Senior Finance Manager at Santam Insurance

What will you do?

• This suitably qualified and experienced individual is responsible for the following for all operational geographies: financial planning and analysis, budgeting support, performance tracking and reporting to the core management team, implementing finance automation solutions, implementing an activity-based costing model, working with the cluster market heads as well as the financial operations and financial reporting team to ensure all income statements are accurate and up to date. The role is required to ensure the timely delivery of accurate and complete information with the necessary insight on business performance for all geographies. The role will support an enhanced understanding of the business written in each geography and enhance the strategic, risk and overall financial performance of the business.

What will make you successful?

Business Partnering

• Act as a trusted partner to the senior leadership team and as the interface between financial operations, reporting and the business.
• Develop strong relationships with the underwriting, pricing and actuarial teams to ensure the accurate reporting of business performance per geography.
• Gather and report on insights from the financials to drive improved strategic decision-making and greater understanding of performance by class of business per geography.
• Work with the business to develop and implement an activity-based cost allocation model to ensure each geography carries its proportional share of the cost base.
• These costs include both direct costs and shared costs which are allocated from Group companies.

Qualifications and Experience

• CA (SA) essential
• Minimum 5+ years post qualification experience.
• Audit Background, preferably in financial services
• Non-life insurance experience is essential 
• Experience with SQL / Qlikview / Power BU is advantageous
• Reinsurance knowledge an advantage
• IFRS 17 implementation and application experience is highly advantageous

About you 

• You have a proven track record of delivering meaningful, impactful work throughout your career.
• You have a minimum of 5 years of post-qualification experience, in progressively senior roles.
• You have strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the vision to see solutions beyond current system capabilities.
• You are technically strong in IFRS and can explain complex concepts at all levels – from senior management to new career entrants.
• You understand how to design, implement and monitor a financial control environment.
• You have excellent communication and presentation skills and enjoy working cross-functionally building relationships across an organisation.
• You can adapt, and thrive, in a fast-paced and evolving environment where you will need to roll up your sleeves.
• You are adept at leading and mentoring diverse, high-performing teams and proactively supporting team members who need guidance to perform at the required level.
• Identify and action opportunities for process and cost optimisation across the business (not limited to the finance function).
• Ownership of the budgeting and forecasting process.
• Proactive monitoring of the processing done by the financial operations team to ensure smooth daily operations and a single source of truth between the underwriting, accounting and actuarial teams.
• Joint ownership of the process of aligning information on source systems between finance and underwriting. 

Automation and Process Optimisation

• Actively seek out opportunities to automate functions within the finance team to reduce the manual effort involved in day-to-day reporting.
• Work closely with the IT system development team to optimise IT routines and automated financial entries to ensure accurate financial reporting.
• Develop and maintain up-to-date real-time financial dashboards per class of business, per geography to enable quicker decision-making.

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Collaborate with the financial operations, financial reporting and management team through the monthly reporting cycle.
• Assist with month-end reporting as required.
• Perform variance analysis, with actionable insights and recommendations to the management team.
• Monitor the KPIs for each class of business, per geography to ensure that any early-warning indicators are flagged and reported as soon as possible.

Governance, Compliance and Controls

• Establish a sound system of financial controls over all processes within functional area.
• Ensure that standard operating procedures are documented for all core functions within the finance team, including the preparation of a risk and control matrix.
• Collaborate with internal and external assurance providers through the respective reporting cycles.

Team Development

• Mentor and develop staff across the business to ensure we inculcate a culture of excellence, process optimisation and collaboration across all teams.
• Provide financial and accounting training to staff in need, as well as to the broader business to ensure that performance is well understood.
• Actively support own staff, and the broader finance team, to adopt automation through technology and act as the change champion.