Firm Summary
White & Case is an elite global law firm serving leading companies, financial institutions and governments worldwide. Our long history as an international firm means we are perfectly placed to help our clients resolve their most complex legal challenges wherever they may be.
With lawyers and staff operating from more than 47 locations, working in virtually every country of the world, we have invested heavily in building a high-quality full-service practice competing at the top of the market. We are distinguished by our on-the-ground presence in the world's key financial markets and our strengths in handling complex cross-border work.
It's not just about our global network of offices and shared services centers; it's the global interconnectedness of the Firm that our people, and our clients, value most. We work well together across geographic and practice boundaries. It's one of the reasons we attract and retain cross-border work. And why we attract a diverse group of people.
Our lawyers are globally minded, enterprising, collaborative and committed to excellence. Diversity is a core value of our Firm and it has been recognized with numerous awards and top rankings around the world. Our people represent 90 nationalities and speak 80 languages.
Position Summary
This role is responsible for assisting the Senior Accountant in supporting the Middle East offices - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Cairo, Doha, Muscat and Riyadh - with Financial Accounting related work. Providing professional support to fee-earners and business services employees in accordance with the Firm's policies and procedures. The role requires an in-depth understanding of the processes, concepts and policies underlying the specific finance activities required across the Middle East region. Excellent communication skills, multitasking effectively, strong organizational skills, and attention to detail are essential for the position. A high level of computer skills (especially using Microsoft Office applications) is required.
Our Functional Area
The Global Finance team is led by the Firm's CFO, Steve Wrede, and is made up of approximately 280 team members in 37 offices throughout the network. Its core functions include billing and collecting Firm invoices, statutory accounting for the Firm and for individual offices, creating and distributing management reports, processing payments to vendors, processing reimbursements to employees and payroll.
The Finance team is also responsible for partner compensation and the maintenance of partner equity accounts; strategic procurement of vendor services; global tax strategies; inventory management, and analysis of the profitability of clients, matters and groups of timekeepers. Global cash management, foreign currencies and hedging are governed by the Treasury team.
In consultation with Firm leaders, the Finance team sets annual global revenue and expense budgets across Regional Sections and offices, including legal and business service departments. The team continuously reviews expenditures throughout the year to ensure that the Firm's resources are being used efficiently.
Duties And Accountabilities1
- Preparation of financial accounts for audit;
- Preparing deliverables for audits;
- Conduct planning/closing meetings with auditors;
- Travel to offices around the region to assist auditors with ground work;
- Act as the first point of contact for Financial Accounting matters;
- Maintain and reconcile all balance sheets for the region and individual offices;
- Reconcile TB for all Middle East offices;
- Perform ad-hoc reporting and projects for partners and management;
- Review and implementation of robust control processes around general ledger;
- Process tax related matters, including tax returns when required for the Middle East offices;
- Liaise with the partners and global finance team to establish and track the Middle East budgets;
- Assisting with ongoing review of the unallocated balances.
Qualifications
- Qualification in either CIMA, ACCA, ICAEW;
- International law firm experience;
- 4+ years accounting experience;
- Strong attention to detail;
- High professional standards;
- Exceptional organisational and communication skills;
- Hardworking, resilient team player with ability to operate under pressure;
- Effective interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with people at all levels;
- Pragmatic, self-motivated, flexible and able to work both in a team and individually as required;
- Willingness to take on additional tasks as and when required;
- Excellent IT skills, including proficiency in MS Office Excel, ideally experience of 3E systems.
Location & Reporting
- This is a permanent full-time role based in Cairo.
- This role reports to the Senior Manager, Finance.
1The above is only a general description of the essential duties associated with this position and does not represent an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all duties.
