Senior Accounting & Tax Lead

Job Title: Sr. Accounting and Tax Lead Department: Accounting & Tax Centre of Excellence (CoE) – BAMECA & BAAF, International Operations Location: Iraq, Bagdad. Primary scope: Iraq, with back-up support across CoE countries. Includes regular visits to the local bank. Your impact begins here As Senior Accounting & Tax Lead, you will be the go-to person for every accounting and tax matter in our Iraq affiliate. You will keep the books accurate, the close on time, taxes settled and cash well managed, so the business can keep moving with confidence. Working with a high degree of independence, you will bring local insight to our Accounting & Tax CoE and help shape simpler, more automated ways of working across the region. What You’ll Bring You will bring A bachelor’s degree or equivalent. 5+ years of experience in accounting or finance roles. The ability to understand complex financial information, with strong attention to detail and a logical, thorough approach. Knowledge of Iraqi tax and statutory requirements Confidence working in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple and conflicting deadlines as a proactive self-starter. Strong communication skills and the ability to lead and align colleagues, peers and wider stakeholders. A continuous-improvement mindset, with an interest in process automation and using systems to drive efficiency. Resilience, flexibility and a problem-solving approach when priorities or requirements change. Professional proficiency in English. Useful, But Not Essential Experience working with shared service teams or third-party due diligence processes. ACCA, CPA, ACA and other international certificates. What You’ll Do You will own the local accounting and tax picture for Iraq – from close to cash, compliance and controls. You will: Own the close and controls: Close every period on time with complete, accurate books, oversee the relevant Global Business Services (GBS) teams, run internal controls as designed and keep payables and receivables free of aged balances. Lead audits and tax compliance: Be the main contact for internal and external auditors and the local tax advisor. Settle sales contract tax for Novo Nordisk A/S and Novo Nordisk Health Care AG on time, monitor related balances, secure timely withholding tax release at Kimadia (Ministry of Health) and process periodic tax payments. Keep payments accurate: Process invoices, payroll, expenses, distributor fees, agent commissions and rebates accurately and on time, and reconcile vendor and employee accounts and cash advances. Manage cash and banking: Forecast cash flow, maintain the right cash levels and manage bank accounts, monthly reconciliations, bank guarantees and the corporate credit card programme. Safeguard integrity: As Local Due Diligence Responsible, review due diligence on third-party representatives, decide risk scoring and lead three-yearly re-assessments and annual certification for high-risk partners. Help colleagues get it right: Train colleagues on