Finance Associate - MENA Region

MSCI Inc; Riyadh; Hybrid; SAR 150,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

MSCI Inc. is seeking a Finance Associate - MENA to bridge Billing and Collections for the region. The role focuses on invoicing accuracy, regulatory compliance (KSA ZATCA Phase 2, UAE VAT), and timely collections while coordinating with MSCI Sales and client Finance teams.

The ideal candidate has 5+ years in AR/Billing/Collections, strong Excel, SAP and Salesforce experience, and fluency in English and Arabic to support cross‑border processes and dispute resolution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting or Business.
• 5+ years of experience in Accounts Receivable, Billing or Collection roles.
• Experience operating across the MENA region with knowledge of KSA/UAE regulatory requirements.
• Hands-on experience with ZATCA and UAE VAT invoicing requirements.
• Fluency in English and Arabic.
• Proficiency in SAP; familiarity with Salesforce CRM.
• Strong Excel skills.

Responsibilities

• Bridge Billing and Collections for MENA invoicing and dispute resolution.
• Review invoices for regulatory compliance across KSA, UAE, Egypt and Qatar.
• Contact customers to secure timely payment and monitor aging.
• Maintain records of collection activity and update ERP systems.
• Collaborate with MSCI Sales and client Finance teams to ensure accurate billing data.
• Lead the resolution of billing disputes and tax discrepancies with cross‑functional teams.
• Support onboarding of new MENA clients with compliant billing profiles.

Skills

English

Arabic

Communication

Attention to detail

Multi-tasking

Organizational skills

Ownership

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Finance/Accounting/Business

Tools

SAP

Salesforce CRM

Excel

Job description

The Team handles Global Billing, Dispute Management of these Billings and the application of Cash Collections to the related invoice. This is however a Hybrid role which includes Collection Functions.

Role Overview

The Finance Associate - MENA bridges the Billing and Collections functions as the in-region owner of MENA client invoicing - ensuring local compliance and collectability while working with MSCI Sales and client Finance teams to maintain accurate billing data, resolve billing disputes, and support the order-to-cash cycle. The role directly reports to the Global Head of Billing and dotted line reports to the EMEA Collections Manager.

Key Responsibilities

1. Invoice Compliance & Review

• Review Billing-prepared invoices against each MENA country's regulatory rules (KSA ZATCA Phase 2, UAE FTA, Egypt ETA, Qatar QR standards) before dispatch to clients.
• Validate invoice format, currency, language, and mandatory fields (VAT/tax IDs, QR codes) against purchase orders and contracts, flagging any non-compliant invoices to Billing for correction.

2. Collectability, Collections & Dispute Resolution

• Contacting customers with outstanding invoices to secure timely payment
• Monitoring accounts receivable aging reports to prioritize collection efforts
• Escalating delinquent accounts to regional management or MSCI's Legal team, when necessary
• Maintaining accurate records of collection activity and client communications
• Updating client account statuses in MSCI's ERP/accounting systems
• Collecting WHT certificates from clients, where applicable
• Preparing regular reports for management on receivables portfolio health
• Assisting in resolving certain types of client disputes and discrepancies that are holding up payment

3. Liaison with MSCI Sales

• Act as the primary link between Billing/Collections and MSCI Sales for MENA accounts, communicating billing holds, disputes, and collection escalations to the relevant Account Manager.
• Support Sales in onboarding new MENA clients with compliant billing profiles, preferred payment methods, and invoice delivery channels.

4. Client Finance Engagement

• Liaise with clients' Finance and Accounts Payable teams to confirm invoice receipt, resolve queries and discrepancies, and maintain up-to-date billing requirements (VAT/TRN, PO numbers, portals such as Ariba), always keeping bill-to and collection contacts current.
• Obtain Global Deal billing allocations from clients and build relationships with Finance counterparts that reduce invoice rejection rates and accelerate collections.

5. Cross-Department Coordination (Billing & Collections)

• Bridge Billing and Collections in real time, communicating invoice status, re-issue timelines, and dispute resolution updates.
• Ensure credit memos, adjustments, and re-billings post accurately to the AR ledger, and provide MENA-specific updates in periodic AR reviews.
• Lead resolution of billing disputes and tax discrepancies, coordinating across Billing, Tax, Legal, and Sales and engaging the client's Finance team through to closure

6. Regional Regulatory & Tax Compliance

• Stay current on MENA e-invoicing, VAT, and digital tax rules (KSA ZATCA Phase 2, UAE FTA, Egypt ETA) and applicable digital services tax regimes.
• Ensure outbound invoices reflect correct VAT, withholding, or exemption status in coordination with MSCI Tax, and maintain audit trails for tax authority reviews or client compliance requests.

7. Reporting & Analytics

• Maintain MENA billing and collections reporting - issuance trackers, aging summaries, dispute logs, and compliance status - and support month-end close and reconciliation.
• Contribute to KPI reporting such as invoice rejection rates

8. Process Improvement

• Identify inefficiencies in the MENA billing-to-collections workflow and propose practical improvements.
• Support rollout of new billing tools and e-invoicing platforms, and maintain a country-specific MENA billing reference guide for internal use.

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Accounting or Business
• 5+ years of experience in Accounts Receivable, Billing or Collection roles
• Demonstrated experience operating across the MENA region or market, with strong knowledge of KSA and UAE regulatory requirements in Billing and Collection functions
• Hands-on experience with ZATCA and UAE VAT invoicing requirements
• Fluency in English and Arabic
• Proficiency in SAP; familiarity with Salesforce CRM
• Strong or advanced skills in Excels
• Knowledge and worked in AI functions a plus
• Great Attention to detail
• Ability to work with multiple team members in Finance in different locations as well as Sales Coverage team
• Highly motivated with the ability to work independently, with initiative and to demonstrate ownership for smaller projects
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, outgoing and confident. Strong organizational skills with the ability to multi-task