SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT — RESTAURANT / F&B OPERATIONS

POSITION SUMMARY

The Senior Accountant owns the full accounting cycle for the restaurant operation, with direct responsibility for daily revenue reconciliation, cost of goods sold, inventory control, and outlet-level profitability reporting. This is not a bookkeeping role. The successful candidate understands how a restaurant makes and loses money, can explain the gap between theoretical and actual cost, and delivers month-end close to deadline without supervision.

Restaurant, hotel, or catering experience is a firm requirement. General accounting experience alone will not be sufficient.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Daily Revenue and Cash Control
   1.1 Reconcile daily POS sales against cash, card settlements, delivery platform payouts, and bank deposits, and resolve variances the same working day.
   1.2 Review voids, discounts, complimentary items, staff meals, and manager override for proper authorization.
   1.3 Control cash handling, till floats, cashier over/short variances, and petty cash.

2. Cost of Goods Sold and Inventory
   2.1 Own the monthly COGS calculation for food and beverage and reconcile it to inventory movement.
   2.2 Analyze actual versus theoretical cost, quantify the gap, and work with kitchen and operations to close it.
   2.3 Supervise physical stock counts and investigate variances, waste, spoilage, and inter-outlet transfers.
   2.4 Maintain recipe and plate costing, and update when supplier prices move.

3. Purchasing and Payables
   3.1 Enforce three-way matching of purchase order, goods received note, and invoice before payment.
   3.2 Verify supplier pricing against agreed contracts and flag unapproved increases.
   3.3 Manage the payables cycle, ageing, and supplier reconciliations.

4. Payroll and Labor Cost
   4.1 Prepare or review monthly payroll, including hourly staff, overtime, and deductions.
   4.2 Reconcile service charge or tip distribution where applicable.
   4.3 Monitor labor cost as a percentage of revenue and track prime cost against target.

5. General Ledger and Month-End Close
   5.1 Maintain the general ledger and post accruals, prepayments, depreciation, and adjusting entries.
   5.2 Perform bank and balance sheet reconciliations with supporting schedules.
   5.3 Close the books and deliver the reporting pack to the agreed deadline.

6. Reporting and Analysis
   6.1 Prepare outlet-level P&L statements and consolidate across outlets.
   6.2 Report food cost, beverage cost, labor cost, prime cost, covers, average check, and contribution margin.
   6.3 Provide variance analysis with written commentary explaining the drivers, not only the numbers.
   6.4 Support budgeting, forecasting, and pricing or menu decisions with costed analysis.

7. Controls, Compliance and Audit
   7.1 Apply and enforce internal controls over cash, inventory, purchasing, and payroll, and report weaknesses.
   7.2 Ensure tax and statutory filings are accurate and submitted on time.
   7.3 Coordinate with auditors and support investigations into stock losses or cash shortages.

8. Team and Coordination
   8.1 Supervise and review the work of junior accountants, cost controllers, and storekeepers as assigned.
   8.2 Explain financial information clearly to outlet managers, chefs, and non-financial colleagues.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

Essential

1. Bachelor's degree in accounting, Finance, or a related field.

2. Minimum five years of accounting experience, including at least two to three years in restaurant, hotel, catering, or F&B.

3. Hands-on experience with food and beverage costing, inventory control, and daily sales reconciliation.

4. Proven ability to complete a full month-end close independently and on deadline.

5. Working knowledge of an accounting or ERP system and of restaurant POS and inventory platforms.

6. Advanced Excel, including pivot tables and lookup functions.

7. Strong professional English and Kurdish.

Preferred

1. Multi-outlet or multi-branch experience.

2. CPA, ACCA, CMA, or equivalent, or active progress toward one.

3. Arabic language ability.

4. Experience supervising junior accounting staff.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

Technical: full-cycle accounting; COGS and cost control; inventory management; recipe costing; revenue and cash reconciliation; payables; payroll; month-end close; budgeting and forecasting; outlet P&L and variance analysis; internal controls; tax compliance; ERP, POS, and advanced Excel.

Behavioral: accuracy and attention to detail; analytical thinking; integrity in handling cash and sensitive information; ability to meet firm deadlines under pressure; clear communication with non-financial colleagues; ownership and accountability; willingness to spend time in the operation rather than only at a desk; confidence to raise issues to management.

PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS

1. Daily reconciliations completed every working day, with variances identified and resolved.

2. Month-end close and reporting pack delivered on deadline, consistently.

3. Food and beverage cost tracked accurately, with the theoretical-to-actual gap measured and reduced over time.

4. Stock counts accurate, variances investigated, and stock losses declining.

5. Reports accurate, timely, and accompanied by analysis management can act on.

6. Tax and statutory filings complete and submitted before deadline.

7. Control weaknesses raised proactively rather than discovered at audit.