Management Accountant at TFG (The Foschini Group)

Responsibilities

Leadership and People Management

• Serve as a member of the ROH management team and translate the agreed-upon strategy into tactical plans for their teams that align with the ROH’s goals and drive team delivery accordingly.
• Facilitate regular interdepartmental meetings and communication to promote collaboration, prevent silos, and maintain alignment across capabilities within the Hub.
• Promote open and consistent communication across teams, creating clear direction, encouraging collaboration, and fostering a cohesive approach to achieving shared goals.
• Provide central governance across store operational cost portfolios including utilities, maintenance, cleaning, logistics support services, and store consumables. 
• Monitor and analyse cost trends across the store estate, identifying anomalies, inefficiencies, and cost-saving opportunities.
• Identify and implement cost optimisation initiatives across operational service portfolios.
• Partner with Finance and operational teams to improve budgeting accuracy and cost forecasting for store services.
• Investigate operational cost variances across stores and drive corrective actions where required. 

Data Analysis and Reporting

• Analyse past ROH financial performance, budgets, and forecasts to inform operational and strategic decisions. 
• Prepare internal reports and financial statements, ensuring accuracy and timely delivery. 
• Oversee and govern operational data to ensure the relevant KPI’s as well as operational dashboard accurately reports and tracks performance across the group, maintaining data integrity and enabling actionable insights. 
• Collaborate with Finance Business Partners in the Stack to analyse management reports provided by their team/ROH departments, offering group-wide insights to identify opportunities, align targets, and drive cost-efficiency strategies within the Stacks as well as support divisions.
• Analyse and interpret standard monthly management reports received from the CoE and Finance Shared Services, identifying insights and actions. 
• Evaluate and manage ad hoc requests for financial performance metrics, ensuring compliance with data governance standards and prioritising requests based on strategic alignment and operational impact.

Budget Management and Financial Oversight

• Develop, manage, and monitor Hub budgets and associated costs, ensuring alignment with operational objectives. 
• Review cost centre forecasts for the Retail Operations Hub, ensuring the planning tool accurately reflects actuals and projections for all costs. 
• Oversee financial processes related to cost allocations, recoveries (chargebacks), and forecasts, addressing any concerns and guiding outcomes to approach and resolution. 
• Populate journal templates and supporting documentation for submission to the Record to Report function, including accruals and intercompany entries. 

Financial Planning and Business Support 

• Advise on strategic initiatives and propose business strategies for the ROH to drive shareholder value. 
• Support ROH Managers in developing business cases for operational cost budgets by preparing financial models and providing expert guidance. 
• Accompany the Head of the Retail Operations Hub to engage Brand Finance Business Partners to secure approvals and communicate decisions. 

Stakeholder Consultation and Collaboration 

• Support the Head of Retail Operations Hub with key financial decisions and performance analysis. 
• Act as the interface between the Hub and the internal Finance community (BPs, CoEs, and Finance Shared Services). 
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to drive strong engagements across the finance operating model. 

 Process Optimisation and Compliance 

• Identify opportunities to streamline financial processes, improving efficiency and accuracy. 
• Act as a subject-matter expert for financial tools and systems, supporting their implementation and management. 
• Act as a super user for the Non-Merchandise Procurement tool – Coupa – for the ROH.

Qualifications

Qualifications and Experience:

• BCom or Honours Degree in Financial/Management Accounting. 
• CIMA or equivalent qualification preferred. 
• 5+ years of post-qualification experience in financial management, reporting, or analysis.

Skills

• Advanced proficiency in financial systems (e.g., SAP, Coupa). 
• Strong command of Microsoft Excel, including data analysis and financial modelling. 
• Familiarity with reporting and data visualisation tools such as Power BI or Tableau. 
• Expertise in managing budgets, forecasts, and operational performance metrics.

Behaviours

• Ensures Accountability - takes accountability and ensures others are held to account on agreed upon performance targets.
• Manages Complexity - interprets and simplifies complex and contradictory information when resolving organisational problems.
• Plans and Aligns - develops plans and prioritises initiatives that align to the organisational goals and objectives.
• Optimizes Work Processes - assesses and improves the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of various work processes.
• Organizational savvy - understands and navigates dynamics created by processes, systems, and people.