Senior Financial Assistant The World Bank - Chennai,

Senior Financial Assistant
The World Bank - Chennai, Tamil Nadu

The Trust Funds Division (WFATF) is one of the divisions that reports into the Director, WBG Accounting Business Services, within WBG Finance & Accounting (WFA). WFATF is the focal point for collection and dissemination of trust fund financial information and for formulation and oversight of financial, accounting and administrative policies for trust funds. WFATF maintains the trust fund master data and financial ledgers and produces contractually required financial reports for donors (e.g. externally audited financial statements for certain trust funds and programs) as well as internal financial reports (e.g. the trust funds aggregate financial report). WFATF is responsible for establishing and communicating trust fund accounting policies and control requirements to decentralized transaction processing business units and trust funds managers. The division is also responsible for building and maintaining an effective liaison relationship with the various business units, trust fund users and managers, as well as certain donors who require trust fund financial information. This liaison includes providing guidance, advice and assistance on all trust fund accounting, financial reporting and relevant administration matters. Selected aspects of the work program of the WFA are handled through the Processing and Support Center (WFACO), in Chennai, India. WFACO houses several different business units, each of which is responsible for specific off-shored accounting processes and includes one unit dedicated to trust funds, namely WFATN. Furthermore, WFATN consists of three primary teams: (1) Financial Reporting (FR) team (2) Fiduciary Controls (FC) team, and (3) Trust Fund Accounting Clearance Team (TACT). The Sr. Financial Assistant will be a member of the FC team and report to the Financial Officer. Job Purpose: The primary purpose of the job is to assist the FC team in routine work and special projects. Note: If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a Regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 4 year term appointment. Duties and Accountabilities: Apply donor contributions and other receipts to individual trust funds in a timely & accurate manner Perform periodic financial control activities, including system interface reconciliations, and monitoring of suspense accounts & inter-company billing. Assist in execution of centralized business processes, such as investment income allocation to individual trust funds and administration fee recovery, in a timely and accurate manner. Assist in compilation of trust fund financial reports such as the combined financial statement, monthly financial report on trust funds disbursements, audit committee memo, etc., and perform peer review of reports prepared by other team members. Perform month-end closing activities (such as accounting model reconciliation, review of key accounts, business table reconciliations, trial balance analysis, etc.) and ensure month-end close per production schedule Perform ex-ante and ex-post quality assurance reviews of Trust Funds fund master and ledger data and generate/ review exception reports relating to Trust Funds master and ledger data, considering WFATN’s fiduciary responsibility towards donors. Assist in production of periodic operations reports & various metrics/charts/analysis to measure the progress of trust funds accounting operations at Chennai; and ensure that data required for the report is collected from the team on time. Assist in coordination of the Trust Funds Single Audit exercise, Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICFR) exercise for WFATN and the annual Letter of Representation exercise. Provide ad-hoc trust fund financial information to the management and other business units, as required. Participate in special projects and coordinate with technical teams on system changes, enhancements and testing. Provide inputs and actively participate in initiatives to improve process-related controls. Provide a variety of metrics / charts, as required, to be included in management reports. Selection Criteria: ICWAI (Qualified) OR CA Inter (Qualified) OR Master’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Commerce with at least 4 years of relevant work experience Chartered Accountants or other equivalent professional qualification (CPA/ACCA) is preferred (not mandatory). Working experience in accounting and reporting processes using automated accounting systems, preferably SAP. Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools. Good analytical & problem solving skills. Good interpersonal and communication skills. Ability to function effectively in a multi-disciplinary team within a matrix environment. COMPETENCIES: Shown below are the broad competencies linked to this job. Project Management - Understands the basic concepts of project management, as they relate to the execution of tasks within a project. Sets priorities, properly plans, keeps track of activities completed and in progress, and keeps clear, detailed records of activities related to accomplishing stated objectives. Business Processes & Systems - Basic understanding of business processes. Be able to analyze business processes and enhance internal controls in order to resolve issues, and improve operational efficiency and effectiveness. Accounting Policy - Understands accounting principles and, under guidance of senior staff, is able to apply accounting principles to appropriately record transactions. Transaction Processing - Has work experience using automated systems to process transactions. Ability to identify problems/issues encountered during transaction processing and coordinates with team leads for finding a resolution. Disbursement Policies & Procedures – Possesses a basic understanding of disbursement policies and procedures and ability to apply policies and procedures in a practical setting. Financial Products - Basic understanding of the range of available financial instruments (e.g., IBRD loans, IDA credits and grants, trust funds). Risk Management & Internal Controls – Applies basic understanding of the internal controls and risk management principles in carrying out day-to-day functions. Client Orientation - Proactively addresses client needs, takes personal responsibility and accountability for timely response to client queries, requests or needs. Anticipate client needs and responds based on clear understanding of needs and concerns. Drive for Results - Delivers results and impact for clients and stakeholders. Is accountable for achieving sustainable results, and makes things happen both as an individual and through others. Teamwork (Collaboration) and Inclusion - Collaborates with other team members and contributes productively to the team’s work and output, demonstrating respect for different points of view. Knowledge, Learning and Communication - Actively seeks knowledge needed to complete assignments and shares knowledge with others, communicating and presenting information in a clear and organized manner. Business Judgment and Analytical Decision Making - Analyzes available information and makes evidence based ethical decisions. Analyzes facts and data to support sound, logical decisions regarding own and others’ work. http://web.worldbank.org/external/default/main?pagePK=8454041&piPK=8454059&theSitePK=8453353&JobNo=150341&contentMDK=23158967&order=descending&sortBy=job-req-num&location=&menuPK=8453611