Finance manager

“Foreign Educational Institution ‘University of Innovation and Technology’” LLP, Almaty

The Finance Manager builds Innotech’s finance function from the ground up and then leads it: accounting, tax, state grant reporting, budgeting, treasury and reporting to founders and international partners.

Key responsibilities

1. Set-up and leadership of the finance function

• Set up the finance function: accounting policy under IFRS, chart of accounts, 1C configuration, document flow and closing calendar.

• Recruit and lead accounting and finance team, or oversee outsourced accounting; ensure segregation of duties.

2. Accounting and period-end close

• Oversee the accounting function: review primary documents, accounting entries, period-end closing and reconciliation statements with counterparties.

• Ensure correct accounting for inventory, fixed assets and intangibles and capital projects.

3. Tax and statutory reporting

• Ensure timely and accurate submission of tax, statistical and financial reporting to the authorised state bodies.

• Manage tax compliance under the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: CIT, VAT treatment of educational and other services, payroll taxes and social payments (IIT, social tax, OPV, OPVR, OSMS, social contributions).

• Manage withholding tax on payments to non-residents and application of double tax treaties (certificates of tax residence).

• Ensure compliance with currency control rules on contracts with non-residents, including registration of contracts with the servicing bank.

4. State grants (MSHE)

• Prepare and submit reports to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan on allocated grants, including reports on the targeted use and absorption of budget funds, with supporting documents.

• Maintain separate accounting of grant funds and monitor compliance with grant conditions.

• Reconcile grant funding with the grant student contingent (enrolment, transfers, expulsions) together with the Registrar.

5. Budgeting, planning and analysis

• Prepare the Institution's budget, control its execution, perform plan-vs-actual analysis and prepare reports for management.

• Maintain the long-range financial plan and scenario models; prepare cash-flow forecasts.

• Link financial results to operating drivers: enrollment, student FTE, faculty/staff FTE, tuition rates, discounts/scholarships, cost per student, student/faculty ratio.

• Provide financial analysis for tuition pricing, discount and scholarship policy, new programs and capital decisions.

6. Tuition revenue and student accounts

• Oversee tuition billing under student contracts, collections, instalment plans, refunds and receivables ageing.
• Ensure discounts, waivers and scholarships are applied per approved policy and reconciled with admissions and student records.

7. Treasury and payments

• Treasury management. Manage funding requests, bank relations, the payment calendar and foreign-currency positions.

• Approve and control payments under the approved delegation of authority.

8. Payroll and staff costs

• Oversee payroll, including contracts for local and foreign faculty (full-time, part-time, adjunct).

• Control the staff cost budget and headcount against plan.

9. Reporting to founders, governance bodies and partners

• Prepare financial and management reporting for the founders and foreign partners.

• Prepare finance materials for the Board of Trustees and the General Meeting of Participants (quarterly reports, annual financial statements for approval, budget approval).

• Provide financial data for licensing, accreditation and MSHE monitoring.

10. Audit, control and compliance

• Liaise with audit firms and supervisory authorities; prepare responses to their requests.
• Develop and improve internal regulations and procedures for financial accounting and document flow.

• Build the internal control framework: delegation of authority matrix, payment approval, procurement and contract review of financial terms, related-party transactions.

• Manage the annual external audit under IFRS.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Higher education in Finance, Economics, Accounting and Audit, or a related field.

• Experience in educational organisations is a preferred.

• At least 10 years of experience in finance or accounting, including at least 2 years in a management or supervisory position.

• Knowledge of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, legislation on accounting and financial reporting, and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
• Experience with budget and/or grant funding and with reporting to state bodies.

• Proficiency in 1C: Accounting and MS Office (advanced Excel).

• Fluent English and Kazakh.

Personal qualities

• Attention to detail, high level of ownership and discipline, analytical mindset, ability to handle large volumes of information.

• Integrity and confidentiality.

• Hands-on approach in a start-up environment.

Terms of employment

• Employment under the Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• Salary based on the results of the interview.
• Work in an international environment.

• Full-time, on-site in Almaty; probation period as permitted by the Labour Code.