Product Controller at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• The role will be focused on Product Control functions and support for various finance functions across EB/RB/PS and collaborate with broader finance community.
• Key deliverables include:
• Review of journal process and provide support as and when required
• Finance investigation and projects, ensure that the line manager is appraised of key financial issues that need to be raised with executive leadership to enable integrity and timely management of the function
• Continuously seeking ways to improve operations by scaling automated financial processes, performing deep dives on several topics and trend analyses.
• Ensure appropriate, quality and timeous delivery of accurate financial and non-financial management information to support business objectives and expectations, including insightful comments and packaging the information in a relevant and appropriate manner

Job Description

• Product Control Visibility
• Ensure representation in relevant Finance governance forums in support of the CFOs
• Provide commercial support and insights as and when required
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs cost and support overall finance strategy
• Ensure quality reporting for monthly Product Control Monthly meetings
• Provide high level overview of monthly recons across Product Control, FSSA, Tech Enablement, Accounting Control and other CFO outsourced recons.
• Financial Control – Partnership
• Annual review of end to end documentation of Recons, Product Systems involved, system owners and exception handling
• Obtain an understanding of the outsourced recons, nature of transactions, items under investigation and identify control gaps on the end-to-end process: Product system/General Ledger/Business unit impact
• Understand impact of General Ledger breaks on Balance sheet (statement of financial position) and Income statement (profit or loss)
• Maintain stakeholder map for ease of investigation: Product system owners, General Ledger and Technical teams per business/CFO
• Be alert of emerging issues on GL and communicate accordingly
• Serve as a subject matter expert on financial data integrity, accounting processes, reconciliations, finance investigations.
• Process Optimization
• Continuously seek ways to improve operations by scaling automated financial processes
•  Perform deep dives on several topics, understand the end to GL flows including source of system entries, how they clear, cut off for GL processing, system owners , escalation processes and contra entries per GL account
• Identify processes to be streamlined
• Support Product Control Journal process and recons 
• Develop and implement control procedures as deficiencies or exceptions are identified which support the production of error-free journal processes.
• Align to processes around month-end, year-end and planning cycles across Product Control and finance community based on the requirements from Group.
• Interact with the stakeholders to agree minimum quality standards, as well as an agreed method of communicating and resolving any identified quality deficiencies in the journal processing & recon space
• Know BU financial ambitions and balance sheet aspirations of Product Control
• Audit & Compliance
• Support external and internal audit as when required
• Act in line with the relevant governance and control frameworks across
• Support finance projects and ensure compliance with relevant governance processes for New & Amended Product Approvals (NAPA) and other Internal Governance processes
• Collaborate with reconcilers across finance and standardize NAPA documents for Process/GL flows and assist in mapping out of those processes
• Maintain relationships with broader finance community to enhance the overall process with regards finance projects and impact on financial reporting
• Assist in regular tracking of finance conditions raised
• Professionalism and proper planning before for weekly NAPA sessions
• Closure packs to be submitted timely, manage Project Owners and be gate keepers for the CFOs final approval
• Tracking all stages of development
• Peer responsibility: Coach, inspire, engage, mentor and develop finance junior staff members under supervision
• Network with finance colleagues across EB/RB/PS and create awareness of issues and encourage collaboration
• Focus on Finance skills evolution and remaining relevant.
• Minimum B-degree (NQF level no.7) Desired Post Graduate qualification preferred.
• 3+ years professional financial proceceses experience

Knowledge and skills:

• Experience in executing finance processes.
• Experience in commercial innovation environments
• Broad Finance including control environment, commercial support , compliance and operational aspects
• Understanding of the financial services sector within a professional business environment
• Knowledge of building collaborative work environments

Education

• Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Financial Sciences (Required)