Accountant /finance Assistant-Beirut

Scope of responsibilities: Responsible for a number of balzacs (petty cash only) considered as “field balzacs” (which can include one base and several sub-bases) Check validation and prepare request for payments by cheque / transfer, to be submitted to Finance manager Responsible for timeliness and quality of both : paper accounting (vouchers) and electronic accounting (data-entry in SAGA) according to MSF standards Responsible for performing all internal controls as per MSF guidelines and specific instructions received from the manager : daily encoding in SAGA, daily cash counts, weekly cash inventories and reconciliation with SAGA, end-of-month cash inventories Ensure all validation & control of receipts, and payments to suppliers, comply very strictly with MSF financial guideline, and the purchasing / validation / payment procedures for the mission. Operational and Technical responsibilities: General finance duties: Ensure confidentiality on all cash / finance issues related to MSF Know perfectly, respect, and ensure strict compliance at any time with MSF standards : MSF chart of accounts MSF financial guideline MSF standards for accounting quality (paper and electronic) MSF purchasing / validation / payment procedures for the mission Cash security rules - related to petty cash management (cash holding limits for petty cash, cash movement, currency exchange, advances. Cash safety and availability: Responsible for cash kept in petty cash boxes under his/her responsibility, ensure they are safely and properly managed, stored under key during the day, returned to officer/manager in the evening Monitor cash available, anticipate needs for the day (payments, advances), request cash need for the day to finance officer/manager Perform currency exchange transactions as requested by officer/manager and according to the country exchange policy Prepare transfers to field/sub-bases according to need, and in accordance with cash security rules Daily cash management: Maintain an updated cashbook for each petty cash box, record immediately every single transaction IN/OUT of the cashbox in the cashbook, ensure the cashbooks balance reflect at any time the actual amount of cash kept in the cash boxes. Payments of suppliers in a strict but swift manner, in accordance with the MSF purchasing and payment procedures for the mission Ensure close and proper follow-up of all cash advances (extra-accounting), ensure issuance and settlement comply strictly with procedure : Deliver advances only on the basis of a valid cash request / purchase order, approved by the relevant supervisor who approved the expense as per budget Deliver advances only to the purchaser and relevant authorized persons Record immediately all advances issuances & settlements in the advance book Ensure that advances are returned in a timely manner and, in particular, that all advances are closed at the end of the month Ensure that the advance settlement is correct (balanced and based on proper & validated receipts) Ensure that any security advance is returned before expatriate departure Ensure strict compliance with cash control procedures for each cash cashbox / currency: daily cash count, weekly cash inventory including reconciliation with SAGA together with manager, complete cash inventory performed and signed on last day of the month Investigate any cash discrepancy, report to finance manager if not identified. Payment of salaries, incentives and per diems (when paid in cash) Close follow-up of refunds to be claimed & reimbursed (private phone calls, medical expenses, etc) Payment and close follow-up of utility bills and other recurrent expenses, maintain basic tables, perform basic statistics / cost analysis (cost per premise, per phone line, rents and insurances, subscriptions, service contracts, etc). Paper accounting(vouchers): For all balzacs directly managed : Responsible for quality of vouchers: ensure they are in strict compliance with MSF standards and Finance guideline, Scrutinize every single receipt before acceptance : check carefully that vouchers are complete: properly presented, all required information present, calculations and total amounts correct, translations when applicable accurate, relevant & required validation signatures present, complete (any relevant and required support documents attached) Stamp every receipt after acceptance, sign and record immediately voucher number after data-entry in SAGA Refuse any invalid receipt or incomplete voucher, report immediately any litigious / suspicious receipt / document to the finance officer/manager Respect feedback and recommendations for improvement from finance officer/manager Ensure proper filing and archiving of monthly accounting, according to MSF standard (originals in capital and copies only remain on the field, classified by month / balzac / voucher number, including copies of monthly closing documents). If applicable, for payments by cheque :Check quality of vouchers (receipts + documents), prepare request for payments by cheque / transfer, and submit to Finance manager (but does not prepare check + is not a signatory) Electronic data-entry(SAGA): Personally responsible for quality and accuracy of data-entry in SAGA for all balzacs managed: ensure encoding is done every day, consistency with receipts, accurate use of chart of accounts, respect of standard encoding guidelines for descriptions, etc Check that monthly payroll is correctly imported from HOMERE and encoded in SAGA Ensure that the latest parameters received from Finance manager were imported . Monthly accounting closing: Perform monthly closing in SAGA for all balzacs managed directly:   check again every single entry in SAGA (consistency with paper accounting, correct account / project code, relevant description providing all required information dates and complying with encoding guidelines, etc)   research seriously any cash difference with SAGA, report to manager if not reconciliated  proceed to monthly closing in SAGA  print and sign the journal for each balzac provide the monthly closing electronic file to Finance manager latest on the 2nd of the following month Check and prepare all original monthly paper accounting documents:  folder(s) with all vouchers classified by balzac /  SAGA voucher number check again every single voucher (stamp, support documents, validation signatures…) cash inventories provide the complete folder of paper accounting to Finance manager latest on the 2nd of the following month. Reporting: Immediately inform finance officer / manager of any problem or issue arising in the course of the work. Other: Perform timely payment all relevant taxes according to local legal obligations Any other specific task upon request from the finance officer / manager .