About this role
Position Title
Accountant
Department
Finance
Location
Dakar, Senegal
Language required
Bilingual (English-French)
Reports to
Finance Manager
Employment Type
Full-time
Purpose
The Accountant is responsible for maintaining accurate, complete and timely accounting records and supporting the effective financial management of TrustAfrica's institutional and donor-funded activities.
The role provides hands-on responsibility for general accounting, treasury and banking, accounts payable, payroll and statutory obligations, grants and project accounting, reconciliations, budgeting support, donor financial reporting, fixed assets, audit preparation and financial systems.
The accountant will help ensure that financial transactions are properly supported, correctly coded, reconciled to the general ledger and compliant with TrustAfrica policies, donor requirements and applicable statutory regulations. The position also supports timely month-end and year-end closing, accurate management and project reporting, and the effective use of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and other finance systems and training of other junior officers.
Key Responsibilities
• General Ledger, Month-End and Year-End Close
• Maintain complete and accurate accounting records in the financial management system.
• Prepare and post approved journal entries, including accruals, prepayments, reclassifications, foreign-exchange adjustments and other month-end entries.
• Perform monthly analysis of the trial balance and investigate unusual, aged, unsupported or incorrectly classified balances.
• Prepare reconciliations for assigned balance sheet and control accounts and ensure reconciling items are investigated and cleared promptly.
• Support timely monthly, quarterly and annual financial closing in accordance with the agreed finance calendar.
• Maintain accurate project, donor, cost-centre and account coding and ensure transactions are recorded in the appropriate accounting period.
• Support year-end adjustments, financial statement preparation and related schedules and disclosures.
• Maintain appropriate accounting records for inter-project, inter-fund and other internal transfers.
• Treasury, Banking and Cash Management
• Prepare approved payments through bank transfers, cheques and other authorized payment channels.
• Maintain accurate records of all bank accounts and ensure bank transactions are recorded promptly in the accounting system.
• Prepare monthly bank reconciliations for local and foreign currency accounts and investigate outstanding items.
• Monitor cash balances and provide updated cash-position information to the Finance Manager.
• Support cash-flow forecasts, funding requests and transfers between bank accounts and currencies.
• Maintain appropriate records relating to bank mandates, authorized users, cheque books, bank correspondence and electronic banking arrangements.
• Support foreign-exchange accounting, including application of approved exchange rates and recording of realized and unrealized foreign-exchange gains and losses.
• Maintain appropriate segregation of duties in payment preparation, review, authorization and bank release.
• Accounts Payable and Supplier Management
• Review payment requests and supporting documentation for completeness, accuracy, authorization, budget availability and compliance with TrustAfrica policies.
• Record supplier invoices and other liabilities accurately and in a timely manner.
• Ensure vendors and service providers are correctly established in the finance system and that approved banking information is independently verified before payment.
• Prepare supplier payments in accordance with agreed payment schedules.
• Reconcile supplier accounts and statements and follow up outstanding, duplicate, disputed or aged items.
• Maintain accounts-payable ageing and support timely resolution of outstanding balances.
• Apply the correct accounting and tax treatment to supplier, consultant, rental and professional-service payments.
• Maintain complete electronic and physical support documentation for all payments.
• Grants, Grantees and Project Accounting
• Maintain accurate accounting records for donor-funded projects, grants and fiscal-sponsorship arrangements.
• Process approved grantee and partner disbursements in accordance with grant agreements, approved budgets and payment conditions.
• Reconcile grants payable, grantee advances and partner accounts and investigate differences promptly.
• Review financial reports and supporting documents submitted by grantees and partners and assist with liquidation or retirement of advances.
• Verify expenditure against approved budgets, eligible cost categories and donor requirements.
• Support financial due diligence and financial-capacity assessments of prospective grantees and partners.
• Follow up ineligible, unsupported or questioned costs and assist in resolving financial issues with partners.
• Maintain accurate grant and project information between the accounting system and relevant grants-management systems.
• Support programme teams with financial information required for effective management of donor-funded activities.
• Donor Financial Reporting and Compliance
• Prepare assigned donor financial reports by extracting accounting data, reconciling reports to the general ledger and mapping expenditures to donor-approved budget formats.
• Ensure donor reports are supported by appropriate schedules and reconciliations before submission for review.
• Maintain reporting schedules and support timely preparation of financial reports in accordance with donor deadlines.
• Monitor expenditure against donor budgets and identify overspending, underspending and unusual variances for follow-up.
• Support preparation of budget modifications, reallocations and financial information required for no-cost extensions or other donor approvals.
• Apply donor-specific requirements relating to eligible expenditure, exchange rates, cost allocation, procurement, assets, supporting documentation and reporting.
• Maintain accessible records of donor agreements and key financial compliance requirements.
• Support donor reviews, verification exercises, spot checks and project-specific audits.
• Conduct Sanctions and Antiterrorism Checks on TA beneficiaries before contracting.
• Where assigned, participate in partner monitoring, conducted expenditure verification and training of partner staff in financial management.
• Budgeting, Forecasting and Financial Analysis
• Support preparation of TrustAfrica's annual institutional and project budgets.
• Coordinate with project leads and consolidate budget inputs and ensure budgets are appropriately coded and uploaded into the financial system.
• Prepare regular budget-versus-actual reports for assigned projects, departments and cost centres.
• Support the Finance Manager and budget holders by reviewing material budget variances and providing accurate analysis to inform timely follow-up and decision-making.
• Support preparation of forecasts, reforecasts and cash-flow projections.
• Maintain and update approved budget-monitoring tools and schedules.
• Apply approved methodologies for allocating shared costs and institutional overheads across projects and donors.
• Assist project and programme teams in understanding financial performance and available budget balances.
• Payroll and Statutory Compliance
• Support the accurate and timely preparation and payment of monthly payroll.
• Prepare salary payment schedules and ensure approved payroll agrees with amounts submitted through bank portals.
• Prepare and reconcile payroll journals and payroll-related control accounts.
• Calculate, declare and arrange timely payment of applicable Senegal payroll taxes and statutory deductions, including IPRES, IR, TRIMF and other required deductions.
• Process approved staff loans, salary advances and other payroll deductions and maintain supporting schedules.
• Prepare third-party payroll remittances, including approved pension or staff savings arrangements.
• Support calculation and processing of terminal benefits, accrued leave and other employee-related settlements.
• Maintain payroll and statutory records required for audit, inspection and reporting.
• Travel Advances, Staff Advances and Petty Cash
• Process approved travel and staff advances and accurately record them in the accounting system.
• Review travel expense claims for completeness, accuracy, appropriate authorization and compliance with applicable policies.
• Reconcile and clear travel and staff advances promptly after completion of activities.
• Maintain an ageing schedule of outstanding advances and follow up long-outstanding balances.
• Administer and reconcile petty cash and approved activity or field floats.
• Conduct or support periodic cash counts and maintain evidence of review and sign-off.
• Fixed Assets
• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date fixed asset register.
• Record approved asset acquisitions, transfers, disposals, impairments and write-offs.
• Calculate and post depreciation in accordance with TrustAfrica accounting policies.
• Reconcile the fixed asset register to the general ledger.
• Support periodic physical verification of assets and investigation of differences.
• Maintain appropriate records for donor-funded assets and support compliance with donor requirements governing ownership and disposal.
• Financial Reporting and Audit Support
• Prepare schedules and financial information required for monthly and quarterly management reporting.
• Support preparation of institutional and project financial statements.
• Prepare audit schedules, reconciliations and supporting documentation for external, statutory and donor audits.
• Respond promptly to audit queries and provide requested supporting information.
• Maintain records of audit findings relating to assigned areas and support implementation of agreed corrective actions.
• Ensure accounting records and supporting documentation remain audit-ready throughout the year rather than only at year-end.
• Financial Systems, Data Quality and Process Improvement
• Maintain accurate financial information in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and other approved systems.
• Support validation of opening balances, migrated data, master data and transaction completeness following system changes or migrations.
• Investigate and resolve system/accounting discrepancies in collaboration with the Finance Manager and relevant technical support providers.
• Support reconciliation between accounting records, grants-management systems, banking platforms and financial reporting tools.
• Maintain appropriate accounting dimensions, project codes, donor codes and chart-of-account classifications.
• Develop and maintain approved Excel schedules and reconciliation tools supporting finance operations.
• Identify recurring accounting or process weaknesses and recommend practical improvements to strengthen efficiency, accuracy and internal control.
• Document key accounting processes and maintain up-to-date standard operating procedures.
• Investments and Other Financial Assets
• Record investment transactions, income, fees, gains/losses and related cash movements based on approved statements and instructions.
• Reconcile investment balances to external statements and the general ledger.
• Maintain appropriate supporting documentation for TrustAfrica's investment and reserve accounts.
• Support preparation of investment information required for management reporting, audit and financial statements.
• Records, Internal Controls and Finance Support
• Maintain an orderly and complete electronic and physical finance filing system.
• Ensure supporting documents can be readily retrieved for management, donor and audit purposes.
• Apply TrustAfrica's delegated authorities and financial-control procedures consistently.
• Escalate suspected duplicate payments, unsupported transactions, unusual account balances, control breakdowns and other financial risks promptly.
• Support effective segregation of duties across transaction preparation, approval, payment, posting and reconciliation.
• Provide clear guidance to staff, grantees and partners on routine financial procedures and documentation requirements.
• Contribute to knowledge transfer and documentation.
Key Working Relationships
• Finance Manager
• Executive Team
• Programme teams
• Operations teams
• Grantees and partners
• Banks and investment providers
• External and donor auditors
• Tax and statutory authorities
• Finance-system providers
• Donor finance counterparts
Minimum Qualifications and Experience
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration or a related field.
• Professional accounting qualification or progress toward a recognized qualification such as ACCA, CIMA, CPA or equivalent is strongly desirable.
• At least 5 years of relevant accounting and finance experience, preferably within a nonprofit, foundation, INGO, development or donor-funded environment.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in general ledger accounting, bank reconciliations, accounts payable, payroll, month-end closing and financial reporting.
• Experience with donor-funded project accounting, donor reporting and budget monitoring.
• Demonstrated experience preparing reconciliations, audit schedules and supporting external or donor audits.
• Working knowledge of payroll taxation and statutory obligations in Senegal would be a strong advantage.
• Experience using an ERP/accounting system; practical experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and/or Dynamics GP would be highly desirable.
• Advanced working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, including reconciliations, data analysis, financial schedules and budget-monitoring tools.
• Experience with grant-management platforms such as Fluxx or comparable systems would be an advantage.
• Ability to work effectively in English and French is highly desirable given TrustAfrica's regional operating environment.
Core Competencies
• Strong accounting and reconciliation skills.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving ability.
• Ability to identify unusual transactions and investigate differences rather than simply process them.
• Good understanding of internal controls and segregation of duties.
• Strong organization and ability to manage multiple recurring deadlines.
• Ability to work across institutional and donor-funded accounts simultaneously.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to explain financial requirements clearly to non-finance colleagues and partners.
• Sound professional judgement and discretion when handling confidential financial information.
• Strong documentation and record-management discipline.
• Accountability for completing tasks through to reconciliation and closure.
• Ability to work independently while knowing when an issue requires escalation.
• Commitment to TrustAfrica's values, integrity and responsible stewardship of resources.
Indicative Performance Measures
• Month-end reconciliations and assigned closing activities completed within agreed timelines.
• No material unexplained balances carried forward without documented follow-up.
• Payments processed accurately, completely supported and without avoidable duplicate or incorrect payments.
• Bank, supplier, grantee, payroll and advance balances reconciled regularly.
• Donor financial reports reconciled to the general ledger and prepared within reporting deadlines.
• Budget-versus-actual information produced accurately and on schedule.
• Payroll and statutory declarations completed accurately and before applicable deadlines.
• Outstanding advances and reconciling items actively monitored and cleared.
• Audit schedules and supporting documents complete and readily available.
• Financial-system records, project codes and donor dimensions accurate and current.
• Identified errors, control weaknesses or financial risks escalated promptly.
• Finance documentation and records maintained to an audit-ready standard.
Application Process Interested candidates should submit their applications, via TrustAfrica’s BambooHR platform by https://trustafrica.bamboohr.com/careers/42 .
Application Deadline 21st October 2026
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews.