Credit Controller at Bridgestone South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Job Purpose

• The purpose of the Credit Controller role is to protect Bridgestone’s cash flow and working capital by minimising credit risk, ensuring timely collection of trade receivables, and enforcing credit policies across Bridgestone Retail and OTRACO operations in South Africa, in full compliance with Bridgestone Credit Management standards.
• The role supports sustainable sales growth by balancing commercial support with disciplined credit control, ensuring that customer credit exposure remains within approved limits while maintaining strong relationships with internal stakeholders and customers.

Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive credit assessments, including the review and analysis of company profiles and financial statements to evaluate creditworthiness.
• Manage and maintain the debtors' ledger, ensuring timely collection of outstanding debts and efficient resolution of customer queries and disputes.
• Reconcile customer accounts to the general ledger, ensuring accuracy and completeness of financial records.
• Clear and reconcile bank general ledger accounts.
• Process, review, and post journal entries in accordance with accounting standards and internal controls.
• Review and adjust bad debt provisions to mitigate financial risk and ensure accurate reporting.
• Oversee debtor balances across South African and cross-border entities, ensuring accounts remain current and compliant with agreed credit terms.
• Liaise with CGIC regarding claims for unpaid debt and manage the claims process.
• Collaborate with legal teams to prepare Acknowledgements of Debt (AODs) and Letters of Demand (LODs) where necessary.
• Work closely with external debt collectors to facilitate recovery of long-outstanding debts.
• Prepare monthly debtor and sales reports for local and cross-border entities, reconciling balances to the trial balance.
• Develop, implement, and maintain credit control policies, procedures, and work instructions.
• Provide support and guidance to the finance team in resolving account discrepancies and anomalies.
• Partner with area and regional managers to follow up on outstanding invoices and franchise fees.
• Authorise and assist with order releases in line with credit policies and exposure limits.
• Respond to finance-related ad hoc queries across South African and cross-border operations.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED:

• Valid and accurate financial information from customers for credit analyses
• Age analysis for the various companies (this will show the total debt, aging per bucket and overdues)
• Co-operation and understanding from all stakeholders (this include internal and external)
• Insurance policies (CGIC)
• Knowledge of ERP system (SAP)
• Knowledge of bad debt provisioning and risk mitigation

Qualifications & Experience Required

Education, Master, other certification:

• Diploma in Accounting
• Advanced Diploma in Financial Management

Experience (years):

• 3–5 Years of credit control experience

Languages Skills:

• Proficiency in English is essential.

Soft/Behavioral Skills:

• Time management and prioritisation
• Resilience under pressure
• Team player
• Able to deal with conflict
• Adaptive
• Attention to detail

WHAT WE OFFER

At Bridgestone, what really matter is to foster co-creation opportunities and empowering you to be creative and curious to make mobility safer, more efficient, and more sustainable for future generations. Whatever role you fill, when you represent Bridgestone, you are a valued teammate, and part of our larger mission to “Serve Society with Superior Quality”, for that, we offer you more than just a competitive payment; we will provide you:

• A supportive and engaging onboarding experience to ensure a smooth transition into our team.
• The opportunity to develop and grow, through training and regular mentorship.
• Corporate Social Responsibility activities.
• A truly global, dynamic and challenging work environment.
• Agility and work/life effectiveness and your long-term well-being.
• A diverse and inclusive team.