Finance Accountant : GRES Recoveries at Standard Bank Group

Job description

Job Details

Group Finance: budgeting and forecasting, creating interim and annual financial statements, facilitating internal mergers and acquisitions, as well as dealing with analysts and investors.

Job Purpose

To manage the allocation of internal costs or revenue from GRES to other divisions of the Bank, based on an agreed allocation methodology. And to ensure that operational effectiveness is achieved through continuous monitoring of adherence to internal processes relating to transfer accounting.

Key Responsibilities/Accountabilities

• Understand the Operating Model for all managed sites, including an analysis of the site location, condition and suitability for tenants’ use, ownership details (e.g. lease conditions, operating costs), cost of provision of soft services (e.g. cleaning, office planting, employee catering), client services (e.g. reception, parking, meeting rooms, help desk, mail collection) and technical services (electrical, plumbing).
• Assist the Manager: Cost Recoveries in ensuring 100% recovery of costs from tenants at GRES-managed sites in line with approved budget (including sundry debtor recoveries from 3rd party tenants and vendors linked to GRES).
• Ensure that monthly actual recoveries are processed to ensure all actual costs are recovered.
• Communicate SBFM’s recovery details to tenants at managed sites, setting out the basis on which occupancy costs (rental, utility and service costs, parking costs) will be recovered.
• Manage the query resolution on the recovery basis.
• Assist with providing commentary on significant variances between GRES’ actual gross monthly operating expenditure versus the corresponding recoveries and budgeted figures.
• Co-ordinate the receipt of volumes, information and commentary from Space Planning, Global Leadership Centre, Internal Asset Management etc.
• Build and check the upload files for submission to Finance.
• Review and refine the budgetary submissions from each SBFM-managed site (operating expenditure, capital expenditure, changes in service standards, special projects to be undertaken, on-site headcount, changes in the SBFM-managed portfolio, etc).
• Review SBFM’s monthly financial performance and income statements, including each site’s:
• Operating expenditure incurred at managed sites, including recurring monthly operating expenditure (service contracts), day-to-day / ad hoc operating expenditure, special projects’ expenditure, etc.
• Gross occupancy cost recoveries at managed sites (including gross rental costs and service costs)
• Revenues (billings to third party tenants at managed sites).
• Secure approval from tenants/financial managers in managed sites for changes / variations to the agreed recovery rates.
• Secure audited sign-off from tenants/financial managers at managed sites for the site’s gross occupancy costs, indicating their acceptance of the on-charge of all occupancy costs incurred by Facilities Management at such sites (“the agreed recovery rates”);
• Effect sundry debtor recoveries from third-party tenants. Prepare upload files and journals and secure approval and acceptance of charges from debtors and external vendors.
• Maintain for all GRES-managed sites, the GRES Recoveries model, which must consider the following in respect of new sites:
• The location of the proposed premises; their condition, and their suitability for tenants’ use
• The premises ownership details (conditions of the agreement of lease, including the lease term, gross rentals,
• operating costs, escalations, tenant installation allowances, parking, rent-free period, gross cost of installation, etc) and the appropriateness of these for the intended tenants;
• The nature and range of the services to be provided at such site, including soft services (cleaning, hygiene services, office planting, landscape maintenance services, employee refreshments, employee dining, etc); client services (reception desk services, parking areas management, meeting rooms’ management, telephone management services, including switchboard operation, help desk operation, mail collection and delivery services); technical services (building maintenance and electrical, plumbing, and base building maintenance), and the cost of such services;
• The calculation of the gross occupancy costs at each managed site, which costs will include the costs of the monthly rental levied by the landlord (for office space, storage space, parking space, etc), the property operating costs, the cost of utilities, the cost of property rates and taxes, and the costs of providing the onsite services.
• The recovery of the gross occupancy costs from on-site tenants, by way of a Gross Monthly Rental, and a Monthly Service Fee.
• Effect recoveries from EDR users for services rendered.
• Ensures that allocations are within agreed basis of allocation and as per service level agreements (SLAs).
• Assists business units on agreeing the correct methodology and calculations used for transfer accounting purposes.
• Provides recons to service providers with details relating to income statement transfer account queries in order for them to resolve queries.
• Ensures all accounts are fully reconciled and any variances are resolved.
• Ensure that updated files (e.g. service agreements, lease documents, cost and recovery calculations) are maintained for each managed site.
• Submit and check all employee recovery files to Financial Shared Services, including employee telephone recoveries, access card and parking recoveries.
• Reconcile and follow up on any rejected employee recoveries.

Preferred Qualification and Experience

Qualification

• Bachelor’s degree in banking, commercial or related field
• At least three years’ experience in a formal accounting environment

Experience

• Administration, time and risk management
• Cost and budget management
• Experience in working in multi discipline teams, fostering collaboration, team work and the delivery of improved business performance.

Knowledge/Technical Skills/Expertise

• Transfer accounting principles
• Role of Group Real Estate Services in the Bank’s operations
• Group Real Estate Services policies and services
• SAP experience
• Advanced Excel skills