Business Analyst | Retail Finance | Finance Operations at Allan Gray Proprietary Limited

Job Summary

• To assisting in the delivery of finance analytics outputs and to be responsible for the performance of the financial reporting and audit process for the ex SA Funds. 

Job Responsibilities
Business Analyst:

• Assist in the establishment, management and administration of project-based as well as ongoing regulatory reporting processes. Example 1: Assessing the finance requirements with regards to the pending Reg 28 reporting changes and work with the relevant teams like PD, Compliance, Institutional Ops and IT to roll out all relevant/required reporting changes.
• Example 2: Ad hoc foreign limit analyses when any entity is over the SARB retail foreign AUM limits and commentary for formal engagements with regulators.
• Example 3: Commenting on new changes in regulations when legal/compliance asks for a finance review of draft legislations or joining relevant industry workgroups.
• Example 4: assist in daily reporting to the business of limits for affected entities.
• Assist with training CA trainees on rotation with the CA Trainee programme.
• Assist with ad hoc queries and data requests from the business or from close stakeholder teams.
• Assist with process enhancements and supporting new projects or reports to accommodate changing business requirements.
• Example 1: While paying BDM Commissions is a standard deliverable, there are regular changes to the models that are used to calculate the commissions. The distribution team requires our assistance to roll out big changes such as introducing new models for new products like the coming Offshore Endowment.
• Assist with standard internal and external reporting deliverables in the Finance Analytics team as required in partnership with other team members.
• Assist in the greater retail finance team as a signatory releasing payments and collections as a part of the roster.

Financial Reporting:

• Compile accurate, complete and compliant AFS for the ex SA domiciled funds in accordance with IFRS and region specific regulatory requirements, including:
• Compile skeleton AFS template for review internally and by the audit technical team in September each year
• Audit planning – compile audit lists and deliverables
• Prepare and agree audit calendars with the audit team, circulate the agreed upon timelines to internal stakeholders
• Take ownership of engagements with auditors
• Confirm statutory information disclosed in the AFS with responsible teams
• Review audit finalisation documents and providing feedback to the audit team
• Support the CA trainee with their role in preparing some of the AFS

Contribution to Retail Finance:

• Contribute to the decision making of the team as a whole
• Provide assistance, where required, with other Retail Finance deliverables
• Contribute to the improvement and automation of processes, where possible
• Improve continuity and flexibility of the team through cross-functional training.

Qualifications and Experience

• CA (SA) required (0-3 years post qualification)
• Experience in financial services preferred

Key Attributes and Skills

• Strong numerical, technical and analytical skills
• Excellent attention to detail and inquisitiveness
• Ability to research, collate and synthesise data in a meaningful manner
• Good interpersonal skills
• Good written and verbal communication skills and the ability to maintain relationships with stakeholders
• Ability to work on different tasks simultaneously and under pressure
• Operate independently and within a dynamic team
• Resilience
• Individual accountability
• Passion