NOB, Finance Analyst (CFRA) – Malaysian Nationals Only

BACKGROUND & ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Office of Financial Management (OFM), Bureau for Management Services, supports the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the promotion of its sustainable human development agenda. It achieves this by developing and making fully operational a dynamic and harmonized integrated resource management framework based on comprehensive analysis that enhances UNDP’s financial and administrative performance, as well as facilitates UN reform and coherence. To these ends, the framework addresses strategically critical financial resource planning and management issues, including results based budgeting;  the integration of the Programming Arrangements and the Institutional Budget within the context of the integrated; enhanced cost classification and cost recovery;  capital budgeting; adherence to IPSAS;  foreign exchange and investment activities; corporate reporting of organizational assets; performance management tools and initiatives;  and support to UN harmonization.

 Effective and efficient integrated resources management is enabled through a continuous and robust process comprising of: 

• Formulation and implementation of corporate financial and administrative strategies, policies and procedures.
• Formulation, alignment, documentation, and implementation of UNDP’s funding frameworks, assuring their integrity, viability and alignment with the Strategic Plan
• Provision of policy guidance, advisory services and operational support to strengthen client capacities and help them achieve results, seeking to build consensus within UNDP and with key stakeholders on critical budgetary related matters requiring Executive Board legislation.
• Administration of the organization’s internal control framework, overseeing and monitoring financial management of all global UNDP offices, including through formulation/implementation of resource planning, management and oversight tools and reports.
• Promoting clear accountability for financial transactions and producing financial statements, including financial reporting to donors and the UNDP Executive Board.
• Providing corporate reporting guidance to ensure that fixed assets are adequately recorded in all locations.

The Financial Performance Management and Reporting (FPMR) Division is the part of the Office of Financial Management (OFM) that is responsible for establishing the financial performance framework, policy and parameters in line with the corporate goals and UNDP’s Strategic Plan. 

Within FPMR, the Financial Reporting and Agency Services (CFRA) unit promotesclear accountability for financial transactions and produces UNDP’s corporate financial statements.

In order to enhance efficiency and transparency of business processes to ensure more timely, relevant and frequent delivery of financial statements, UNDP has implemented the Oracle Hyperion software with advanced Web technology to automate preparation of financial statements. This allows rapid consolidation and reporting of financial results, delivery confidence in numbers.

The Manager, Financial Reporting and Agency Services (CFRA), plays a strategic role in the application of IPSAS. He/she ensures the overall integrity of UNDP’s financial data, leads the preparation of the UNDP financial statements and other statutory reports, undertakes monitoring in support of OFM’s responsibility for corporate oversight and oversees UNDP’s Agency Services as it pertains to financial transactions. He/she also defends management positions during the external audit process, using specialized and technical knowledge and understanding of audit assertions.

KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
 

Summary of Key functions

• Ensures data integrity over the GL and related modules and proper functioning of interface controls.
• Ensures periodic statutory financial closure processes are performed on time and efficiently. 
• In ensuring data integrity, support data elements required for the preparation of the UNDP and other  IPSAS compliant financial statements 
• Support data integrity elements in corporate analysis e.g. GL reconciliations and responding to management, clients including external auditors on data element queries including financial queries pertaining to Quantum and other applications used by the team.
• Master data maintenance on select data segments.
• Supports other finance/accounting functions as necessary.

Ensures data integrity and proper functioning of interface controls as follows:

• Ensures all finance-related submodules to general ledger reconciliations are completed per practice with differences addressed (in collaboration with ITM and business owners) and sign-off is obtained from business owners 
• Ensure no pending journals from all source modules including no unposted cash accounts which will affect the monthly GSSC B2B reconciliation process. 
• Periodic review of subledger exception report to ensure all the errors or invalid items are timely cleared (in collaboration with ITM and business owners) prior to period closure. Identify unusual high volume of unprocessed transactions and collaborate with ITM for resolution if due to technical issues.
• Collaborate with GSSC AP team to ensure the pending invoices and unpaid invoices are validated and accounted. In addition, regularly follow up instalment on hold items (if any).
• Regular monitoring the cash accounts that wrongly processed by country offices or GSSC.
• Regularly monitor the Trial Balance power BI dashboard to identify the data errors, MoM/QoQ/YoY movement and collaborate with the respective business units or country offices for the clearance.   
• Developing and ensuring adherence to protocols for communication relating to data integrity issues, their investigation, resolution, and signoff.
• Designing and being the owner of data integrity policies, procedures and processes that are well documented and process flow mapped as well as kept up to date with changes in the system.
• Collaborate with OFM Business Analytic team to conduct data mining as required including executing scripts to access large data volumes.
• Assist with automation of business processes.
• Quantum implementation started in financial year 2023 which is still not mature, Finance Analyst is required to continue to explore any preventive and detective measures/controls that will ensure strong data integrity and proper functioning of interface controls. 

In ensuring data integrity, support data elements of preparation of the UNDP and Other e.g. UNCDF and GEF Trust Fund FS etc IPSAS compliant financial statements and is able to exercise sound professional judgement in interpretation and application of IPSAS standards taking into consideration impact of data integrity elements.

• Responsible for supporting the preparation of the financial statements and applying sound professional judgement in interpretation and application of IPSAS including impact of data integrity elements.
• Ensures that the data presented in the statement of financial position, cash flow statement and notes is accurate and appropriately supported and data integrity elements are sound.
• Coordinates data collection and preparation of the non-financial sections of the notes to financial statements particularly where data integrity is concerned.
• Supports GL reconciliations and performs monthly/quarterly analysis of balance sheet accounts, ensuring significant issues are identified and escalated when necessary.
• Responsible for developing and maintaining appropriate internal control over data integrity elements linked to the production of UNDP’s IPSAS compliant financial statements.
• Responsible for the yearly contingent liability certification. 
• Prepare quarterly cash report overview for senior management.
• Regularly monitor and collaborate with HQ offices, regional bureaus and country offices on any long outstanding receipts that not yet invoice or settlement which will result in overstatement of the expenses and liabilities if the POs are wrongly receipted. 
• Conduct quarterly expense cut-off and receipt accrual certification exercise to ensure a level of confidence in UNDP data and underlying processes which have been highlighted as audit risk by UNBOA. Prepare quarterly expense testing report for senior management. 
• Explore preventive and detective measures to reduce the financial risk due within the existing Quantum configuration limitations (e.g.  on receipt accrual process). 

Ensure periodic statutory financial closure processes are performed on time and efficiently including:

• Receipt accrual run after AP module closure.
• Snapshot of IPSAS commitment after AP closure.
• Monthly/quarterly/yearly revaluation run after GL closure and ensure that the posting meets the business requirement (e.g. correct segments).
• Opening balance rollover to ensure ITM steps are completed and CFRA to ensure the reserve fund adjustment and allocation entries are posted on-time.

Maintenance of the master data including:

• Coordinate with ITM and business owner on the account code and fund code creation.
• CFRA is the business owner on the account restriction, review and approve/reject the request on the account restriction.
• Updating the GL account glossary as and when required.
• Review the checklist for fund code inactivation request.
• Perform housekeeping of master data that is under the ownership of FPMR

Supports other Finance/Accounting functions as necessary.

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

1.EDUCATION

• Advanced (Master’s) University Degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration or a relevant discipline 
• A professional accounting qualification from an internationally accredited institute of accountancy is required.
• Long-listed candidates may be required to undergo the UNDP Advanced Accountancy & Finance Test.

2. EXPERIENCE, KNOWELDGE & SKILLS

• Minimum 2 years of practical experience in preparing financial statements and analyzing balance sheet accounts at national and international levels. 
• Familiar with the complexity of client relationships among international organisations, national governments and civil society. 
• Experience with ERP financials, preferably Oracle. 
• Experience of conforming to IPSAS/IFRS and full accruals accounting conventions.
• Fluency in English. Working knowledge of another UN language is an advantage, particularly Spanish or French.

COMPETENCIES

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making 

2.Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

Audit & Investigation (General) – Financial and Managerial Accounting and Finance Key Concepts

Key concepts and principles of financial accounting, interpret financial analysis, managerial accounting, etc.

Digital & Innovation – Data Analysis

Ability to extract, analyze and visualize data (including Real-Time Data) to form meaningful insights and aid effective decision making.

Finance – Accounting (General)

Knowledge of accounting concepts, principles, frameworks, standards, regulations, policies and trends, and ability to apply this to strategic and/or practical situations.

Business Direction & Strategy – Negotiation and Influence

Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates win-win situations.

Business Development – Knowledge Generation

Ability to research and turn information into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.