Finance & Reconciliations Accountant (6 Month Contract)

 The role

As PawaPay continues to expand across multiple markets in East and Southern Africa, maintaining rigorous financial records and audit readiness is critical. We are seeking a hands-on Temporary Finance & Reconciliations Accountant for a 6-month period to focus on complex, high-volume reconciliations, balance sheet clean-up, and audit preparation ahead of our upcoming FY2026 statutory audits.The role owns the execution of wallet balance reconciliations, tax GL-to-return matching, transfer pricing intercompany reconciliations, and general balance sheet substantiation. Working closely with the Finance, Tax, Treasury, and Operations teams, the person in this role will investigate historical differences, clear outstanding items, and maintain audit-ready supporting files.This is a standalone, task-focused execution role reporting into the Finance Manager. This is not an FP&A, business partnering, or strategic controller role. It is a dedicated, detail-heavy reconciliation engine built for an accountant who enjoys digging into complex transactional data and solving root-cause discrepancies. You will inherit existing multi-country entity ledgers, historical wallet and tax reconciliation backlogs, and active audit timelines. You will work directly with our accounting and operational records to bring every schedule up to high-quality audit standards.

What you are accountable for

The single thing this role is accountable for is ensuring complete, accurate, and audit-ready financial reconciliations and balance sheet substantiation across assigned African markets.

Operating Principle: Investigate, reconcile, document, clear, and substantiate. The Temporary Finance Accountant digs into root causes, chases down historical discrepancies, and builds complete supporting schedules. Strategic tax planning, regulatory interpretations, group treasury decisions, and final sign-off on tax returns and financial statements belong to Finance Leadership.What you are not accountable for: Group tax strategy, treasury allocation, statutory sign-offs, and broad financial planning & analysis (owned by the Tax Manager, Treasury Lead, and Finance Leadership).

What you own day to day

• Wallet Reconciliations. Perform historical and current reconciliations of customer wallet balances against general ledger accounts and operational MNO data, investigating unmatched transactions and maintaining clear aged schedules.
• Tax GL-to-Return Reconciliations. Reconcile tax balances (VAT, Withholding Tax, and local statutory taxes) recorded in the general ledger against filed returns across assigned markets, investigating variances and substantiating tax liabilities.
• Transfer Pricing & Intercompany Matching. Execute transfer pricing reconciliations for entities operating under local invoicing arrangements, matching revenue, intercompany charges, and service/technical fees against agreed transfer pricing calculations.
• Audit PBC & Schedule Preparation. Build and maintain complete audit schedules, working papers, and supporting documentation required for FY2026 statutory audits and the Q1 2027 audit cycle.
• Audit Query & Request Coordination. Track open external auditor PBC requests, retrieve supporting evidence, follow up with internal teams, and resolve prior-period balance sheet queries.
• Balance Sheet Substantiation. Perform month-end and year-end balance sheet substantiation, actively driving down aged or unsupported items across multi-country entities.

What we are looking for

• Experience. 2 to 4 years of hands-on accounting or finance experience, with a proven track record in balance sheet reconciliations, tax matching, and general ledger maintenance.
• Education & Qualifications. Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or Commerce. Progress toward or completion of CPA, ACCA, or an equivalent professional qualification is an advantage.
• Domain Background. Previous experience within fintech, payments, banking, financial services, or audit environments handling high-volume transactional data.
• Excel Proficiency. Advanced skills in Microsoft Excel (data manipulation, complex lookups, reconciliation formulas, and pivot tables). Familiarity with Xero or modern cloud accounting software is a plus.
• Analytical Rigor. An investigative mindset focused on identifying root causes of historical differences rather than simply highlighting variances.
• Location. Candidates must be based in Nairobi (Kenya) or Tanzania.