Accountant (Data Migration and Reconciliation Project)

SUMMARY:
Our client, a prominent name in the Logistics sector, is looking to appoint a 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).

POSITION INFO:
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.