Main purpose of the role

An exciting role protecting the assets of the Foundation (c.$6bn), ensuring that CIFF’s financial operations in India are carried out in an efficient and controlled manner.

This role will form part of CIFF’s global financial operations team but will be primarily focused on ensuring CIFF’s India branch office is fully compliant with its tax and statutory accounting requirements, whilst providing further support to CIFF’s Indian operations, including in relation to payments and monitoring banking arrangements.

Role’s responsibilities

Tax and Compliance

• Ensuring monthly and quarterly TDS returns are completed accurately and on time.
• Ensuring annual financial statements, tax returns and compliance forms are completed and submitted where relevant in accordance with all statutory obligations.
• Ensuring Compliance with RBI requirements.
• Liaising with CIFF’s bankers on payments.
• Ensuring TDS/GST compliances including payment, returns and certificates.
• E-filing of periodical returns as per applicable statue like Income Tax-TDS/GST and others, within stipulated due date and corrections thereof if any.
• Reconciling TDS deducted by vendors with Form 26AS on a quarterly basis.
• Posting of payment entries and reconciling bank accounts on daily basis and follow up for unidentified entries.
• Monitoring and socialising changes to tax and other financial/accounting regulations.

Transactions

• Ensuring grant and operating expense payments are made in a timely and compliant manner, while adhering to CIFF group controls.
• Ensure that reconciliations of all balance sheet items are completed on an appropriate periodic basis.
• Preparing financial statements and schedules for statutory audit including any other information and coordinating for smooth conduct of statutory audits.

Other

• Maintaining relationships with key stakeholders including CIFF’s bank, tax authorities, auditors and tax advisors
• Supporting the Executive Director, India and other branch office authorised representatives in relation to financial operations matters and specifically, interactions with relevant regulators and authorities.
• Attending and contributing to internal groups in relation to India financial control (e.g. operations risk working group).
• Ad hoc contribution to general financial control projects such as planning, forecasting and risk management and attending global financial control meetings.
• Manage the transition of outsourced accounting and tax activities back to CIFF where benefits can be realised.
• Manage the transition of the CIFF India accounting ledger on to the CIFF Global accounting IT system
• Facilitate training and materials to upskill members of the CIFF support and programme teams on Indian accounting and tax regulatory matters
• Designing appropriate controls and processes to mitigate key risks within CIFF’s Indian financial operations

Requirements

To be considered for this role you must have the following:

• Qualified accountant with robust post-qualification experience pertinent to the role.
• Bachelor’s degree 2:1 or above.
• Thorough knowledge and experience of complying with India income tax regulation.
• Understanding and experience in filing TDS/GST returns for India based companies.
• Understanding of the financial and tax risk environment in India and the implementation of proportionate mitigating controls.
• Operational mindset and attention to detail to manage day to day activities swiftly and accurately while maintaining appropriate supporting documents.
• Great organisational skills, with the capability to deliver in a time-pressured environment, whilst managing multiple work-streams.
• Excellent quantitative and qualitative analytical skills, including advanced excel skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work well as a team player.
• Ability to solve problems and initiate improvements.
• Take ownership, anticipate ‘customers’ needs and flag potential issues early

  Meeting the below requirements would also be desirable:

• Understanding of FRS102 and/or SORP accounting.
• Experience working with NAV, JET reporting and Power BI.
• Strong personal motivation to work in the not-for-profit sector.
• Project experience developing financial systems to automate processes.
• Experience working within a range of different sized organisations (SMEs and large).

  Key working relationships

• Financial Control team
• India branch office staff
• Bank, tax authorities, accountants, and auditors

Benefits

Alongside a competitive salary, we offer a generous benefits package here at CIFF that includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Annual leave – 25 days per annum. Increasing by 1 day after each year of service, to a maximum of 30 days.
• Bonus – CIFF currently operates a discretionary bonus scheme.
• Training allowance
• Wellbeing allowance
• Life insurance
• Medical insurance

Please submit your application on or before 24 April 2023.