Brewery Controller at The South African Breweries (SAB)

Role purpose:
To guarantee financial excellence at the brewery, implement stringent controls, foster accountability. Ensure the reliability of cost accounting  key figures and/or P/L reporting for the brewery. Additionally, prioritize operational discipline, enhance visibility and predictability for price and  performance in advance of month-end closing.

Primary Responsibilities:

Cost Leadership

• Oversight of the plant's closing cycle, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the results including transfer price, VIC/VLC, ZBB and  plant asset booking.
• Ensure first time right postings, Avoid accounting errors and postings of manual journals.
• Assume responsibility for managing plant inventory and capital expenditure (CAPEX). This involves ensuring compliance with booking  procedures, onsite management, and reviewing internal process compliance. The primary goal is to ensure that asset bookings conform  to PRC and IFRS standards, asset management processes align with internal control policies, and relevant processes operate as  efficiently as possible.

Controls and Compliance

• Serve as the first line of defense and oversee the execution of controls as defined by Internal Control.
• Ensuring that the brewery's assigned controls accurately reflect the reality of the processes. This includes reviewing the PR-GR cycle,  co-product lifecycle, and returnable package management.
• Oversee both internal and external tax reporting for the plant. Work closely with the tax team to ensure timely completion of tax filings, respond to inquiries, and meet tax inspection requirements mandated by the local authority.

Forecasting & Planning

• Support brewery operations, Zone Financial Planning and PPM teams on the forecast by providing inputs for LE & 1 YP

Cost Management

• Analyze costs, variances on yields and consumptions
• Reasonability/accuracy of accruals
• Reconciliation of utility costs (water, electricity, effluent) between internal and municipal readings & ensure accuracy of the accrual
• GRN Compliance (Open PO Management, UOM receipting accuracy)
• Review and understanding of the reallocation journals at the plant. Root cause analysis and process improvement to reduce number of  journals.
• Approve journals and ensure DAG compliance
• Co-products – Ensuring that its accurately accounted for (Invoicing completeness, sundry debtor aging)
• Returnable packaging – Accurate Accounting + Controls
• MBFU recharge reconciliation (Missing, broken, foreign, unwashable glass)

Inventory Management

• Ensure Inventory management compliance of FG’s, RM and Spare Parts
• Stock count controls (Quarterly stock count review, reconciliation and ensure that differences are posted) Monthly Review &  Quarterly attendance
• Stock movements analysis and investigate anomalies

Capex Management

• Ensuring capitalization is captured correctly
• Validation of Capitalization to the plant
• Physical verification of assets
• Impairments (identify, and request bookings)
• ZBB and UPP policy compliance

Tax Compliance

• Invoicing Management and the full scope of internal and external tax reporting for the plant.
• Excise validation – calculated and shared by the BSC. SARS/RA POC at the plant
• Excise rebate liaison with RA and ensuring the decanting certificate is issued.
• Collaborate closely with the Business Control Center (BCC) tax team to complete tax filings, respond to inquiries, and  meet tax inspection requirements from the local authority.
• Maintain a network among HQ tax, BCC tax, tax compliance, planning, and all other tax-related routines.

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Support the Financial Planning and PPM teams on the forecast by providing inputs for LE & 1 year plan

Profile: 

• Bachelor or Master in Business, Accounting, Economics, Mathematics, Engineering or CA
• 2 to 3 + years, in industry context
• Knowledge of SAP/Syspro, Business Warehouse, Anaplan is a plus
• Previous controlling experience ( preferably site manufacturing )
• Working knowledge of Accounting
• Strong leadership skills
• Good communicator and the ability to work with financial and non-financial collaborators
• Good analytical skills
• Ability to synthesize complex issues into actionable activities
• Capacity to anticipate future trends and developments

Additional Information:

• Band: VI or VII based on brewery size
• No Direct reports
• Location of function: Prospecton, Newlands, Alrode, Rosslyn, Chamdor, Ibhayi, Polokwane