements for all these reporting entities, the Division prepares special reports and analyses and other reports, including those for the Asset and Liability Management Committee (ALCO) for Management and the Board, and for external stakeholders.

The Position

Under the supervision of the FIFC1 Division Manager, the bank reconciliation Assistant is responsible for:

• Ensuring that the internal control around the banking activities of the Bank Group is effective by ensuring that the financial transactions reported on the bank accounts are properly and accurately recorded in the appropriate accounting period.
• Financial reports of the banking activities of the Bank Group are timely and accurate.
• Reconciliation and clearance of all suspense and receivable/payable accounts in the general ledger are carried out properly and in a timely manner.

Key Functions
Under the supervision and guidance of the Division Manager, the major responsibilities revolve around technical accounting. More specifically, the incumbent’s primary responsibilities will be as follows:
Bank Reconciliation:

• Provide input for technical accounting and policy guidelines on system implementation projects in relation to bank accounts and reporting of due from banks in the financial statements.
• Provide input and assistance for internal and external audit of bank accounts.
• Investigate and follow up on all outstanding items on bank reconciliation statements with responsible persons and Organization Units.
• Analytically identify old and irrecoverable amounts on bank reconciliation and advise how best to resolve them.
• Ensure accurate and timely reconciliation of banking transactions for all the bank accounts maintained by the Bank Group and Trust Funds.
• Provide monthly summary of bank reconciliations and control weaknesses for review by Management.
• Verify the reliability and accuracy of bank balances in the general ledger and trial balance.
• Carry out daily reconciliation of bank accounts.
• In liaison with Treasury department, ensure that adequate internal controls are maintained in the opening and closing of new and old bank accounts.
• In liaison with other data entry personnel, improve the internal control environment related to Bank accounts and transactions.

Analysis and Reconciliation of General Ledger Accounts:

• Investigate and ensure reconciliation and clearance of bank related transit suspense / accounts.
• Ensure reconciliation of all inter-institution accounts for the Bank Group and bilateral funds.
• Give instructions for the settlement of all inter-institution receivables and payables for the Bank Group and bilateral funds.
• Liaise with other sections in financial control department (FIFC) for the clearance of items on inter-institutions accounts.

Preparation of Analytics and Reports:

• Preparation of analytical reports showing trends on degradation of the bank account outstanding items
• Preparation of Bank reconciliation reports for use by Section Heads and other colleagues.

Other Duties:

• Participate actively in the preparation of the monthly and quarterly financial statements and other financial reports that require bank account information.
• Participate in the overall evaluation of internal control around banking activities.
• Carry out other duties as may be allocated by the Supervisor or Division Manager.

Competencies (Skills, Experience, and Knowledge)

• Hold a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance or Audit
• Have a minimum of five (5) years of professional experience in a similar position.
• Membership of a professional accounting board of a member country would be an advantage.
• Hands-on experience in statutory and Management reporting for financial institutions.
• Familiarity with accounting, banking and capital market transactions.
• Ability to work in multi-cultural environments and build effective working relations with internal and external clients and colleagues.
• Competence in the use of Bank standard software applications (Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint).
• Ability to communicate (write and speak) effectively in English and/or French, with a good working knowledge of the other language.
• Good working knowledge of SAP FI module or similar software.