Description
Senior Accountant - Poland
Purpose of Role
The role will report directly into the Country Finance Manager, with a dotted line Regional Financial Controller.
This role will be responsible for managing a small team of accountants and overseeing the accounting and tax compliance for 3 schools with scope to increase in the future.
Key Responsibilities
Core Finance
- Ensure general ledger and financial statements are complete and accurate including review of accounts and creation accruals where needed.
- Ensure that payables, receivables, and invoicing functions of the school are complete, accurate and fully reconciled.
- Ensure the school has a clear, adequate and effective billing.
- Establish and maintain strong controls and processes around credit collections for the school. Monitor school debtor levels and proactively put in place actions to ensure debt is collected.
- Establish a robust system of control for the purchase of goods and services.
- Ensure maintenance of the fixed asset register and ensure adequate treatment of acquisitions and disposals.
- Ensure general ledger reconciliations including deferred income and cash and quarterly Balance Sheet accounts are performed.
- Design, maintain and enforce a robust internal control system and compliance environment for all functions in the school and maintain a documented system of financial policies and procedures in line with ISP Policies.
- Responsibility for ensuring that local cash management is optimised.
- Liaise with banks, audit, legal and tax providers as necessary. Be the first point of contact for audit.
- Perform bank transfers within the authorization granted.
- Comply with government reporting requirements and tax filings e.g. CIT (monthly tax advances computations, draft yearly computation), VAT, GUS.
- Ensure the policy, procedures and practices relating to taxation comply with legal and regulatory requirements and codes of practice /conduct.
- Ensure that the Statutory Reporting of all legal entities in Poland is completed on time.
- Ensure accounting treatment is consistent and aligned with Group accounting policies. Where there are local differences, maintain a reconciliation between statutory and management reporting
- Make sure finance system users are trained and are using the systems correctly and to their full potential.
- Work closely with HR on people related processes such as payroll posting and reconciliation.
Financial Reporting
- Ensure the timely reporting of all monthly and annual financial information per the reporting timetable, including but not limited to:
- KPI reporting.
- Reporting of cash collections, cash balances, cash flow forecast and debtors.
- Establish processes to ensure accurate data collection and review of monthly KPI data for the schools’ enrolments and the schools’ headcount.
Operational & Commercial Support
- Undertake such other reasonable responsibilities and tasks that may, from time to time, be assigned by the Country Finance Manager.
Skills, Qualifications and Experience
- The successful candidate will need to have several years accounting, tax and finance operational experience in a commercial environment. They will be a self-starter who uses initiative, can manage a varied workload, is deadline driven and has the commitment to seeing a change process through from start to finish.
- Strong technical accounting skills including a good knowledge of IFRS
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships at senior levels of the schools and wider organisation and influence key stakeholders
- Excellent written and verbal communication and influencing skills
- Flexibility, multi-tasking mindset and an ability to deal with shifting priorities
- Advanced Excel skills
- Demonstrable understanding of working with information
- Systems and implementing ERPs
- Fluent in written and spoken Polish and English
ISP Principles
Begin with our children and students. Our children and students are at the heart of what we do. Simply, their success is our success. Wellbeing and safety are both essential for learners and learning. Therefore, we are consistent in identifying potential safeguarding and Health & Safety issues and acting and following up on all concerns appropriately.
Treat everyone with care and respect. We look after one another, embrace similarities and differences and promote the well-being of self and others.
Operate effectively. We focus relentlessly on the things that are most important and will make the most difference. We apply school policies and procedures and embody the shared ideas of our community.
Are financially responsible. We make financial choices carefully based on the needs of the children, students and our schools.
Learn continuously. Getting better is what drives us. We positively engage with personal and professional development and school improvement.
ISP Commitment to Safeguarding Principles
ISP is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
All post holders are subject to appropriate vetting procedures, including an online due diligence search, references and satisfactory Criminal Background Checks or equivalent covering the previous 10 years’ employment history.
ISP Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
ISP is committed to strengthening our inclusive culture by identifying, hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing teammates regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender expression, age, disability status, neurodivergence, socio-economic background or other demographic characteristics. Candidates who share our vision and principles and are interested in contributing to the success of ISP through this role are strongly encouraged to apply.