Senior Accountant
Singapore
Non-Academic – Finance (Accounting CC) /
Full Time /
On-site
About GESS
As one of the leading international schools in Singapore, GESS is home to students from over 70 nations worldwide. We are for many families the home away from home and we are very happy that they are part of our school community which is based on mutual support and solidarity. With our language programme, we support our students to nurture this part of their identity and want to preserve the opportunity that they can grow up with multiple languages to be best prepared for an international environment. With the German International Abitur or the IB Programme they are perfectly prepared for their career after school. Our students enjoy lifelong learning and we take pride in our GESS values of respect, openness and diversity which our students will nurture in their life after school.
We were awarded with the “Deutsche Schulpreis” (German school prize) 2022, which was given to us for our extraordinary concept according to their motto “Make teaching better”. We stand out as the only German school abroad nominated for this award.
Commencing: at the earliest convenience, prior experience in external audit (CPA firm) is highly preferred
The Senior Accountant will be responsible for day-to-day operation of GL, AR and FA functions for GESS. For GL function, the Senior Accountant works closely with Assistant Finance Manager as one of the responsible staff of GESS finance department for monthly closing, preparation of financial and management reports, audit schedules, bank reconciliation, and assisting in year-end audit process. For AR function, with the supervision of Senior Accountant (AR), the Senior Accountant will carry out the assigned AR tasks, including invoicing, updating receipts, preparing GIRO collection, issuing debit and credit notes, communicating with parents and other AR related tasks. The Senior Accountant will also assist finance team for Fixed Asset functions, projects and other ad-hoc matters.
The Senior Accountant ensures the following tasks are performed with satisfactory professional standard: • Produces timely and accurate financial statements, schedules and reports, thus achieving compliance with statutory requirements within the required time frame.
• Consolidates data and prepare monthly management reports/schedules to meet external and internal reporting requirements and assist decision makings by school senior management.
• Works closely with the Assistant Finance Manager / Director of Finance to complete month end / year end closing, bank reconciliation and other GL and FA functions within timelines.
• Works closely with all team members, stake holders as well as internal and external auditors, bankers, and regulators, to facilitate timely closure for both internal and external audit matters.
• Keep updated with changing statutory requirements, accounting standards, tax laws and charity regulations to determine the implications of such changes to financial and management reporting.
• Be a main partner with Senior Accountant (AR) to prepare and send out invoices, track and record payments made by parents, upload GIRO collections, prepare debit notes, credit notes& refunds, and communication with parents when required.
• Be a main contributor of AR/GL /FA pipeline projects by assisting to draft new policies /procedures, using digitization tools to automate /streamline internal process, and system migrations.
General Ledger
• Monitor month end and year end closing timelines and send instructions to team members
• Prepare monthly closing journals
• Prepare and update monthly Balance sheet and Profit & Loss schedules
• Prepare monthly bank reconciliation for all the banks for review and approval
• Conduct reconciliation of school shop collections between actual bank receipts and sales report on weekly basis, and post the GL entries for School Shop sales
• Prepare reports for external surveys and all government related filings
• Prepare internal reports / analysis for school committees, parents’ committee and student committee.
• Conduct GL reconciliation with all sub-ledgers ensuring no discrepancies
• Conduct analysis and prepare reports for school trips, events, programs, projects and other activities.
• Work closely with all team members and external parties to clear recon discrepancies, legacy balances and items in doubts
• Carry out mapping of two accounting systems and prepare necessary journals during system migration / parallel runs.
• All other GL related tasks
Accounts Receivable
• Prepare, generate and deliver invoices for school fees and other miscellaneous charges
• Track and record receipts in accounting system from parents and other debtors via various payment modes (i.e. bank transfer, cash, cheque, credit cards, all payment gateways, GIRO, etc.)
• Conduct peer review of semesterly billing of School fees before invoices are generated
• Generate, maintain and upload GIRO collections regularly according to school policy
• Prepare Debit Note, Credit Note and Refund Vouchers for Management approval
• Track and record receipts from all payment gateways (e.g. Stripe, Paypal, Braintree, etc.)
• Perform weekly reconciliation of the reports among payment gateway, 3rd party platforms (e.g. School Buddy, MyCampus Card, etc), identify discrepancies and follow up issues with solutions
• Assist debt collection process for open invoices
• Assist parents’ communications via emails, phone calls or face to face discussions
• Reconcile AR ledger vs GL to identify and resolve discrepancies
• Prepare AR related journals for posting to GL on monthly basis
• Carry out mapping of two accounting systems and prepare necessary AR related journals during system parallel run
• Back up AR team members for daily duties when colleagues are on leave
Fixed Assets
Carry out the following FA tasks:
• Track all transactions of FA and record into the accounting system
• Reconcile the GL ledger and FA ledger on monthly basis
• Track FA additions and keep proper record for the actual utilization of FA budget
• Calculate monthly depreciation and check reasonableness before posting into GL
• Monitor FA tagging with other stake holders across the School
• Monitor FA obsolescence and disposals, and propose FA written off / impairment information for management’s approval
• Facilitate the FA sighting exercise
• Prepare FA schedules on monthly basis and keep proper records of all FA transactions
Inventory
• Assess reasonableness of inventory balances by tracking inventory movements recorded in the system
• Calculate costs of goods sold for school sales for month end closing and year end closing purposes.
• Work closely with the school shop team to identify and verify slow moving and obsolete stocks for writing off approval
• Involve / lead annual stock take process
• Review school shop inventory account and carry out proper accounting for inventory costing
• Reconcile inventory ledger vs GL balance on monthly basis
• Prepare inventory reports for internal analysis when required
GST/ Other taxes
• Verify GST output tax against all AR related transactions to identify and reconcile discrepancies
• Verify GST Input tax against all AP related transactions to identify and reconcile discrepancies
• Identify and calculate GST impacts for related GL entries
• Prepare overall GST tax calculations for quarterly filing
• Coordinate with IRAS for any tax issues
Internal & External Audit Support
• Main partner in annual internal/external audit by preparing relevant audit schedules and supporting documents
• Answer queries from internal/external auditors on audit data, variances and audit findings
• Coordinate with both internal and external parties to address audit issues, complete audit confirmations and prepare highlights to inform/ discuss with school management
• Prepare draft Financial Statement and review the Financial Statement for changes made by auditors
• Thorough understanding of SFRS and ensure compliance with SFRS in the audited financial statements
• Provide data, information and reports required by AC Subcommittee from time to time
• Other ad-hoc projects/ tasks to be assigned
System Related Projects, Streamline Business Processes and Ad-hoc Assignments
• Involve in creating and implementing Polices and SOPs
• Involve in system migrations or any other IT related projects
• Use digitization tools to automate internal workflow and processes
• Involve / in charge of changes / improvement in process, and other tasks, duties or projects as assigned from time to time
Petty Cash / Other Administrative tasks
• Conduct petty cash counts on a monthly basis within internal deadlines
• Check and reply emails sent to generic email address
• Coordinate with internal and external parties to dispatch finance documents/cheques & cash in/withdrawal of cash
• Open letters when on duty
Knowledge and Experience
• Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting Studies or equivalent or professional certification (eg. ACCA)
• Proper background in Operational Finance in Account Receivable function with customer services experience
• Solid accounting knowledge in Singapore Financial Reporting Standard, Charity Accounting Standard, government regulations of Charities and Singapore taxations
• Prior experience in external audit (CPA firm) is highly preferred
• At least 5 years of accounting experience in the relevant function
• Relevant experience in audit, management and financial reporting, month end closing and preparing management reports and analysis
• Comprehensive understanding and relevant experience in improving internal process and controls
Technical and Soft Skills
• Detail oriented with Statistical Analysis, Data Analytics and Reporting Skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (especially Excel, Word and PowerPoint)
• Thorough understanding of SFRS, Charity Acts and other related regulations
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to liaise with various internal and external stakeholders
Problem Solving / Decision Making Level and Freedom
• Able to analyse data and produce analysis for decision making
• Ability to identify issues and propose constructive solutions
• Excellent problem-solving skills
Fair Recruitment and Safeguarding: We are committed to fair recruitment practices and safeguarding the welfare of all students. We ensure that our hiring processes are free from discrimination and bias on the basis of age, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy status, caregiving responsibilities, race, religion, language or disability. As part of our commitment to safeguarding, we conduct thorough background checks on all candidates which include criminal background checks in all countries lived and worked in for the last ten years, as well as reference checks. Any offer is subject to the satisfactory completion of such checks. Our school prioritises the safety and well-being of our students, and we expect all staff members to uphold these values.
