Financial Accountant

Mulilo; South Africa; On-site; ZAR 300,000 - 500,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading renewable energy company in South Africa is seeking a Financial Accountant to manage accounts payable, prepare management accounts, and ensure compliance with financial regulations. The ideal candidate has a degree in Accounting/Finance, at least 2 years of relevant experience, and strong technical accounting skills. This role offers opportunities for career progression in a dynamic environment.

Benefits

Competitive total remuneration package

Opportunities for career progression

Qualifications

• At least 2 years of experience in an accounting environment.
• Understanding of IFRS, Budgeting, Forecasting and Financial Analysis.
• Experience within energy, utility, industrial company is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Manage accounts payable and prepare monthly management accounts.
• Ensure compliance with loan and tax obligations.
• Support audits and provide financial reporting.

Skills

Attention to detail

Excellent communication skills

Proactive self-starter

Relationship building

Education

Degree in Accounting/Finance

Recognized accounting qualification

Tools

Excel

Business Central

Job description

About the Company

Since its establishment in 2008, Mulilo has grown into one of the leading Independent Power Producers (IPP) in Southern Africa. Mulilo is majority owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the world's leading private equity investor in renewable energy assets, through its New Markets Fund I. Mulilo has concluded numerous PPA's in both the Department of Mineral Energy's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) and with several large corporate energy users. Mulilo currently operates 450MW of wind and solar PV projects and has a further 500MW of projects under financial close and close to 1GWh of energy storage projects awarded with its partners. Having adopted a strategy that aligns with the company's long-term vision, Mulilo has accumulated a pipeline of projects exceeding 25GW, and is now positioned as a key player in the renewable energy sector.

Mulilo places strong emphasis on its human capital and prides itself in providing a world class working environment for all its employees, thereby placing huge value on career progression and personal growth.

Mulilo is guided by strong ethical principles and adheres to its environmental, social and governance responsibilities.

About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)

Founded in 2012, CIP is the world's largest dedicated renewable energy fund manager and a global leader in offshore wind. CIP currently manages over 30 billion Euro's, with a target of having 100 billion Euros under management by 2030. The funds managed by CIP focus on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X.

About this role

The Financial Accountant will play a key role in supporting Mulilo's finance operations by managing accounts payable, preparing monthly management accounts, ensuring compliance with loan and tax obligations, and contributing to financial planning and reporting across multiple renewable energy projects. This role requires a detail-oriented, proactive individual with strong technical accounting skills and a solid understanding of IFRS, financial systems, and compliance requirements. As part of a dynamic finance team in a fast-growing renewable energy company, the successful candidate will help ensure accurate financial reporting, support audits, and provide insights that contribute to the overall financial health and performance of the business.

Duties and responsibilities

Processing

• Reviewing of data captured by Accounts Payable Clerk.
• Capturing financial transactions for projects.
• Review mid-month and month-end payment pack.
• Circulation of creditors payment to directors for approval.
• Ensuring monthly accounting entries are recorded in ERP system (Business Central) accurately and in line with. the Group's monthly close timings (5th working day finalised management accounts).
• Coordinating accounts payable process to ensure all invoices are logged, approved and paid on time.
• Review receivables billing, review revenue and purchase orders for accuracy, classification and approval.

Reporting

• Preparing monthly management accounts for operating and/or construction SPVs.
• Update cash flows and forecasts.
• Reporting actuals vs budget within Project's operational environment.
• Investigating, understanding and explaining any variances to the approved budget in operations and Financial Close Financial Model in construction - working with local asset management team.
• Preparation of management accounts individual operational and/or construction companies by the 5th working day.
• Where possible, look for opportunities to improve P&L performance.
• Review of the vendor registration process.
• Manage the vendor aging with no long outstanding invoices.
• Ensure that all balance sheet balances reconciles and agrees to supporting documentation and is audit ready.
• Assisting Asset Management with annual budget.
• Assist Asset Management with the preparation of the annual budget for each project company.

Loan Compliance

• Understanding the terms in the various facility agreements.
• Assist Asset Management with any information required for the preparation of loan compliance reports as necessary.
• Ensuring debt service payments are paid on time and accurately.
• Assist with any other lender requirements.
• Statutory include Tax audits/ investigations, Budget variations and sensitivity analysis, secretarial filings.

Finance

• Coordinating local audit work for any local statutory audit requirements and audit review.
• Coordinating & managing local audit timetable.
• Preparing audit deliverables.
• Documents are well collated for audit purposes.
• AFS are reported in accordance with full IFRS or IFRS for SMEs.

Tax Compliance

• Ensuring corporate income tax returns prepared internally are accurate.
• Final and provisional taxes are prepared, reviewed by the Finance Manager and filed.
• Ensuring VAT reports are prepared monthly, and returns are filed timely and accurately.
• Reconciliation of VAT are done on a regular basis.
• Ensuring payroll data & payroll taxes are filed timely and accurately where applicable.
• Ensuring withholding tax etc (if applicable) are paid timely and accurately.
• Ensuring all tax payments due are paid on time.

Required skills and education background

• Degree in Accounting/Finance and a recognized accounting qualification is essential.
• At least 2 years of experience in an accounting environment. Experience within energy, utility, industrial company or similar industry would be an advantage.
• Understanding of IFRS, Budgeting, Forecasting and Financial Analysis.
• Keen to take ownership of tasks and responsibilities and ensure that work is completed in an accurate and timely manner and all financial and requirements of lenders are complied with.
• Proactive self-starter, highly motivated, focused on working at a high level and producing an excellent work product under changing priorities and deadlines.
• Good relationship builder - open and honest style - excellent communication skills. Able to communicate effectively and deal comfortably with multiple projects/requests.
• Excellent English both written and verbal.
• Familiarity with Financial modelling would be advantages but not essential.

Key Competencies

• Qualified Accountant.
• Excellent Excel skills.
• Excellent technical and analytical financial management skills - attention to detail.
• Business Central proficiency would be advantages.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills.
• Able to articulate the numbers and the risks involved to the business - commercially orientated.
• Results-driven attitude with rigorous accountability for achieving high levels of individual and company performance.
• Ability to manage and prioritise own workload.
• Good relationship builder- open and honest style.
• Hard-working, committed and dedicated - energetic and highly focused.
• Proactive self-starter and high achiever who thrives on a challenge.

Desirable attributes

The ideal candidate would have a passion for the Renewable Energy sector and personality traits would include a high level of diligence, determination, resilience, and agility.

Mulilo is an employer of choice and is offering an extremely competitive total remuneration package for this position.

Additional Information

Able to work overtime according to operational needs.

The position is based at the offices of the company, but travel may be required occasionally.