বিবরণ : Financial Controller. সংস্থা : British Council. অবস্থান : Dhaka
We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.
We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.
Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021–22 we reached 650 million people.
About This Role
This role supports the financial accounting activities for the British Council and works closely with the Managed Service Provider (MSP) to ensure the financial accounts are completed correctly and in a timely manner, and numbers are reported accurately. The role delivers retained financial processes supporting P2P, O2C, R2R and CLM ensuring consistent, accurate and robust financial accounting in line with accounting practices and corporate policies.
It contributes to statutory reporting, tax review/filing, cashflow reporting, audit processes and will provide finance support to sanctioned/embargoed countries.
The postholder will improve communication across operational areas and with the MSP and will work closely with Group Controllership to support on-going continuous improvement and effective management of the MSP. The successful candidate must be comfortable challenging senior stakeholders to ensure consistent, accurate and robust financial results whilst complying with financial accounting processes and in line with accounting practices and corporate policies.
This role will also act as the company secretary on the Board of BC Services Bangladesh Limited with the responsibility of performing the secretarial functions as well as managing compliances in relation to the company’s governing policies and documents and the local laws and regulations.
This role provides financial accounting professional advice and provides specialist retained financial services. This is a new role created as part of the transformation of Professional Services and the global finance team, moving transactional finance processes to an external MSP.
This is a generic role profile for several positions, some working in the Process Controllership team within the Finance Centre of Excellence (CoE) and the others working in the in-county Controllership team.
- The Controllership team in the CoE will provide specialised services across P2P, O2C, R2R, and CLM. Controllership finance support requests will be made via SBU and regionally aligned Business Partners within BDS.
- The P2P team will be responsible for all payment run review and approvals. They will process non automated payments (cheque/cash/online or manual banking). They will validate application of tax rates and provide tax support, where required. They will be responsible for Procurement card administration.
- The O2C team will review and approval of doubtful debt provisions and write-offs and be responsible for debt management control.
- The R2R team will review and approval of specified journals, balance sheet reconciliations and month-end cockpit. They will provide tax investigation support, contract accounting advice, reconciliations and closure. They will also be responsible for Intercompany issues and settlement.
- The CLM team will provide cash flow forecasting, support work on trapped cash and support on Treasury and banking issues.
These positions are based in a variety of locations across British Council’s global operations and will therefore often be the lead Accountant for a business unit, geographical area, or Project. They will therefore need to understand all relevant local external accounting standards and statutory regulations, including tax-related requirements, foreign exchange policies for the unit/area/country/project they are responsible for.
The post holder will be a pro-active self-starter with the ability to think strategically while keeping an eye on the detail. They will be a skilful and flexible finance professional with good communications skills and understanding of commercial finance. The person will be in constant contact with business leads and members of the financial community across the network.
Senior Stakeholders That The Role Interacts With Regularly Include
- Senior Finance Leaders and their global teams
- Managed Service Provider
- Finance colleagues, Group, COE, Operations and Finance Business Partners
- Strategic Business Unit partners and local delivery teams
- Global Process Owners
- Internal and External Financial Control and Compliance and Audit Leads
- Group Treasury and banking vendors
- Group Tax and local tax authorities.
Please see below a summary of the knowledge and skills required for this role however for the detailed role profile, providing a more in depth understanding of all the role entails, please send an email to [email protected]
Language Requirements
- The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required.
- Higher Education in Finance
- Part qualified accountant with at least 3 years’ experience in a finance management role.
- Experience and knowledge of financial control processes and Professional Accounting Standards (including relevant local requirements where applicable) for Commercial and/or Charitable organisations.
- Good influencing and negotiating experience.
- ERP experience.
- Knowledge of local laws and experience managing corporate taxation, tax compliances, VAT management and statutory reporting.
- Shared Services Operations (Desirable)
- Experience of working in international and multi-cultural organisations (Desirable)
- Leadership of change projects/initiatives (Desirable)
- SAP experience (Desirable)
- Good Financial Reporting, Accounting, Closing and Compliance skills.
- Excellent IT skills and proficient in Excel.
- Effective communication and influencing skills, able to relay complex financial information in an easy- to-understand way.
- Highly organised and deadline oriented.
- Building relationships at all levels of the organisation.
- Flexibility, independence, and initiative to perform successfully in a rapidly changing environment.
Leadership and Management
- Role model British Council values and EDI in day-to-day interactions with colleagues at all levels. Ensure high levels of professionalism are demonstrated by everyone and that client and customer needs are reflected in ways of working. Champion financial accounting, providing a good standard of financial insight and financial discipline. Promote learning from our experience across the unit and wider organisation.
- Work closely with the MSP to ensure the financial accounts are completed correctly and in a timely manner, and numbers are reported accurately.
- Provide retained in-country specific activities/processes, local, complex statutory/tax reporting, managing retained banking responsibilities, liaising with local authorities, supporting sanctioned countries and management of escalations raised by in-country teams and the MSP. Provide financial accounting support to sanctioned/embargoed Contribute to statutory reporting, tax review/filing, cashflow reporting and audit processes.
- Provide Cash flow information and manage payment runs and debt management processes, and by extension, influencing these processes across the global network. Develop Cash flow forecasting and management and liaise with the central Treasury team.
- Manage the provision of information to internal / external auditors. Implement and report on the progress of audit recommendations. Identify and challenge issues and bring resolution in relation to financial accounting matters.
- Provide stakeholder engagement and business partnering for retained financial processes, building strong working relationships with key stakeholders and the MSP to ensure that activities comply with professional accounting standards, technical accounting issues and other external reporting requirements in British Council.
- Provide guidance and advice on professional accounting standards, technical accounting issues and other external reporting requirements in British Council. Liaise with other specialist finance functions such as Tax, Treasury, Finance Policy, and Global Process Owners as needed. Pro-actively identify unusual or complex transactions and recommend appropriate professional accounting treatments. Produce periodic reports relating to financial accounting.
- Implement new or updated accounting and reporting requirements in line with professional accounting standards; communicate change effectively with internal stakeholders, ensure appropriate training.
- Work alongside the transformation team to centralise and move activity to an MSP environment. Implement financial procedures, policies, and systems necessary to meet the organisation’s global reporting.
Pay Band – 7/F
Contract Type – Indefinite
Location – Bangladesh
In addition to a competitive salary and excellent pension contributions, the British Council offers:
- 19 days annual leave and 10 days casual leave.
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Candidates are expected to have researched whether they have the right to live and work in the specified countries in which the role is based.
- Some travel and out of hours work may be required
Interviews - TBC
A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.
Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement
The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.
The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.
We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.
Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.
If you have any problems with your application please email [email protected]
Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.
