Senior Accountant (Independent Contractor) - Philippines-Based

Who We Are: At Hunt St, we help Australian companies hire top remote talent in the Philippines. For this role, you will be engaged directly by the client as an independent contractor. We are not an outsourcing agency. All roles are 100% remote, allowing you to work from home.

Who The Client Is: Our client is a major Australian shopfitting company with over 30 years of industry experience. Specializing in shopfitting, logistics, and client management, the company delivers fit-outs and refurbishments across various projects, from office spaces to large supermarkets. The business emphasizes quality, reliability, value for money, and practical solutions.

Role Overview: We are seeking a Senior Accountant to oversee day-to-day finance operations across the business. This mid-to-senior-level role involves broad responsibility across accounts payable, accounts receivable, Australian payroll, general ledger, month-end reporting, and project accounting.

The successful candidate will primarily handle accounts payable, including supplier invoice data entry, coding, verification, processing, supplier reconciliations, and payment preparation. They will also maintain accurate project financial information, monitor project costs and margins, support financial reporting, and provide timely insights to management and Project Managers.

You will collaborate closely with the existing Senior Accountant and other stakeholders while taking ownership of assigned finance functions, ensuring accuracy, independence, and timely completion.

Key Responsibilities:

Accounts Payable & Payments

• Take primary responsibility for day-to-day accounts payable functions.
• Enter, code, verify, and process supplier invoices accurately and on time.
• Check supplier invoices against purchase orders, goods/services received, contracts, and approval requirements.
• Prepare and manage scheduled payment runs in Australian dollars and foreign currencies.
• Prepare supporting payment schedules and documentation for approval.
• Reconcile supplier statements and investigate and resolve discrepancies.
• Maintain accurate supplier records and accounts payable data.
• Monitor payment requirements and provide visibility of upcoming cash needs.
• Identify opportunities for supplier discounts, improved payment terms, rebates, and other commercially beneficial arrangements.
• Ensure AP transactions comply with agreed financial processes and approval requirements.

Accounts Receivable & Credit Control

• Issue customer invoices and credit notes based on approved billing information.
• Accurately allocate customer receipts and investigate unidentified payments.
• Manage the day-to-day debtor collection cycle, including statements, reminders, and follow-ups.
• Communicate professionally with Australian customers regarding outstanding balances and payment issues.
• Maintain accurate records of outstanding debts, disputes, actions, and follow-ups.
• Identify and escalate overdue accounts, billing issues, and unresolved customer disputes.
• Provide regular debtor and cash collection updates to management.

Payroll & General Accounting

• Take responsibility for end-to-end Australian payroll processing, including timesheets, overtime, allowances, deductions, leave, new starters, terminations, and payroll journals.
• Validate payroll inputs and ensure required approvals are obtained.
• Prepare payroll-related bank files and complete post-payroll reconciliations.
• Process Single Touch Payroll reporting, superannuation, and other payroll-related requirements within required timeframes.
• Maintain accurate employee payroll records and respond to payroll-related queries professionally and confidentially.
• Maintain the general ledger and complete bank, credit card, clearing, payroll, fixed asset, intercompany, and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Prepare journals for accruals, prepayments, depreciation, foreign exchange, payroll, and other month-end adjustments.
• Support month-end close and prepare draft profit and loss reporting for review.
• Provide variance analysis and commentary on revenue, gross margin, overheads, and cash movements against budget, forecast, and prior periods.
• Support BAS/GST, FBT, year-end, audit, and external accountant requirements as required.

Project Accounting & Financial Analysis

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date project financial information at project and sales-order level.
• Track approved revenue, variations, actual costs, committed costs, forecast-to-complete, forecast final costs, and gross margins.
• Reconcile project revenue and costs across purchase orders, supplier invoices, subcontractor commitments, and the general ledger.
• Prepare regular project financial reporting and dashboards for Project Managers and leadership.
• Monitor project costs, margins, and profitability, and identify potential risks.
• Analyze actual project performance against budgets and forecasts.
• Investigate financial variances and provide clear explanations and recommended actions.
• Identify cost overruns, margin risks, unapproved variations, late cost commitments, and other financial issues.
• Track project-related costs including installers, painting, equipment hire, electrical, signage, freight, and other external services.
• Support project close-outs, final margin analysis, and identification of unbilled revenue or potential margin leakage.
• Provide timely financial information and practical commercial insights to support project and business decisions.

Financial Controls & Process Improvement

• Apply and maintain agreed finance procedures, approval limits, segregation of duties, audit trails, and documentation requirements.
• Identify and escalate transactions that do not meet required approval, coding, evidence, or cut-off requirements.
• Identify recurring process issues and work with team members to improve compliance and accuracy.
• Help improve finance workflows across billing, collections, payments, payroll, month-end, and project accounting.
• Identify opportunities to reduce manual processes and improve efficiency using accounting systems, Excel, automation, and appropriate technology.
• Maintain accurate workpapers, process documentation, and supporting records.

Stakeholder & Team Support

• Act as a reliable finance contact for Australian customers, suppliers, Project Managers, and internal stakeholders.
• Communicate financial information clearly and provide practical explanations rather than simply forwarding reports or spreadsheets.
• Work closely with the Senior Accountant, Directors, Project Managers, Sales, Procurement, Warehouse & Logistics, HR, and Administration teams.
• Communicate professionally with Australian customers, suppliers, subcontractors, banking, payroll, and other external contacts where required.
• Maintain confidentiality, financial discipline, and professional judgment when dealing with financial information.
• Participate in finance and project meetings and follow agreed actions through to completion.

Work Arrangement & Expectations:

This is a remote role set up as an independent contractor engagement. Successful candidates will be expected to:

• Disclose any existing ongoing roles or client work.
• Reflect this engagement on their LinkedIn profile, clearly marked as “Independent Contractor.”
• Align with Australian business hours for meetings, collaboration, and business-critical activities.
• Maintain reliable communication and meet agreed deadlines.
• Take ownership of assigned finance functions and work independently with minimal supervision.
• Maintain confidentiality and appropriate professional standards when handling financial and company information.