Bookkeeper

About The Academy

African Leadership Academy (ALA) seeks to transform Africa by developing thousands of leaders for the continent over the next few decades. The Academy is founded on the philosophy that a new generation of ethical, committed leaders is the key to Africa’s development. ALA seeks to become training ground for these future leaders and draws the most outstanding students from all 54 countries in Africa to its campus in South Africa. Here, they build a powerful intellectual foundation and develop their leadership capacity through ALA’s unique curriculum in Entrepreneurial Leadership. Our unique curriculum seeks to empower every young leader with the skills necessary to lead on the African continent in the 21st century.

About The Role

African Leadership Academy is in search of a meticulous and detail-oriented Bookkeeper to join our Finance Team. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in supporting day-to-day financial operations, ensuring accuracy, and contributing to the overall financial stability of our institution.

Roles & Responsibilities

Primary Responsibilities

1. Drive compliance in all finance-related matters and ensure compliance with Organisational, Intercompany and local policies, statutory requirements.
2. Process weekly local payment requests related to accounts payable, adhering to company guidelines and verify payment details to ensure compliance with company policy and procedures.
3. Manage Accounts Payable – day-to-day invoice and payment processing, creditors, and reconciling.
4. Prepare invoices/expenses for processing into Sage Intacct – this includes reviewing and authorization of transactional work performed by junior accountants.
5. Monitor contracts and supplier invoices – required to give special attention to invoices from operations and communicate with procurement officer to make sure all procedures are followed.
6. Preparation of creditors reconciliations, payment remittances and maintaining good relations with suppliers - resolve invoice discrepancies and issues with supplier accounts and ensure adherence to payment terms.
7. Safeguard petty cash funds and ensure compliance with company policies. Manage petty cash disbursements, maintaining accurate records of expenditures and receipts. Reconcile petty cash transactions regularly and report any discrepancies to the appropriate personnel.
8. Perform regular bank reconciliations to ensure the accuracy of cash and bank account balances. Identify and investigate discrepancies between accounting records and bank statements.
9. Collaborate with the finance team to resolve any discrepancies and ensure accurate financial reporting.
10. Assist Accounting Manager in monthly closing and developing monthly reports - ensuring that all closing activities such as bank and balance sheet reconciliations are done accurately and timeously.
11. Preparation of monthly recurring journals – this includes reviewing and authorizing journals prepared by Junior Accountants.
12. Systematic filing of documents and records.
13. Takes an active interest in seeking opportunities for continuous improvement and standardizing processes.
14. Review and process capex requests and maintain the fixed asset register.
15. Assist with fixed assets tagging.
16. Collaboration with banks. This includes clearing foreign receipts and exchange rate dealing.

Secondary Responsibilities

1. Support in audit preparations and assist in the production of financial statements, budgets, and other financial reports.
2. Financial Controls: Establishing and maintaining internal controls to ensure the accuracy and integrity of financial information, safeguarding assets, and preventing fraud.
3. Other ad hoc support responsibilities as assigned by the departmental seniors.

Profile of the Ideal Candidate

1. High ethical standards.
2. Willing to learn and able to handle new projects while keeping up routine responsibility.
3. Objectivity and sound judgement.
4. Analytical, independent and problem solver.
5. Able to work on their own with minimum supervision.
6. Good organizational skills.
7. Adapts to change easily.
8. Able to handle multiple requests.

Desired Experience

1. Minimum of 1-3 years in accounting/finance roles.
2. A university degree/diploma in accounting or equivalent.
3. Demonstrate good IT skills in using Advanced Excel, PowerPoint, Sage, Cadency, Tableau.
4. Demonstrate strong financial and analytical skills.
5. Pro-active, structured and solution-oriented mindset.
6. Demonstrate strong communication skills with both internal and external stakeholders at all levels, displaying tact and influence.
7. Knowledge of Sage Intacct accounting system will be an added advantage.
8. Experience of working with foreign currency will be an added advantage.
9. Working knowledge of general office administration duties to establish and support work functions is highly desirable.
10. Experience in the educational industry (especially in an NPO space) is a plus.

Reporting: This role reports to the Finance Manager.

Location: ALA Campus, Honeydew, Johannesburg.