Overseas Volunteering for Accountants & Auditors

Each volunteer’s assignment forms an important part of a long-term strategy to develop the financial management capacity of non-profit organisations. The primary focus is always to develop and enhance the skills, confidence and potential of local people and for AfID's partners to develop the capacity they need to deliver more effective and sustainable services to their beneficiaries.

AfID's partners are a mix of small grassroots non-governmental organisations (NGOs), social enterprises and larger international charities. All are undertaking important work to alleviate poverty and inequality within their communities and include micro-finance projects, local enterprise initiatives, rural cooperatives, street child centres, conservation projects, community schools and vocational training colleges. All AfID's partners are registered with their local government and have established relationships with donor organisations.

Costs will be covered by Jersey Overseas Aid. This will include your placement fee, travel, vaccinations, visa, travel insurance, accommodation and basic food and living costs whilst you are overseas. 

This is an unpaid voluntary placement. You will not receive a salary from JOA, AfID or the partner NGO for your work overseas, although JOA will provide a bursary to cover your costs (including the placement fee, reasonable living expenses, accommodation, travel, vaccinations, visa and travel insurance).

JOA would encourage you to discuss the opportunity with your employer. As part of their CSR commitments and their commitment to employee's ongoing professional development, your employer may be able to support you through offering additional paid leave.

As part of the 'volunteering policy for public servants', Government of Jersey employees are awarded a minimum of five days additional paid leave if they are selected to participate in any JOA volunteering programme.

Whilst many of AfID's partners are small community organisations with limited resources, their support will be first class and your welfare their primary concern. Unlike tourists, volunteers will seldom find themselves alone; from airport pickups to assistance with accommodation and daily commutes, the support will be heartfelt and personal. You will instantly feel welcomed as a new member of the team. AfID will arrange calls between you and your hosts before you travel, so you can make friends and chat about some of the smaller details.
 

Definitely not. Like their many charity partners across Africa and Asia, AfID hold wisdom, experience and maturity in very high regard. We would love to hear from anyone who feels they could make a positive difference to the lives of those less fortunate.

The needs of AfID partners stem from a lack of experience in all aspects of financial management, from the basics, such as bookkeeping and cash management, to more strategic planning and staff management. AfID are committed to supporting their partners over the long term and will do this by providing volunteers with a broad range of qualifications and skills.

Volunteers should look upon themselves as part of a team of independent consultants working on the areas they and their partner organisation feel are most appropriate. If at any time a volunteer feels unable to address critical issues, this will simply be factored into the next volunteer’s profile and terms of reference. It is this timely and constructive direction from one volunteer to the next that ensures AfID's long term programme is always focused on supporting the right areas leading to effective development.

Whilst we use the term ‘volunteer accountant’; a more accurate description might be accountants that can volunteer as consultants. An accountant can be responsible for a whole host of skilled functions on a day-to-day basis such as bookkeeping, auditing or producing financial statements and reports. The problem with a volunteer accountant ‘doing’ rather than ‘guiding or advising', arises as they are temporary and local staff will need to be equipped to thrive without support. AfID work with charity partners with the ultimate aim being that after a series of assignments the skills of their staff will be raised to a level that they are able to work effectively without outside assistance.

The role of AfID's volunteers is therefore much more of consultation, coaching and mentoring rather than standalone accounting.

Field visits observing the organisation’s programmes are a common feature of assignments. Additional responsibilities can include:

• Assisting with funding proposals
• Teaching Microsoft Office; Excel, Word & Powerpoint
• Teaching English
• Coaching and playing sports
• Business development & young entrepreneur skills training

Yes. As every volunteer will always brief the next, AfID and the partner are able to monitor, evaluate and improve on the success of the programme effectively. This provides new volunteers with an accurate and detailed insight into their host partner’s needs and the resources available. When a partner organisation has worked with multiple volunteers, all their reports, blogs and contact details will be made available. If you would like to speak to a past volunteer to help you decide if volunteering is something you would like to do, please let AfID know and they will happily introduce you to the most relevant person. 

Partner countries must be politically stable and safe. If they are not, assignments there will not be an option for you. AfID work closely with many established and well respected local and international charities on the ground, along with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office to ensure that safety information and advice given to volunteers is as up-to-date and accurate as possible.

After every volunteer assignment, AfID undertake a detailed analysis of the relative success of the placement and the impact on the partner organisation. This is done in collaboration with both the partner and returning volunteer to ensure a thorough understanding of achievements and challenges.

Conducting a thorough analysis of each assignment allows AfID to ensure the work of our volunteers is effective and continues to build the capacity and sustainability of our partners in an appropriate manner. It also allows AfID to make incremental changes to the volunteer programme where necessary, as they look to continually increase both the impact of assignments and the volunteer experience.