Cash and Bank Accountant at Twiga Foods

Role Summary
Reporting to the Chief Accountant, the Cash and Bank Accountant for Twiga Foods is responsible for maintaining proper, accurate, and complete cash and bank records, making accurate and timely payments of all company obligations to suppliers, debt partners, government and compliance bodies, Kenya Revenue Authority and staff within approved budgets, as per the set-out service levels, credit terms / limits and statutory deadlines and as well to manage the relationships with all payees of Twiga.
S/he is responsible for preparing monthly cash forecast and presenting a daily cash position, monitoring and confirming success of payments, undertaking bank reconciliations and leveraging good working relationships with banking partners and designated financial institutions to resolve bank related issues promptly, achieving a satisfactory conclusion for Twiga.
The Cash and Bank Accountant will report on daily cash deposits, payments, cash balances, and outstanding payments. The role holder is responsible for master data integrity within the revenue and accounts receivables ledger and will maintain tight control over source and payment documents, overseeing the safe and orderly archiving of all payment related documents for the time required to meet audit, legal and tax requirements and queries.
S/he will execute her/his responsibilities in a manner that facilitates efficient, timely and accurate execution of responsibilities, in the most cost and tax efficient way, in conformance with the company’s policies and in compliance with all legal and tax requirements.
Key Responsibilities And Outcomes
Cash and Bank

• Cash position
• Participate in the preparation of cash flow forecasts.
• Monitor the organization's cash flow, analyze current cash balances and present a daily cash position.
• Maintain adequate cash balances for all bank accounts and confirm the company has enough funds to execute its daily payment plan
• Identify and propose mitigations for any risks identified
• Transactions
• Upload all outgoing payment of all company obligations to suppliers, farmers, debt partners, government and compliance bodies, and cash advances/reimbursement to staff into the bank portal in keeping with the reconciled and signed off payment vouchers
• Confirm all expenditure is within approved budgets and that any adverse variances are analyzed, highlighted and presented for approval prior to transactions being uploaded for payment
• Ensure completeness of payment uploads awaiting verification and approvals.
• Post all out-going and in-coming cash transactions daily to relevant cash books/general ledger. Confirm all transactions are accurately and properly recorded in the accounting system
• Audit prior day bank activities to ensure all wire transfers have been sent according to instructions. Address any bank transmission problems and/or daily cash receipt issues
• Reconciliations
• Undertake daily, weekly and/or monthly reconciliations of all current accounts, credit card receipts, other receipts control/reconciling accounts and key accounts and prepare relevant journal entries as appropriate
• Investigate any unknown receipts, unreconciled items and returned cheques on the bank reconciliation statement and clear down balances
• Data
• Responsible for master data integrity within the revenue and accounts receivables ledger, including account codes and revenue classification including maintenance of territories, routes, channels and all applicable dimensions as per the set-out chart of accounts, for the purpose of facilitating dimensional reporting and detailed variance analysis

Stakeholder Relationship Management

• Manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders, ensure continuous and effective communication and provide prompt response and turnaround of queries
• Develop and maintain good working relationships with banking partners and designated financial institutions and work collaboratively to resolve bank related issues to achieve a timely satisfactory conclusion for Twiga

Reporting

• Report daily cash deposits, payments, cash balances, and outstanding payments.
• Prepare and analyze financial reports and statements assigned and audit schedules as per closing checklist to reporting team for the monthly, quarterly and annual reporting process.
• Present comprehensive, accurate and informative reports with trends, insights, concerns, and recommendations clearly elaborated

Document Management

• Maintain tight control over source and payment documents and oversee the safe and orderly archiving of all payment related documents for the time required to meet audit, legal and tax requirements and queries

Other

• On a weekly/monthly basis, participating in the physical stock taking exercise for trading gods in conjunction with the wider accounting team
• Participate in regular Fixed Asset verification and tagging exercise in the location(s) in conjunction with the wider accounting team
• On a quarterly basis, participating in the business wide crate/pallet physical verification exercise and recommending write-offs losses

Self-management

• Model Twiga’s culture and way of working
• Proactively manage own performance and deliver performance objectives and outcomes set
• Attend monthly 1-on-1 performance enablement discussions and quarterly performance reviews with the line manager, and institute corrective action where performance falls below expectation
• Proactively manage own learning and development
• Adhere to the annual leave plan agreed with the line manager
• Adhere to people management policies

Compliance

• Comply with all organization policies, procedures; applicable accounting and regulatory standards; financial regulations and statutory guidelines. Minimize and mitigate risks to the organization and enforce zero-tolerance to non-compliance
• Close gaps/lapses identified as an outcome of audits; risk and/or any other compliance review; investigations; or other assessment mechanisms and take corrective/preventive actions within the agreed timelines

Academic and Professional Qualification

• A bachelor’s degree from a recognized accredited university preferably in accounting, finance, economics, commerce, or a related field
• Qualified Accountant (CPA-2) or ACCA equivalent

Relevant Skills and Experience

• At least three (3) years’ accounting experience with working knowledge of managing cashflow, general ledger reconciliations, conducting financial analysis and preparing financial reports in a busy operational environment, with hands-on operational experience working with an ERP/substantial accounting software
• Good organizational and problem-solving skills, with a keen attention to detail and the ability to work with a high level of accuracy, prioritize and deliver objectives set within timelines given
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate finance information effectively to ‘non-finance’ people
• Self-starter with the ability to work independently and in a team environment, with the ability to build strong working relationships across all levels
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Results-oriented, flexible and adaptable to rapid change, with the comfort working in a fast-paced, high demand environment
• Enthusiastic, decisive, pragmatic, resilient and forthright individual with a sense of urgency, and unquestionable integrity
• Willing and able to travel