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Accountant (Data Migration and Reconciliation Project)

Headhunters
14 days ago
Full-time
On-site
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Reference: PE004077-CV-1

Our client, a prominent name in the Logistics sector, is looking to appoint an seasoned Accountant that will initially participate with the implementation of a new IT system (specifically, taking ownership of the Data Migration and Reconciliation of the system), thereafter integrate with the finance team. 

This role is based in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).

Duties & Responsibilities

Requirements: 
  • Relevant Degree in Accounting / Finance essential 
  • Completed Accounting qualification with full function experience to trial balance
  • Advanced Excel. This is the central requirement.
  • Comfortable working with large datasets and confident with lookups (XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH), SUMIFS, pivot tables, data cleansing and reconciliation structures. Power Query experience is a significant advantage. The candidate should instinctively build a formula-driven file rather    than retype or hard-code figures.
  • A sound understanding of how a trial balance, debtors ledger and creditors ledger relate to one another, and of control account reconciliation.
  • Demonstrable reconciliation discipline - experience preparing reconciliations 
  • Experience working across multiple legal entities.
  • NB : This is an on-site role. 
Advantageous: 
  • Sage Pastel Partner experience, particularly extracting and interrogating data from it.
  • Zoho experience, especially importing opening balances or master data.
  • Prior involvement in a system migration, data conversion or implementation.
  • Audit background, or experience preparing files that have  gone through an audit.
  • Power Query, Power BI or similar data-handling tools.
Responsibilities but not limited to:

Data Preparation and Import
  • Extract trial balance, accounts receivable and accounts payable data from Sage Pastel Partner for each entity in scope.
  • Map the Pastel chart of accounts to the Zoho chart of accounts and resolve accounts that do not map cleanly.
  • Prepare and cleanse customer and supplier master data ahead of import - duplicates, inactive accounts, naming    inconsistencies, missing details.
  • Build the import files to the format Zoho requires and run the imports for each entity.
  • Import open transaction detail where required, so that debtor and creditor ageing carries across correctly rather than as a single balance.
Reconciliation and Audit File
  • Prepare, per entity, an Excel reconciliation comparing the Pastel closing balance to the imported Zoho balance for every account in the trial balance.
  • Reconcile the accounts receivable and accounts payable age analyses to their respective control accounts in both systems.
  • Quantify and explain every variance. Each difference must carry a reason, a resolution and supporting evidence - not simply a plug.
  • Build in control totals and checks that prove completeness: the file should fail visibly if something does not balance, rather than quietly absorbing it.
  • Assemble the reconciliation files into an audit-ready pack per entity, supported by the source exports, the import files and the mapping used.
  • Maintain clear version control so that it is always evident which import a reconciliation relates to.
Variance Investigation and Resolution
  • Investigate differences back to source, identify the cause and correct it - whether in the mapping, the import file or the underlying data.
  • Re-import and re-reconcile where corrections are required, and document what changed and why.
  • Escalate decisions that require a judgement call on accounting treatment, with a recommendation attached.
Tracking and Progress Control
  • Maintain a master tracker covering all 45 entities, showing for each the status of the trial balance, debtors and creditors import and of the reconciliation sign-off.
  • Report progress against the go-live date, and flag early where an entity is at risk of not being ready.
  • Keep the opening balance, debtor and creditor position for every entity fully accounted for through to cutover.
Documentation and Repeatability
  • Document the import and reconciliation routine so that it can be repeated reliably for each entity rather than rebuilt from scratch each time.
  • Build reusable Excel templates for the reconciliation, so the same structure and the same checks apply across every entity.
  • Hand over a clean, documented position at the end of the migration that the finance team can operate from.
Ongoing Support (scope to be confirmed)
  • Support the finance team through the first months of live operation on the new system, resolving data issues as they surface.
  • Assist with the broader finance workload as required during the transition period.
Please note: If you do not receive a response within 2 weeks of submitting your application, please consider your application unsuccessful.

Package & Remuneration

Monthly