Accountant (Payroll and Petty Cash)

About the role

This role prepares and processes the monthly payroll end to end and records, accrues and reconciles employee-related costs and petty cash, ensuring staff are paid correctly and on time in line with local labour law and that staff costs are reported each month in accordance with IFRS.

Key responsibilities

• Prepare Kuwait payroll in the ERP and review the monthly payroll of other group entities according to the agreed calendar.
• Collect and validate attendance, timesheets, overtime, leave, joiners, leavers, increments, promotions, allowances and deductions approved by HR and line managers.
• Calculate gross-to-net pay, including basic salary, housing, transport and other allowances, overtime and recoveries.
• Maintain payroll master data only on approved HR change forms, validate new joiners and prepare a payroll variance report.
• Submit payroll for Finance Manager and HR approval, generate the WPS salary file, coordinate bank transfers with Treasury and issue payslips.
• Calculate final settlements for leavers (EOSB, leave encashment, notice pay, air tickets) and social security contributions.
• Post payroll journals, reconcile payroll control, salary payable and deduction accounts, and prepare monthly staff cost analysis.
• Administer petty cash, review claims, reconcile accounts monthly, carry out surprise cash counts and monitor cash advances.
• Complete month-end close, prepare balance sheet reconciliations, respond to auditor queries and recommend control improvements.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance.
• 5-7 years of accounting experience, including at least 3 years in payroll accounting in the GCC.
• Working knowledge of GCC labour law on EOSB, leave and notice.
• Experience in AEC, contracting, projects or a multi-site business is an advantage.
• Part-qualified CA, CMA, ACCA or CPA preferred.

Required skills

• ERP experience (Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle or SAP) and payroll system interfaces.
• Advanced Excel: pivot tables, LOOKUPs and reconciliations.
• High attention to detail and integrity with confidential salary data.