Principal Accountant ,Tax Vacancy

We are pleased to announce the following vacancy within the Finance Division.

In keeping with our current business needs, we are looking for a person who meets the criteria indicated below:

Principal Accountant – Tax
RF: FIN-PAT-OCT10

Reporting to the Senior Tax Manager the job holder’s key responsibilities will be to;

• Review tax exposure points on an ongoing basis to ensure the company is not exposed to penalties for non compliance or misinterpretation of tax legislation;
• Engage in lobbying initiatives to ensure that new legislation has no adverse impact on Safaricom and where possible on Safaricom trading partners;
• Optimize existing tax legislation for tax planning opportunities to ensure that Safaricom cash resources are not unnecessarily constrained by payment of taxes which could otherwise have been avoided;
• Review contracts with suppliers and customers to ensure compliance with existing tax legislation and that the company is adequately covered against any tax exposures;
• Ensure tax returns are prepared and submitted to KRA in accordance with the statutory deadlines;
• Ensure accurate and timely financial accounting and reporting of tax related matters;
• Liaise closely with Forecasting department to provide the best estimate tax figures for senior management decision making;
• Develop a high performing and motivated team and guide staff to achieve their career goals.

The ideal candidate should possess the following skills and competencies:

• Bachelor of Commerce degree from recognized university;
• Qualified Accountant with CPA (K)/ACCA/CIMA/ACA is a must;
• 6 years accounting experience of which 3 years should be post qualification experience in finance with specialization in one or two areas of financial accounting i.e. fixed assets, stock accounting, sub-ledger accounting, profit and loss accounting;
• Working experience in internal and external Financial Audits and preparing accounts up to Final Accounts;
• Ability to quickly implement new Tax legislation and correct capture accounting implications;
• Experience in analyzing Cost Centre Reports with the ability to give technical advice to cost centre managers on e.g. Cost Control;
• Hands on experience working with computerized accounting systems preferably with Sage, Oracle, SUN system, Hyperion etc;
• Strong analytical skills and a keen attention to details;
• Self driven, results oriented and an ability to work without supervision.

If you meet the requirements and are self driven, proactive and up to the challenge, please send your resume and application letter quoting the job reference number to the address below.

All applications must be delivered on or before Tuesday 19th October 2010.

Senior Manager - Talent Acquisition
Safaricom Limited
Via email to: hr@safaricom.co.ke