United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) · 1 day ago
Accounts Specialist, Statutory Reporting Unit, Finance Branch, Division for Management Services, New York, P-4
New York, NY
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
7+ years expThe United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is responsible for global finance and accounting, and they are seeking an Accounts Specialist to lead the Statutory Reporting Unit team. This role involves coordinating the preparation of IPSAS-compliant financial statements and ensuring compliance with accounting standards.
CommunitiesHealth Care
Responsibilities
Serve as UNFPA’s lead technical resource on IPSAS matters
Support the Chief, Accounts and Financial Management and represent UNFPA in inter-agency accounting forums, including preparation of technical inputs, analyses and briefing materials for the United Nations Task Force on Accounting Standards
Stay abreast of the work performed by the IPSAS Board, analyzing the impact of proposed new or updated standards on UNFPA operations, and contributing to the development of joint UN positions in response to issued consultation papers and exposure drafts
Lead UNFPA efforts to adopt new or updated standards once issued by the IPSAS Board
Lead the development and update of accounting policies, procedures and guidance documents, working closely with key internal stakeholders and business process owners, to sustain and improve IPSAS compliance at UNFPA
Periodically review the processes put in place for sustaining IPSAS compliance and introduce enhancements and innovative solutions to improve their efficiency and effectiveness
Lead the review and analysis of complex, new and/or non-standard contractual arrangements and projects to determine their IPSAS-compliant accounting treatment, and document the review results in position papers and operational guidance documents
Supervise accounting in selected specialized areas, including employee benefits, intangible assets, leases, financial instruments and other areas. This includes developing and implementing systems and procedures to achieve IPSAS-compliant accounting, ensuring the timely completion of periodic account balance analyses and reconciliations, valuations and adjustments; and performing data collection, validation and correction activities. Provide technical input to other business units, such as SCMU that lead on material account balances
Develop and implement second line controls within the purview of the SRU. Monitor compliance with the applicable corporate policies and procedures; identify and enquire about potential exceptions, and support and supervise the implementation of corrective actions
Support and supervise the annual closure of accounts, including issuance of closing instructions and associated schedules, and putting in place remedial actions in case of delays or unforeseen events affecting the closure
Lead the preparation of IPSAS-compliant financial statements ensuring they are accurate, complete, adequately supported and timely finalized
Support the preparation of other statutory financial reports assigned to the SRU, such as the annual Statistical and Financial Review submitted to the UNFPA Executive Board
Ensure the provision of timely and accurate financial information to other HQ units for inclusion in the reports for which they are responsible
Develop and oversee the implementation of quality assurance controls over the information included in the financial statements and other statutory reports. This includes in-depth financial information analyses, periodic enquiries of high risk areas / transactions, development of lessons learnt analyses and implementation of improvement activities; providing support to business units in clean-up activities; and developing measures for minimizing user errors
Support and supervise the development of financial management performance reports in selected areas highlighting main financial results and trends; key risks, instances of noncompliance and other issues affecting the areas covered; and provide recommendations for management action
Act as the primary technical focal point for statutory reporting and IPSAS related external and internal audit matters, coordinating responses and remediation actions for identified audit recommendations
Serve as functional subject matter expert and delegated business owner for SRU-related financial accounting and reporting solutions, including the development and quality assurance of business requirements and system specifications; testing; data migration; user training and other project activities. Act as the owner of the General Ledger module
Champion implementation of the new ERP modules to achieve business process transformations and gain operational efficiencies in the areas under SRU purview such as annual closure of accounts, and accounting areas under SRU purview
Serve as a business owner for the portfolio of key financial reports to be built in the new ERP environment for sustaining IPSAS compliance in UNFPA, including the financial statements; lead preparation of business requirements and the reports testing and roll-out
Continuously review and improve the processes and activities under the purview of the SRU, with the ultimate goals of increasing effectiveness and efficiency, integrating lessons learnt and best practices, and addressing new risks
Organize, prepare materials, and facilitate training sessions and webinars to support the rollout of system changes and process enhancements
Identify field office and HQ unit capacity development needs in areas under the purview of the SRU
Organize, prepare materials, and facilitate training sessions and webinars to address the needs identified
Actively maintain the content of the Financial Management Community as regards financial accounting and reporting areas under the purview of the SRU
Ensure the work of the SRU staff is properly planned, coordinated, and supervised
Develop and sustain a rigorous professional environment and support the acquisition of requisite skills by the team through coaching, on-the-job training, and continuous learning
Act as approving officer for selected transactions
Represent the FB in corporate initiatives, special projects and assignments, and interagency activities as assigned
Perform any other activities assigned by the Chief, Accounts and the Chief, FB
Qualification
Required
Advanced university degree in Finance, Accounting or related fields
An internationally recognized professional accountancy qualification, combined with a bachelor's degree in the above-mentioned fields, will be deemed equivalent to an advanced degree for this position
At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in accounting or financial auditing, with a minimum of 4 years of supervisory and coordination experience
Experience in both directly preparing and supervising the preparation of financial statements with global and complex datasets
Demonstrated experience in applying IFRS or IPSAS
Demonstrated experience developing and implementing accounting and/or financial policies and procedures and standard operating procedures
Demonstrated experience in the use of data reporting and analytics tools
Fluency in English is required
Deep understanding of financial accounting and reporting
Deep understanding of International Public Sector Accounting Standards or International Financial Reporting Standards
Sound understanding of internal control and risk management frameworks and processes
Sound understanding of the financial management, accounting and reporting functions of ERP systems
Ability to analyze financial management, accounting and reporting issues, applying sound technical principles, data and informed professional judgment, and to present solution alternatives with a clear articulation of their risks and consequences
Excellent MS Excel skills and experience with ERP and database systems
Excellent written and spoken communications skills
Strong client service orientation
Ability to manage a diverse team with a strong drive for excellence and results
Providing strategic focus
Engaging internal and external partners and stakeholders
Leading, developing, and empowering people/creating a culture of performance
Making decisions and exercising judgment
Preferred
Experience supporting financial systems implementations, including development of business requirements, data conversion and migration, testing and user training, an advantage
In-depth understanding of financial management and operations processes in the United Nations an advantage
Experience working with the Oracle ERP system is a significant advantage
Working knowledge of other official UN languages is highly desirable
Benefits
Health insurance
Company
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Abolade Sobola MSc., FCCA, ACA, CPFA
ACCOUNTS SPECIALIST
Arasu J.
Senior Programme Specialist - South South Cooperation/Partnerships
Recent News
The Express Tribune
2025-12-02
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