Management Accountant

Caribou; South Africa; Remote; ZAR 400,000 - 500,000; Full time

Job summary

A growing finance consulting firm is seeking a detail-oriented Management Accountant to enhance their finance team. This role involves preparing management accounts, processing invoices, and maintaining financial compliance. The ideal candidate holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and has over 3 years of relevant experience, particularly with payroll and reconciliations. The role is fully remote, emphasizing a flexible work environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years' experience in a similar role.
• Strong foundation in accounting principles and practices.
• Experience in payroll, reconciliations, invoicing, and month-end reporting.

Responsibilities

• Support Finance Manager in preparation of monthly management accounts.
• Perform monthly reconciliations for bank accounts and employee entitlements.
• Process and reconcile accounts payable and receivable.

Skills

Accounting principles

Strong analytical skills

Proficient in Microsoft Excel

Proficient in Google Sheets

Proficient in Xero

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting

Job description

Role Overview

Caribou is seeking a detail-orientated, organized Management Accountant to join our finance team. This is an exciting opportunity for an individual to play a key role in assisting the finance team to add value to the organization in a growing environment. The ideal candidate will have strong accounting skills coupled with a proactive mindset. The role will involve processing invoices, organizing financial data, and ensuring accuracy, among various other administrative and financial tasks.

About Caribou

Caribou is an impact consulting company on a mission to create more inclusive economies and societies in an increasingly digital world. We support clients to use their funds and resources more effectively to maximize their social and environmental impact. Our partners are leading corporations, government agencies, international financial institutions, and private foundations worldwide. We provide end-to-end fund management, advisory services, research, measurement, and impact services to enable organizations to tackle some of the world's most complex challenges.

Caribou has existed for a decade and is in the midst of a period of rapid change and growth, which necessitates greater structure and efficiency in its central functions. This Management Accountant role will report into the Finance Manager and be a full-time position.

What it’s like working with us

We have always been a remote-first company. We have no physical office and use digital tools for collaboration. We have over 50 staff in 20 countries across 5 continents. We trust and empower everyone to work in a way that achieves successful outcomes, while providing flexibility to manage all aspects of their life. We hire people because they are the best at what they do, so we're pretty sure that our team is some of the smartest and most interesting people you'll meet. Join us!

Key Responsibilities

Financial Operations & Month End

• Support the Finance Manager in preparation of monthly management accounts, reports, and period-end journal entries (e.g., revenue recognition, staff utilization).
• Perform monthly reconciliations for bank accounts, balance sheet accounts and employee entitlements.
• Process and reconcile accounts payable and receivable, ensuring subledgers reconcile at period-end.
• Monitor accounts receivable aging and highlight risks or issues to the Finance Manager.
• Prepare payroll journals, as necessary and ensure compliance within payroll deadlines.
• Export and analyse staff utilization reports by project to feed into management accounts.

Invoicing & Payments Processing

• Support Finance Manager in invoice preparation, processing, and filing.
• Prepare client invoices in line with project contracts and milestones.
• Prepare and reconcile payment files for scheduled payment runs and submit for approval in line with Caribou's Delegations of Authority.
• Assist with resolving payment queries and provide supporting information to facilitate approvals.
• Ensure software subscriptions and platform invoices are accurately recorded and reconciled.

Project & Client Accounting & Budgeting

• Monitor project budgets, expenditure, and recoveries, highlighting variances to project managers and the Finance Manager.

• Assist with Caribou forecasting and budgeting cycles by contributing to data uploads and preparing supporting analyses, as required.
• Oversee staff expense claims and credit card reconciliations, ensuring policy compliance and proper documentation.
• Support financial reporting to clients and donors in line with funding agreements.

Recordkeeping & Compliance

• Maintain compliance with Caribou financial policies, procedures, and statutory requirements.
• Support audits by preparing documentation, explanations, and responses.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of financial processes and controls within a consulting environment.
• Maintain and organize financial documents and records, ensuring they are easily accessible for record keeping and reporting.

Ad-hoc Collaboration & Support

• Provide financial insights to project teams to support decision-making.
• Accurately input financial data into accounting systems and maintain up-to-date records.
• Contribute to knowledge sharing and capacity building within the finance team and wider organization.

Candidate profile

Essential Skills & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting.
• Minimum 3 years' experience in a similar role, with a strong foundation in accounting principles and practices.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets, and Xero.
• Experience in payroll, reconciliations, invoicing, and month-end reporting.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Exposure to multi-currency transactions
• Experience in donor reporting or the development sector (or services-based business).
• Understanding of revenue recognition under IFRS in a services environment.
• Familiarity with UK payroll and VAT
• Technology-savvy with ability to use digital tools and AI creatively to support the role.

Personal Attributes

• Strong communicator capable of simplifying complex financial data for non-financial stakeholders.
• Numerically minded and data-driven, with strong analytical skills.
• Self-starter able to work independently in a remote environment.
• Trustworthy and reliable, particularly when handling client funds.
• Team player, committed to supporting the wider organization.
• Committed to ongoing professional development and growth in financial competency