Accountant - Inventory & Financial Control Lagos

The Purple Scripts is a consulting and  recruitment company that helps businesses identify, attract, and hire the right talent for their teams. We work closely with organizations to understand their staffing needs, develop targeted recruitment strategies, source and screen qualified candidates, and support the hiring process from start to finish. The goal is to make recruitment more efficient and effective while helping businesses build capable, reliable, and high-performing teams. We are  recruiting to fill the position below:

 Job Title: Accountant – Inventory & Financial Control Jobposting service

Location: Lagos

Employment Type: Full-time Role Purpose

The Accountant will take substantial ownership of the company's day-to-day accounting operations, financial records, inventory accounting, reconciliations, reporting and internal financial controls. The role requires more than transaction processing or bookkeeping: the successful candidate must be able to independently identify accounting issues, investigate variances, explain financial results, recommend corrective actions and ensure that management has reliable financial information for decision-making. The successful candidate is expected to operate with limited supervision, work closely with sales, warehouse, procurement and operations teams, and progressively develop the technical and leadership capability required to lead the accounting function as the business grows.

Own the accurate and timely recording of sales, purchases, receipts, payments, expenses, journals and other business transactions in the accounting system. Maintain the general ledger, chart of accounts, supporting schedules and reconciled control accounts. Review transaction coding, supporting documentation, approval evidence and accounting treatment before entries are finalised. Prepare and post accruals, prepayments, depreciation, provisions, inventory adjustments and other month-end journals. Maintain a complete and traceable audit trail for financial transactions.

Inventory Accounting and Stock Control — Critical:

Maintain and oversee accurate inventory records across warehouses, retail outlets and wholesale/distribution channels. Apply appropriate inventory costing and valuation methods in line with the company's accounting policy and applicable financial reporting requirements, including IAS 2 where applicable. Reconcile inventory sub-ledgers and stock reports to the general ledger and investigate all material variances. Coordinate and review periodic cycle counts and full physical stock counts; document, investigate and report shortages, excesses, damages, expiries, slow-moving and obsolete stock. Review stock receipts, transfers, returns, write-offs and adjustments to ensure that each movement is authorised, supported and correctly recorded. Monitor cost of goods sold (COGS), gross profit and gross margin by product, category, channel or location where data permits. Identify unusual stock movements, negative stock balances, unexplained margin movements and potential leakage or control weaknesses. Work with warehouse and operations teams to strengthen stock controls, segregation of duties and stock movement documentation.

Prepare and review landed-cost calculations for imported goods, including purchase price, freight, insurance, shipping, customs duties, clearing, port and other directly attributable costs, as appropriate. Ensure landed costs are allocated to inventory on a consistent, supportable basis and reconcile the resulting inventory values. Reconcile foreign supplier invoices, remittances, shipping documents, clearing-agent statements and related payment records. Record foreign currency transactions and assess exchange differences in accordance with applicable accounting requirements and company policy. Track outstanding foreign supplier obligations and provide management with visibility over foreign currency commitments and settlement status.

Sales, Receivables and Revenue Reconciliation:

Reconcile daily sales across physical stores, online platforms, wholesale customers and other sales channels. Reconcile POS, bank transfers, cash collections, payment gateways and other collection channels to sales records and bank credits. Investigate short settlements, duplicate transactions, refunds, chargebacks, discounts, voids and unexplained differences. Maintain customer account schedules, monitor receivable ageing and follow up overdue balances with the relevant commercial teams. Review credit notes, customer returns and sales adjustments for proper approval, documentation and accounting treatment.

Review supplier invoices, purchase orders, goods received documentation and payment requests for accuracy, completeness and appropriate authorisation. Maintain accurate supplier ledgers and reconcile supplier statements to the company's records. Monitor due dates, supplier ageing and outstanding obligations; flag payment priorities and discrepancies to management. Ensure that supplier payments are supported, approved and recorded in the correct period. Reconcile local and international supplier balances and resolve disputed or unmatched items promptly.

Financial Reporting, Analysis and Month-End Close:

Prepare monthly management accounts and supporting schedules, including profit and loss, balance sheet schedules and cash flow information. Prepare and review bank reconciliations, receivable and payable ageing, inventory reports, expense analyses and other key account reconciliations. Lead the accounting team's month-end close timetable and ensure reconciliations and journals are completed accurately and on time. Analyse revenue, gross margin, COGS, operating expenses, working capital and cash movements; explain material variances against budget, prior periods or expectations. Provide clear, decision-useful financial commentary and highlight risks, unusual trends and opportunities for cost control. Support annual budgeting, periodic forecasts and cash flow planning with reliable financial data.

Tax, Audit and Regulatory Support:

Maintain organised tax schedules and supporting records and coordinate with management or external tax advisers on applicable tax compliance, including VAT, withholding tax, PAYE and company income tax requirements. Ensure relevant transactions are properly documented for tax review and audit purposes. Coordinate internal and external audit requests, provide schedules and supporting documents, and track the resolution of audit findings. Keep abreast of relevant changes in accounting standards and Nigerian tax and regulatory requirements and escalate implications to management.

Internal Controls, Process Improvement and Team Collaboration:

Enforce approved financial procedures, delegated authority limits, payment controls and segregation of duties. Identify control gaps, risks of error or fraud, weak documentation and process inefficiencies; recommend practical improvements. Ensure cash, stock, sales and payment processes have appropriate checks, reconciliations and accountability. Work effectively with store, warehouse, procurement, sales, e-commerce and operations personnel to resolve financial and stock-related issues. Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, reconciliation templates and accounting process documentation. Provide guidance and review support to junior finance or accounts personnel where applicable.

Minimum Requirements

A Bachelor's Degree or HND in Accounting. A relevant postgraduate qualification is an advantage. 5–8 years of progressive, hands-on accounting experience, preferably in retail, wholesale, FMCG, importation, distribution or another inventory-intensive business. ICAN or ACCA qualification is strongly preferred. Candidates who are part-qualified may be considered only where they demonstrate exceptional practical competence and can independently handle the scope of this role. Demonstrable experience preparing management accounts, maintaining general ledger schedules, completing month-end close and performing balance sheet reconciliations. Strong practical knowledge of inventory accounting, stock valuation, COGS, gross margin analysis, physical stock counts and investigation of stock variances. Practical experience with import costing, landed-cost allocation and foreign currency supplier transactions is highly desirable. Advanced working proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including PivotTables, SUMIFS, lookup functions and reconciliation of large datasets. Hands-on experience with accounting software or an ERP/inventory management system; ability to assess the reliability of reports generated by such systems. Good working knowledge of applicable accounting standards and Nigerian tax compliance processes. Strong analytical judgement, accuracy, integrity, organisation and ability to work to fixed reporting deadlines. Ability to communicate financial issues clearly to non-finance colleagues and challenge unsupported transactions or discrepancies professionally. Ability to work independently, take ownership and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced operating environment.

This is a full-time, on-site role. The successful candidate must be available to work Monday to Saturday. Saturday attendance is a standard working requirement, not an occasional or exceptional arrangement. Working hours and any applicable rest-day or overtime arrangements should be confirmed in the employment offer and applied in accordance with applicable labour requirements. The role requires regular engagement with retail outlets, warehouse and operations personnel and may require attendance during stock counts, month-end close, audits and other operationally necessary periods. The successful candidate must be comfortable working with transaction volumes, stock movements and operational deadlines that may fluctuate with business activity.

The ideal candidate is a technically sound accountant who can do more than process transactions. They understand how inventory, purchasing, sales, cash collection, import costs and supplier payments flow through the accounts and affect profitability and working capital. They are comfortable investigating discrepancies, challenging incomplete documentation, preparing reliable reports and working directly with operational teams. They demonstrate the judgement, ownership and leadership potential to assume broader responsibility for the accounting function over time.

 Recruitment Assessment – Essential Screening Areas:

Candidates should be assessed on demonstrated work and practical competence, not years of service or age alone. The following would be tested during shortlisting and interview:

A practical inventory reconciliation and stock variance investigation questions. A landed-cost calculation for an imported shipment and an explanation of how the cost is allocated to inventory. A bank/POS/online sales reconciliation exercise with deliberate discrepancies to identify. A month-end close scenario requiring accruals, prepayments, inventory adjustments and balance sheet reconciliations. A short management-accounting exercise interpreting sales, COGS, gross margin, expenses and cash flow. Questions testing internal controls, approval processes, fraud-risk awareness and how the candidate handles pressure to process unsupported transactions.

N400,000 - N500,000 / month. Application Closing Date

7th November, 2026. How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should send their resumes to: [Email hidden - Login to reveal] using  Job Title as the subject of the email.