IPSAS Specialist

Functional Responsibilities:

1. POLICY IMPLEMENTATIONS AND COMPLIANCE

• Maintain and develop IPSAS compliant accounting guidance and financial procedures
• Develop and maintain financial reporting standards compliant to IPSAS standards
• Support development of IPSAS compliant financial statements and management reports
• Implement and operationalize new IPSAS standards and updates made to current standards and collaborate with related business process owners and IT Group for implementation of necessary measures
• Analyze IPSAS exposure drafts and published standards, assess impact on business processes and ERP systems, recommend appropriate course of action
• Coordinate comments on exposure drafts and other papers issued by IPSASB
• Review existing and new business processes for compliance to IPSAS and coordinate with process owners for necessary improvements
• Reviews new business processes for compliance to IPSAS and advise necessary recommendations to the relevant business policy owners for necessary recommendations
• Actively monitor and implement changes in accounting standards and regulatory requirements and offers good change management practices when required
• Liaise with external auditors on audit queries related to accounting and reporting and compliance to accounting standards and UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations

2. FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS AND OVERSIGHT

• Update and maintain policy documents on financial reporting and recording of corporate financial investments
• Exercise periodic monitoring over transactions and account balances to ensure recording and reporting in accordance with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations and IPSAS policies on financial instruments and other applicable Organizational Directives and Operational Instructions.
• Review and assess agreements for financial instruments and equity deals and devise accounting treatments in compliance to IPSAS and UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations
• Provide specialist support in establishing necessary processes for derivatives valuations, hedge accounting and application of impairment models
• Take a proactive approach in identifying issues related to data quality and liaise with related parties in the organization to ensure timely and necessary corrections.
• Maintain a log of issues identified, analyze data and draw a holistic action plan to improve processes and establish necessary controls based on lessons learned.
• Contribute to developing and maintaining a strong control environment around financial reporting and the integrity of data used for preparation of corporate financial statements

3. CAPACITY BUILDING / SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT

• Develop training materials and guidance on relevant IPSAS standards
• Conduct, webex and virtual trainings to relevant personnel and business community
• Develop IPSAS awareness informative contents for internal communication
• Support business process owners in the development of training materials through a review of the contents for technical IPSAS accuracy for topics assigned
• Collaborate and communicate with UNOPS departments in HQ and field on regular basis

Education:

• A Master’s Degree or equivalent in Finance, Accounting, Financial Management or a related field is required
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in combination with additional 2 years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of a Master’s degree
• Professional certification in accounting (CA, CPA, ACCA, ACA, etc.) or equivalent is required

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant working experience within an international environment in the areas of financial reporting, audit and accounting
• A thorough knowledge of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is required.
• Experience in areas of Financial Instruments and specialized knowledge in financial instruments (IPSAS 41, IFRS 9) and their practical application is considered as a strong asset
• Excellent computer skills and ability to use software tools to present data clearly and concisely is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in interpretation of international accounting standards and preparation of financial statements is required.

Language Requirements

• Full working knowledge of English.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.