The Accounting Manager in the Office of Institutional Finance’s primary responsibility is the financial reporting of the firm. They are responsible for preparing the annual financial statements in accordance with the Green Climate Fund’s Administrative Budget and Accounting Framework, liaising with and managing the relationship with the firm’s external auditor and keeping the day-to-day financial books and records of the fund. The Accounting Manager will also share responsibility with the Accounting and Financial Planning Manager and the Treasury Manager for other financial operations of GCF, including payroll, credit cards, retirement plan, disbursements, bank relations and internal accounting. The Accounting Manager will be responsible for reviewing all accounting policies and procedures of GCF to make sure they remain fit for purpose and current, and they will also be responsible for developing new accounting policies and procedures as GCF matures and grows in complexity and ambition. S/he will be supported in these tasks by a team of professionals, and s/he will take on the responsibility of organizing and leading this team to maximum effectiveness, while guiding the individual careers of each member.
The role will regularly work with the GCF Board’s Ethics and Audit Committee. Prior versions of this role were primarily operational, relying heavily on manual processes. The current iteration considers the roll out of an enterprise resource planning system which will allow for a significant increase in automation, allowing unprecedented insight and control of GCF’s accounting system, and a successful person in this role will be able to optimize the systems and procedures for maximum transparency and efficiency while improving internal controls. An ideal candidate will use this opportunity to align the accounting function of GCF with its programmatic objectives and promote innovation in GCF’s business model and be able to communicate all of this with clear, succinct, and memorable narratives to all stakeholders. Finally the Accounting Manager will need to work with the Chief Finance and Risk Officer and their leadership team to keep GCF maturing and evolving over time.
Manages the year-end process of generating annual financials.
Manages a team that keeps all financial books and records of GCF in accordance with GCF’s Administrative Budget and Accounting Framework.
Manages the annual financial audit process, leads the process to select the auditor for GCF on behalf of GCF Board’s Ethics and Audit Committee, and interfaces with the Ethics and Audit Committee on all aspects of the financial audit.
Continuously updates GCF’s accounting practices to the most current appropriate guidelines and incorporates them into GCF’s financial systems architecture.
Extracts, consolidates, and analyzes financial and operational data to implement accounting controls.
Ensures accurate system information that feeds planning, forecasting, and budgeting; and supports senior management in data-driven decision-making.
Generates unique insights into organizational efficiency and effectiveness from existing information, identifies gaps in information and designs and implements methods that capture critical information.
Supports other areas of the finance team in matters related to the Board’s Budget Committee, including the Budget Committee’s meeting schedule, work plan, documents and minutes.
Responsible for current accounting financial policies and procedures while originating new ones as needed and takes ownership of key elements of GCF’s Finance Manual.
Provides accounting support and guidance across the organization as it relates to new matters such as changes in the Readiness program, regional presence, accreditation, and other future GCF initiatives.
Implements any recommendations from either the internal or external auditor as appropriate.
Engagement:
Engages with the Secretariat’s Senior Management Team and the heads of the Independent Units to make sure proper bookkeeping procedures are being followed and to assist in any initiatives they might have which have accounting aspects or implications.
Uses data and insights to convince senior leadership and other stakeholders to take strategic actions.
Builds a network between all divisions within the Secretariat and the Independent units to ensure consistency in financial reporting.
Collaborates with other team members in the Office of Institutional Finance in the preparation of managerial reports, financial statements, treasury strategies and financial management system implementation.
Develops appropriate knowledge products for enlightening stakeholders and for the update of internal policies and procedures, frameworks, guides, and manuals in accounting.
Delivery:
Manages and coordinates the timely collection of all information for financial reporting and prepares financial reports within set timeframes.
Leads the Secretariat’s engagement in the Ethics and Audit Committee deliberations regarding financial reporting matters, including the annual financial audit, selection of the external auditor, management of the external auditor, and evaluation of the external auditor while following up on all action items.
Aligns all tasks executed by the accounting team with the policies and procedures of the fund and the expectations of senior management.
Continues to evolve the frameworks and processes in the ERP to synthesize learnings, identify best practices and continuously improve financial reporting.
Creates compelling financial narratives.
Requirements (Education, experience, technical competencies required of the job):
Master’s degree in Business Administration, Commerce, Finance, Accounting, or similar.
Fully qualified Accountant (e.g. CA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA).
In depth knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Accounting Standards (IAS)
Certified Management Accountant (CMA) (alternative certifications such as Certified Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis Professional (FPAC) or Certified Financial Modelling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA) may be considered in lieu of CMA certification) will be an advantage.
Audit experience will be an advantage.
Fluency in English.
Experience:
At least 11 years’ experience in accounting work in an International/Multilateral Organization engaging with top tier auditors.
At least 4 years’ experience in a management role.
Advanced knowledge of Oracle, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Power Automate, and business intelligence tools such as Power BI and Tableau.
Experience in data analytics and programming skills in Python etc. will be an added advantage.
