Finance Officer (Review and Control)

The Role

We are building our Manila finance team on a maker-checker control structure, and this is the Checker. You independently verify the reconciliations, entries and submissions prepared by the Finance Officer (Accounting and Settlement) before they are posted, paid or filed. This is not a second pair of hands. It is the control. In a business that moves other people's money across borders, the difference between a clean set of books and a serious incident is usually whether someone looked properly the second time. That is this job

Reporting Line and Control Boundary

The role reports to the Finance Manager and sits at the same level as the Finance Officer (Accounting and Settlement). You verify their work; you do not supervise them. You never review work you prepared yourself. Where cross-cover is needed during absences, the rotation is documented and the review passes to the Finance Manager. Approval authority for payments and settlement instructions rests with the Finance Manager and the authorized signatories — you verify, recommend and escalate.

What You Will Do 

● Independent Verification

○ Review and verify every bank, correspondent and nostro reconciliation prepared by the Maker,testing the matching logic and the treatment of ageing items rather than only the arithmetic.

○ Independently verify the daily reconciliation of e-wallet trust balances against outstanding user funds. This is a prudential requirement, not merely a bookkeeping one.

○ Review journal entries, accruals, prepayments and month-end schedules before posting, and confirm that supporting documentation is complete and filed.

● Payments and Settlement Control

○ Act as second verifier on outgoing payment and settlement instructions within delegated limits, confirming payee, amount, account details and the underlying approval before release by authorised signatories.

○ Verify bank mandates, beneficiary details, and any change to standing settlement instructions — changes to payment details are a primary fraud vector and are checked independently, never confirmed through the same channel that requested them.

● Exception Management

○ Maintain the exceptions register and ageing log for unmatched settlement items and unexplained suspense and clearing balances.

○ Escalate unresolved items to the Finance Manager and to Compliance on defined timelines, and track remediation through to closure.

○ Recognise that reconciliation breaks and unexplained balances can be financial crime indicators as well as accounting errors, and escalate accordingly.

● Regulatory and Reporting Review

○ Review BIR returns, SEC schedules and BSP report packs for accuracy and completeness before submission, and confirm the filing calendar is met. BSP reporting penalties for money service businesses accrue per calendar day, so a missed deadline is a direct financial loss.

○ Verify the schedules and data provided to our external accounting firm and external auditors.

○ Evidence the review trail so that external audit and BSP examination can see not only what was done, but that it was checked.

● Control Improvement

○ Maintain and refine the review checklist, and keep it current as products, corridors and partners change.

○ Identify recurring error patterns and propose control improvements rather than simply correcting the same issue each month.

What You Need to Succeed 

What You Need to Succeed 

● Bachelor's degree in Accountancy, Financial Management, or a related business field. CPA licensure is an advantage but is not required for this role.

● Three (3) to five (5) years of experience in general accounting, internal or external audit, internal control, or treasury operations. An audit background is a strong advantage here.

● Demonstrated experience reviewing work rather than only preparing it — reconciliation review, payment verification, audit testing, or a checker role in a bank or financial institution.

● Previous experience in a BSP-supervised institution, e-wallet, fintech startup or banking environment is a significant advantage.

● (Tweaked) Working knowledge of BIR tax returns and post-EOPT invoicing rules (e.g., treating the Invoice as the sole VAT document, and applying accrual-basis output VAT on services) sufficient to review them critically rather than only complete them.

● (Tweaked) Proficiency in modern ERP or cloud accounting software such as NetSuite or Xero, and advanced MS Excel or Google Sheets (e.g., Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and complex data manipulation functions).

● The temperament the role actually requires — willing to send work back, to hold a position under time pressure, and to document the reason every time.

● Strong English communication skills, including the ability to raise an issue clearly.

How to Apply

Apply through this posting or send your CV to [Confidential Information] , with the subject line Finance Officer — Review and Control.