Management Accountant (Portfolios) - Scientia, Pretoria (Hybrid) at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

About the job:

The CSIR has a vacancy for a Management Accountant (Portfolios) in the Financial Services portfolio.The incumbent will be responsible to partner with management and support management decision making through effective financial planning, performance management and reporting, ensuring accurate and complete financial information, maintaining effective financial controls, and assisting management in the formulation of effective solutions to support the implementation of the organization`s strategy. This position is based in Pretoria.

Key responsibilities:

Prepare standard financial report: data analytics and measurements

• Plan, communicate and manage month-end, year-end and ad hoc processes required to ensure accurate and complete monthly and annual financial results and follow-up and resolve outstanding queries
• Compile, analyse and interpret monthly management accounts for relevant business areas, including detailed variance analysis with accurate and relevant stakeholders to mitigate financial risk and met financial targets.
• Prepare relevant ad-hoc reports and data analysis to provide insight into business performance, including predictive results, to support effective management decision making and improve financial sustainability.
• Ensure relevance of reports and implement improvements on continuous basis.
• Ensure that all are accurate, completed and approved with the required timeframes.

Contract Management: for ensuring accurate and complete commercial contracting and financial results

• Ensure compliance with terms and conditions of commercial agreements for both customers and suppliers
• Review accuracy and completeness of the contract milestones/deliverables, billing plans, budget allocations and cost centres on the financial system to monitor and report on progress
• Ensure that contracts (and associated projects) are correctly classified, and register based on the required accounting standard which is informed by the relevant IFRS/IAS contract classification checklist
• Ensure that a signed copy of contract, routing sheet and accounting standard classification checklist is registered on the system to ensure ease of access to supporting documents and electronic audit trail
• Prepare/review weekly, monthly and annual contract reports, including analysis to identify gaps and areas of concern.  Provide reports to relevant manager/line staff, including recommended actions required to ensure contract delivery in terms of performance obligations
• Ensure that contract/project specific reports are prepared based on client specification and requirements are as per signed agreements to include progress against plan (if applicable)
• Review and approve contract reconciliations prepare by the financial administration/accounting officers for accuracy and correctness and ensure queries have been actioned timeously
• Ensure that contract/project management meetings are attended by relevant finance team members

Finance Service Delivery: ensure high levels of internal customer satisfaction through delivering high quality Finance products and services for the organisation

• Financial Management
  • Ensure that all financial information for relevant areas of responsibility is recorded accurately and completely
  • Formulate and recommend relevant revenue and costing models informed by latest information, benchmarking, and best practice to improve operational decision making and profitability within areas of responsibility
  • Identify and implement cost savings initiatives and efficiencies within areas of responsibility
  • Review and approve manual journals and upload (including correction of errors, provisions and accruals, bad debt, manual adjustments, zero rate vat, forecast, interest capitalisation and monthly overhead cost recovery) to accurately reflect financial information and cost distribution for accurate financial month-end results
  • Scrutinise the trial balance before month end to ensure completeness and validity of entries and follow up on abnormal or missing entries.  Consider accruals and discuss findings, recommendations, and corrections with Finance Manager
  • Ensure that monthly reconciliations for relevant income statement and balance sheet accounts are prepared and reviewed and that reconciling items are resolved and cleared timeously
  • Provide information and substantiating documentation to central Finance to clear items from control accounts and ensure expenses are correctly accounted for and assets added in the correct categories
• Manage the budget process
  • Plan, communicate and manage the budget process in terms of annual directive for areas of responsibility
  • Provide financial information and budget requirements to managers to enable them to prepare their budgets
  • Ensure accuracy and completeness of budget base data received from the internal CSIR department to assist with accurate internal overheads/recoveries planning
  • Ensure the budgets are accurately captures on the CSIR budget system
  • Consolidate budgets for review by Financial Manager and relevant operational manager
• Manage the forecast process
  • Plan, communicate and managed the monthly forecast process for areas of responsibility
  • Engage with Division/Portfolio and department managers to ensure accuracy and reliability of information used as a basis for forecasts
  • Consolidate forecasts including variance analyses and corrective actions for review by Financial Manager and relevant operational manager
  • Review/approve forecast adjustment journals and ensure that journals are updated into system as per agreed upon forecast
• Interact with customers and stakeholders (internal and external)
  • Maintain professionalism in all interactions
  • Ensure that all queries are resolved timeously

Support internal/External audits to ensure compliance to stated financial objectives and audit requirements

• Engage with internal and external auditors to understand the audit requirements and to ensure an efficient audit is conducted within the required frames
• Provide system and process descriptions and other information requirements, on project specific audits, internal audit requests/reports and annual/specific external audits to comply with stated objectives of the audit and financial requirements and to assist the auditors in meeting set deadlines
• Review and provide recommendations and implement corrective action as agreed

Governance and compliance: compliance to financial framework and relevant legislation and implementation of effective financial controls within the Business areas

• Review and recommend business process improvements to the financial manager or relevant responsible persons to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of financial support
• Communicate and assist with the implementation of CSIR policy and process changes to ensure compliance by staff

Financial Administration

• Provide management oversight and direction to all financial administration activities, including:
  • Ensure the Business areas Petty Cash float is managed and accounted for through regular cash counts and that petty cash expenses are within policy and procedures and that total expenses and cash reconciles with the petty cash float (where relevant)
  • Ensure effective management of open orders, ensuring timely follow up and action to close orders by Financial Administration Officers
  • Ensure local and overseas employee reimbursement claims are verified that the appropriate and supporting documentation is attached and that the correct cost centres are indicated, the correctness of the approval by the direct managers are validated, before approving and submitting for processing
  • Review and approve voice and data allowances for areas of responsibility
  • Ensure effective record keeping
  • Any other financial administration related activities

Support Finance Team

• Coach, train and manage performance of staff or junior team members
• Ensure team members perform their duties in accordance with their job requirements
• Evaluate segregation of duties continuously to ensure the control environment remains intact
• Identify gaps for training or development of staff to assist with skills retention and succession planning
• Provide training to support finance team on the business process requirements of contract management and project administration and the impact of transactions processed in the financial system to provide them with a good understanding of their responsibilities in performing their duties efficiently in support of the Division/Portfolio
• Foster a culture of excellence, customer service and continuous improvement

Qualifications, skills and experience:

• A Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting/Finance/Management Accounting or equivalent
• A Bachelor of Commerce Honours or CIMA - advantageous
• At least five years` finance experience in a medium to large business, including:
  • At least three years management accountant experience
  • Financial reconciliation and reporting
  • Financial planning, including budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis
  • Analysis and interpretation of financial data
  • Sound understanding of international accounting standards
  • Sound understanding of legislation applicable to state owned entities
  • Supervision of junior team members
• Financial management
• Management accounting
• Financial analysis and reporting
• Budget/forecast preparation
• Internal controls
• Sound knowledge of auditing requirements
• Full Microsoft suite
• Solid understanding of accounting and CSIR financial systems
• Knowledge and application of contract and project administration principles and accounting requirements
• Excellent communication skills
• Effective leadership skills
• Well organised
• Ability to multitask and manage competing priorities

Closing date: 08 March 2024