Family Health Services (FHS)
Family Health Services (FHS), formerly known as PSI Malawi, has partnered with the government of Malawi through the Ministry of Health (MoH) since 1994 in safeguarding the health of Malawians by using private sector approaches to reconfigure healthcare delivery – (i) through directly delivering innovative social and behaviour change communications, social marketing, and social franchising across a wide range of health areas including Reproductive Health, HIV, Malaria and waterborne disease prevention (ii) by playing a market facilitation role, approaching market challenges and opportunities with a system-wide lens that unlocks a self-sustaining market with multiple players that can prioritize, adapt and ultimately thrive without external assistance and funds.
While a local organisation with deep roots in Malawi, Family Health Services is globally connected; mainly through affiliation to Population Service International (PSI), a Washington DC-based non-governmental and non-profit making organization that boasts a global network of members across over 50 countries through which FHS continues to leverage capacities, learnings, and best practice to enhance activities in Malawi. To accomplish its mission, FHS is inviting applications from suitably qualified candidates to fill the following vacant position:
Financial Accountant
Job Summary.
The Financial Accountant is responsible for the execution of specific functions in Finance Department as may be determined from time to time. These functions include but not limited to Accounts Payable, VAT Management, Accounts and donor receivables, management of staff advances, banking, General Ledger reconciliations, Inventory management, fixed asset management among others. The role ensure that these functions are done in accordance with the relevant guiding policies.
Duties and responsibilities
Accounts and Other Receivables
- Receives and reviews documentation (from Admin, Warehouse and Procurement) for correctness, adequacy, completeness and conformity to policy and SOPs.
- Conducts 3-way matching in QBE on the LPO, item receipts/GRN and invoice; addressing any discrepancies that may be identified i.e. changes to specifications/quantities requiring justifications.
- Bills invoices in QBE; captures invoice details, accounts for Withholding Tax (WHT), tracks VAT for VAT claims for eligible donors, requests and captures credit notes.
- Prepares supplier reconciliations, compares supplier statements with QBE records and rectifies any discrepancies.
- Prepares payment documentation for suppliers; printing vendor summary bills and item receipts, assembles all invoices making a batch, prepares payment vouchers, makes completeness check for adequacy of documentation, captures WHT in Msonkho online for vendors and sending proof of payments (POP) to customers upon completion of payments.
- Conducts a 536 work around on inventories to ensure accurate and timely donor billing, verifies inventory item code against class, posts the amount to a relevant 536 code with the class and posts contra to the inventory contra code.
- Clears and balances off the offset account; chases invoices from procurement against the item receipt, identifies items that have not yet been invoiced, reconciles off set account to ensure all matching invoices and items receipt are cleared.
- Print the reconciled account to form part of the monthly financial report, prepares other month end financial reporting schedules.
VAT Management
- Tracks VAT paid for all eligible funders and makes VAT claims from MRA through funders.
- Prepares a monthly report for VAT claims for both Management and Funders Responds to all VAT related requests/queries from funders and Management.
Prepayments
- Tracks all prepayments and ensures that are booked properly at the time of payment.
- Regularly reviews the prepayment account and makes follows up for reconciliations.
- Prepares amortization schedules and journals for routine prepayments.
- Prepares prepayments related schedules for month end reporting.
Sales and Accounts Receivables
- Reconciles sales (sales department reports) and inventory reports (Warehouse)
- Prepares receipt vouchers and captures cash sale invoices (actual sales and commodities used by outreach teams during service delivery)
- Prepares receipt vouchers and captures cash receipts against the cash sale invoices.
- Matches deposits against the receipts made for a particular sale.
- Prepares credit invoices and captures them in the system.
- Prepares of Accounts receivable schedule for credit customers for month end reporting
- Issues statements to customers on outstanding balances, reconciles their accounts and where necessary issue credit notes.
- Works hand in hand with sales staff to recover long outstanding debts.
- Generates accounts receivable aging reports and advises management on the long outstanding debts requiring attention.
- Identifies and captures prepayments for customers who make advance payments and follows up with the sales team to ensure that commodities are delivered in time for prepaid customers.
- Calculates allowances for accounts receivable (provision for doubtful debts) as per the relevant policies and preparation of the relevant journal for system capturing.
- Provides audit schedules, documentation and responses to queries if any to auditors.
Project receivables
- Conducts monthly reconciliations of both donor receivables and payables.
- Liaise with the Grants team to ensure that all project expenses are billed to funders as per the grant agreement.
- Works with the Grants team or make follow up on unpaid invoices by funders.
- Escalates long unpaid invoices to Management for further action.
Staff Advances Management
- Reviews and reconciles travel advance accounts to determine outstanding amounts.
- Ensures staff advance reconciliations are posted in real time.
- Follows up with the concerned individuals and their supervisors on the unreconciled funds.
- Sends weekly updates to staff with outstanding advances.
- Tracks perennial defaulters and reports them to Management for action.
Statutory and Other Audits
- Ensures that documents are complete and properly filed.
- Ensures that sampled documents are provided to auditors as soon as possible. Provides explanations and responses, where necessary, to audit queries
REQUIRED/RECRUITMENT QUALIFICATIONS
a. Education, Professional Training, Licenses and Registrations Education.
- First Degree in accounting from an accredited institution plus
- Completed level 2 towards becoming a Chartered/qualified accountant with any recognized professional body e.g ACCA, CIMA, ICAM.
b. Experience, Knowledge Skills and Abilities
- immense knowledge and understanding of the localtaxation laws, donor’s rules and regulations for key donors like USAID, PEPFAR, FCDO, KFW etc
- Solid knowledge of generally Acceptable Accounting Principles
- Minimum of 5 years’ experience in accounting
- Experience in the NGO sector will have an added advantage.
- Demonstrate Ability to do data analytics (advanced Microsoft excel)and financial analytical reviews.
- People management and supervisory skills
- Experience working with accounting software required, experience with QBE accounts system an added advantage.
- Good written and verbal communication skills – able to listen, present,discuss, report, put views forward, negotiate with confidence.
- Sensitivity to cultural and language differences, able to interact withpeople at all levels of the organisation.
- Able to prioritize restricted resources to tight deadlines.
- Strong attention to detail.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision. Self-motivatedto set initiatives and self-learn.
- Ability to understand donor funding mechanisms and grants reporting.
OTHER KEY RELATIONSHIPS
Auditors, Malawi Revenue Authority, Banks
Mode of Application
Qualified candidates with the specified qualifications and experience should submit their electronic application letters and updated CVs with names and contact details of three traceable referees, through [email protected]. indicating the job title for the position you are applying for in the email subject line. All applications must be submitted by 10th May 2024 to The Head of Human Resources, Family Health Services, Box 30132, Lilongwe.
Family Health Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified individuals regardless of religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, personal appearance, political affiliation, family status or responsibilities, ger identity, or expression, pregnancy, or related medical conditions. Family Health Services maintains zero tolerance for child abuse, sexual abuse, or exploitative acts or threats by our employees, consultants, volunteers, contractors, or anyone associated with the delivery of our programs and services and takes seriously all complaints of misconduct brought to our attention.
Disclaimer!
Family Health Service has become aware of scams involving false job offers. Please be advised: Family Health Services will never ask for a fee during any stage of the recruitment process. All active jobs are advertised directly in the newspapers or on vetted career websites. Official FHS emails will always arrive from a @fhs.org email address.
Please report any suspicious communications to [email protected] If you are suspicious of anything, please report through email to [email protected] or [email protected]; or write a letter to TipOffs anonymous, P.O. Box 1726, Blantyre; or call/send SMS using Airtel/TNM/Access to 847