Permanent - Regional Financial Controller - Ekurhuleni (East Rand) - South Africa

Purpose of the Role 

• To provide financial leadership and ensure tax and other compliance across the portfolio, while supporting the growth strategy of the company and working alongside the Director of Group Reporting and Support Services and the wider Support Services team.
• The successful candidate will provide financial leadership to a diverse portfolio of businesses within an international group structure. While the role is focussed on the South African businesses, the successful candidate must understand how their strategy and financial performance affect the overall Group strategy and be seen as a positive contributor to delivering it.
• The SA Regional Financial Controller is responsible for sound financial management and control across the company South African group. Principal responsibilities are set out below.

Compliance 

• Responsibility for, and oversight of, all compliance, ethics and business-practice processes and reporting, maintaining the highest standards of compliance. 
• Ensuring compliance with all relevant tax (including payroll tax) and VAT legislation, including filing and submitting information as required and responding to SARS audits and queries. 
• Acting as custodian of the legally required and internal policies across the SA region and ensuring they are regularly updated.

Reporting – Whole Portfolio 

• Preparing annual financial statements and filing audited accounts, including managing external auditors. 
• Ensuring reporting, planning and analysis procedures comply with local and Group standards. 
• Preparing high-impact presentations for the Board, shareholder meetings and various committees. 
• Maintaining a strong internal-control environment to ensure robust stewardship of the company's assets and resources. 
• Providing a strategically oriented financial-management service, creating and supporting the financial infrastructure needed for accurate, timeous reporting and growth. 
• Producing accurate, timely cash-flow forecasts and managing cash resources tightly.

Reporting 

• Reviewing financial planning information (budgets and forecasts) for SRI and its non-trading businesses, reflecting their short- and long-term financial trajectory. 
• Reviewing monthly management accounts and trading reports for SRI and its non-trading businesses and supporting those businesses with their monthly reporting requirements. 
• Analysing trading results and variances for SRI and its non-trading businesses and reporting relevant information to the Director of Group Reporting and Support Services, the CFO and the CEO.

General Responsibilities 

• Managing the financial strategy for the region in line with group and business strategic targets. 
• Operating as a business partner to the Director of Group Reporting and Support Services, the CFO and the CEO. 
• Remaining closely engaged with the businesses' operational matters. • Providing functional leadership to the regional operating businesses' finance teams, raising their overall calibre and performance. 
• Building positive working relationships with finance colleagues across the group. 
• Supporting the assessment of acquisition and divestiture opportunities and the formulation of joint ventures and other commercial agreements, including appropriate funding and tax structures. 
• Developing staff and supporting the finance team, ensuring best practice in financial analysis and reporting. 
• Enhancing the group culture by conducting business in a culturally sensitive way, consistent with the group's values.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Technical 

• A qualified chartered accountant (ideally with industry experience) with at least five years' post-qualification experience. 
• Extensive experience in South African company law, IFRS reporting and South African tax law. 
• Extensive experience in IFRS financial-statement preparation and consolidations. 
• Extensive experience in SA tax compliance, including tax calculations, SARS eFiling, SARS e@syfile submissions and all other tax related matters. 
• The ability to couple technical knowledge with sound commercial acumen and common sense. 
• Excellent presentation skills, able to engage at Board level.  Experience handling and managing complex consolidations.

Interpersonal 

• The ability to develop productive relationships with external and internal stakeholders, such as banks, government representatives and shareholders. 
• Good communication and interpersonal skills, and the ability to command respect and build relationships both internally and externally. 
• The ability to fit into and lead a small team while thinking and acting on a group-wide basis and seeing the big picture.