Financial Control Manager at Standard Chartered Bank

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• The Financial Control Manager and the Financial Controller are the custodians of the Banks financial information systems. The Bank relies on these systems to satisfy the reporting needs of the business, local regulators, the Regional Office, and Group Finance division.
• The Financial Control Manager shall therefore enforce systems controls, to protect this from misuse or abuse. This includes managing the account opening, maintenance, and closing procedures.
• Provides guidance on the Bank’s Financial Control Policy(“FCP”), i.e. ensure proper functioning of day to day controls, periodic monitoring of activities and timely resolution of audit issues.
• First line of defence, implement and support the Standard Chartered Enterprise Risk Management Frameworks (ERMF) and associated operational risk procedures to ensure that operational risk is effectively managed at the business unit level.  The Business Operational Risk Manager is to focus specifically on controls linked to Very High, High and Medium gross risk rated potential failures, governance and supervision.

Strategy:

• Provide guidance and lead matters related to IFRS with linkage to Annual Financial Statements and all related reporting.
• Ensuring and strong control environment to ensure compliance with all Bank’s policies and procedures.
• Forefront of driving compliance to advanced reporting standards including Sustainable Finance reporting.
• Responsible for understanding the ERMF and its implications.

Business:

• Responsible for maintaining an awareness of the wider business, economic and market environment in which the Group operates.
• Continuously evaluate and identify IFRS and operational risk implications of business strategies and programmes, and provide expert guidance on any operational risk remediation actions.
• Responsible for supporting Country Finance  with Risk initiatives, drove adoption of initiatives at the country level.

Processes:

• Oversee that the IFRS pack and all Group reports are completed accurately and timely.
• Ensuring that the queries arising from submitted reports and completed effectively.
• Half yearly and Annual Financial Statements.
• Monthly variance analysis.
• Adhoc analysis of Financial numbers.
• General Ledger Administration, Implement and monitor the application of the Chart Of Accounts (CAO).
• Ensure that no General Ledger accounts are opened/reactivated without Finance’s authority.
• Process month end and adhoc adjustments.
• Establish business need before recommending the opening of a General Ledger account.
• Maintain a register for all General Ledger accounts opened for report mapping purposes.
• Perform effective Monthly TB reviews.
• Responsible for investigation and resolving level 1 and 2 TP vs GL reconciliations.
• Oversee the management of the Financial Control System submissions.
• Co-ordinate internal and external audits. Ensure that audit findings are resolved timely.
• Responsible for adherence to specified BAU operational risk deadlines.
• Ensure that all significant OR issues are escalated within 24 hours of identification to the Country SORO.
• Responsible for being the operational risk subject matter expert by being the key escalation contact to respond to queries specific to operational risk issues and or events.
• Responsible to coordinate with stakeholders in the country and with other operational risk managers to increase sharing of key developments, learnings and best practices.
• Accountable for ensuring Residual Risk Acceptance requests are completed timely by the process owners, approvals from second line of defence from both the operational risk team and the appropriate risk owner is obtained prior to submission to the relevant governance forums/committees.
• Responsible for the timely implementation and execution of the Control Sample Testing (CST) process, sampling and testing the population of controls to ensure compliance with agreed control standards, including facilitating the monitoring / collection of any Key Control Indicators (KCIs).
• Responsible for ensuring quality of information recorded in the risk tracking system, as well as ensuring accuracy, completeness of data, driving the timely resolution of outstanding actions.
• Responsible for supporting the business in minimizing operational risks and losses, and ensuring material operational losses are investigated to prevent recurrence.
• Responsible for ensuring that Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is completed timely by process owners for operational risk events that meet the criteria prescribed in the ORE procedures.
• Review audit findings and key themes, assisting business to achieve resolution in line with business risk appetite.
• Responsible for coordinating internal and external audit reviews – liaising with stakeholders to ensure timely / accurate information is provided.
• Drive improvement in OR processes (through process improvement initiatives).
• Assist relevant stakeholders within the business and across functions in the management and implementation of both the ORF and ERMF and any other relevant OR-related initiatives, including ensuring proper functioning of embedded and periodic controls.
• Drive compliance with Financial control policy (FCP), ensure proper functioning of day to day controls and risks, periodic monitoring activities and timely resolution of audit issues.
• Coordinate the Business Continuity process for Finance.

Regulatory & Business Conduct:

• Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Values and Code of Conduct.
• Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct.
• Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters.
•  Lead to achieve the outcomes set out in the Bank’s Conduct Principles

Key stakeholders:

• BORMs and responsible persons
• Country finance team
• Group Finance
• Senior Operational Risk Officer(s) (SORO)
• Risk and process Owners
• GFS Teams – Kenya
• R2R Controllers
• Internal Auditors
• External Auditors
• Business & Country Compliance teams
• Operations 
• External Auditors

Our Ideal Candidate:

• BCOM Accounting Honours
• Auditing Articles
• CA (SA)

Role Specific Technical Competencies:

• Technical Accounting
• Problem solving
• Enterprise Risk Management
• Auditing
• Analytical
• Deadline driven
• Resiliency
• Project management