Senior Principal: Payments Accountant

Role Overview: 

As Cellulant shifts into high gear to scale its innovation engine, we are establishing a Finance Centre of Excellence. We are seeking a high-calibre Payments Accountant for a critical 6–9 month project to institutionalise world-class accounting standards across our Pan-African operations. This role is designed for a technical expert who bridges the gap between complex payment orchestration and rigorous financial governance.

The successful candidate will ensure our financial architecture matches the sophistication of our platform, which processes over 4.5 million daily transactions

Location: Europe and the Middle East, Asia, Africa-  Likely to be from the UK, all EU countries (esp Germany, Estonia, Lithuania) or Singapore/Dubai

Reports to: Chief Finance Officer

Key Stakeholders 

• Finance 
• Commercial 
• Business Operations

What You'll do:

Global Standards & CoA Alignment

• Conduct a comprehensive review of the current Chart of Accounts (CoA) and accounting practices.
• Align nomenclature and accounting treatments with global payment industry standards.
• Ensure all treatments remain strictly adherent to IFRS and local statutory requirements across our core African jurisdictions.

Process Engineering & Documentation

• Map and document end-to-end accounting flows for complex products (e.g., split payments, multi-currency settlements).
• Define and codify the "Cellulant Way" for accounting processes to ensure consistency across the group.

Regional Implementation & Transition

• Act as the lead consultant for local finance teams during the transition to the new CoA.
• Provide hands-on training and mentorship to ensure the accurate adoption of new accounting treatments.
• Streamline month-end close processes to drive efficiency and transparency.

Balance Sheet Integrity (High Priority)

• Perform a deep-dive "unpicking" of current local balance sheets.
• Resolve legacy issues to ensure 100% accuracy in all payment-related asset and liability accounts (e.g., merchant settlement accounts, safeguarding accounts, and transit accounts)

What we are looking for:

• Qualified Accountant: ACA (or equivalent), ideally with initial training at a "Big 4" firm. 
• At least 10 -12 Years of Experience. 
• Payments Expertise: Proven experience in a high-growth Fintech or global Payments Provider, managing complex multi-currency transaction volumes.
• Technical Mastery: Expert-level knowledge of IFRS specifically applied to payment-related flows, safeguarding, and multi-market jurisdictional rules.
• Systems & Scale: Experience with sophisticated financial systems and ERP implementations in a high-transaction environment.
• Emerging Market Agility: Comfortable navigating the nuances of varied African jurisdictions and working effectively with diverse local teams.

Skills & Competencies:

• Payments Ledger Architecture & Balance Sheet Control- Deep understanding of how payment flows translate into balance sheet positions across merchant settlement accounts, safeguarding accounts, float accounts, and clearing/transit accounts.
• High-Volume Reconciliation & Transaction-Level Analytics- Expert ability to diagnose reconciliation issues across millions of transactions and multiple payment partners.
• Payments Industry Accounting (IFRS / Regulatory Safeguarding) - Advanced understanding of accounting treatments specific to payments platforms and regulated payment institutions.
• Finance Process Engineering & Operating Model Design- Ability to design scalable accounting processes that support a rapidly growing payments platform.
• Cross-Market Finance Leadership & Stakeholder Influence- Ability to lead complex finance remediation projects across multiple jurisdictions and teams.