Senior Financial Manager: Operations Finance at African Bank

About the job
MAIN PURPOSE OF THE JOB:

• To manage accounting support and insight to the Business. Including but not limited to providing accounting services for the various payment streams, Transactional Banking, 3rd party VAS General ledger accounts, all new business ventures or other payment streams as well as managing the relevant reconciliations, assisting in all finance related matters including the budgeting together with preparation of identified management reports. To manage receipting and reconciliation related activities on our back-office systems in line with the department deliverables.

KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS:

Treating Customers Fairly and Compliance

• Create and maintain productive relationships with internal and external clients by providing advice and assistance
• Create understanding of the ‘real’ versus ‘perceived’ need through experience and expertise while complying with company policies, legislation and regulations
• Keep the client informed about progress through written communication, telephone communications, and/or face-to-face meetings
• Build a positive image by exceeding client expectations at all times
• Treat internal and external customers fairly at all times

Business Unit Stakeholder Engagement and MANCO

• Key stakeholder for Personal Banking and Insurance Verticals
• Set regular meetings with Personal Banking and Insurance Verticals to:
• Discuss and resolve any operational issues.
• Discuss project blockers at a high level.
• Assist the BU in achieving improved services to the customer.
• Provide input into trends identified to improve BU service to customers that benefit the.
• Attend & provide insights in the Operations MANCO.
• Prepare input monthly into MANCO packs.
• Develop, manage and maintain relationships with Key Business Stakeholders.
• Ad-hoc be the back-up representative for Operations Finance in the various group MANCO’s.

Financial Management & Reconciliations inclusive of receipting/invoicing

• Review completion of reconciliations and Transactional reconciliations with various Third Parties including BankServ Africa, Visa, MasterCard, SAMOS and other Vendors.
• Validate data provided for accuracy and completeness.
• Review investigation and timeous correction of variances.
• Ensure that unallocated items are managed daily. 

Follow up on all non-reconciled items according to KPI’s.

• Approve write-offs on unallocated receipts older than 18 months.
• Understand and reconcile international transactions according to VISA & MasterCard.
• Currency Conversion standards.
• Monitor timeous resolution of queries and that the team have liaised with the relevant stakeholders to result in an effective incident management process.
• Ensure that the team perform timeous distribution of reconciliations to relevant stakeholders.

Compliance, Audit & Risk

• Ensure legal and regulatory compliance is strictly adhered to including the following regulatory bodies:
• PASA, BASA, SARB, VISA, MasterCard, SWIFT, BankServ, TCF, etc.
• Assist with the auditing processes, both internal and external.
• Ensure that there are no significant audit findings for the financial components of the Payments department within this profile of responsibility.
• Address audit findings where such findings are related to the financial components of Payments within this profile of responsibility.
• Ensure Monthly Risk register updating, and review is submitted timeously to the Risk Champion
• Ensure Risk incident reporting is completed timeously and submitted to Resilience and the Risk Teams

Management of resources (people)

• Development of staff (e.g. training)
• Appraisal of staff performance as required by Human Capital.
• Management of staff (e.g. employee relations, conflict resolution, disciplinary actions).
• Allocation of work to resources in accordance with business requirements
• Managing timelines to meet business expectation.
• Cross skilling of key personnel to ensure continuity and sustainability.
• Training and development of talented high potential employees to create succession planning.
• Create an environment for work satisfaction and contended employees.
• Create career development plans for all employees.
• Ensure that all staff has a Job Description, KRA’s; Development Plan; Incentive plan in place.

Implementation of requirements and enhancements on Finance processes

• Identify opportunities to automate processes to enable volume growth and minimize the requirement for additional resources
• Drive delivery to meet all targets and timelines as per project plans
• Drive successful implementation of projects
• Drive compliance requirements is ensured and implemented within the projects
• Reviewing of drafted and updating of SOP’s and SLA’s
• Guide and provide input with Business Case, Cost Analysis, Business Requirements and Functional Specs.
• Propose technique, methodologies and system designs which appropriately address financial risks associated with new projects
• Reviewing of testing and implementing financial elements on the systems involved in new projects
• Signing off financial elements of the system changes required for the new projects
• Bank Projects - implementation of Operational Processes and System enhancements including recons impacting Operations Finance
• Ensure that projects are implemented taking into account:
• Industry Requirements and Relationships
• Ensuring processes are reviewed and operationalized.
• Provide input with automation process for new products introduced as well as automation of the existent processes. 

Review system changes when such changes are related to financial components of the Operation Finance processes. 

• Managing & Monitoring integrity of the data used for the accounting and financial reporting when such data is related to financial components of the Payments designated projects. 
• Ensuring that system errors resulting financial impact are addressed timeously and effectively by the team.
• Continuously manage controls related to the financial components of the Payments department.

Monitoring, Reporting and Budget

• Monitoring, Reporting and Budget Ensuring full personal compliance, compliance of the direct reports as well as compliance of the business with Bank’s policies and procedures 
• Development and maintenance of the appropriate policies procedures for Operation Finance. 
• Management of the monitoring function within Operations Finance ensuring that business needs are met.
• Managing the daily balances confirmation processes
• Assess financial impact of the system changes and system errors and produce reporting statistics that highlight issues to be addresses. 
• Valid, accurate, complete and timeous completion of management reports
• Input into the monthly Payments reporting packs.
• Assist with putting the budget together for Operations and monthly monitoring and feedback.
• Assistance in planning and managing the budgeting and forecasting processes on behalf of Payments. 
• Assisting with budgets and cost savings initiatives 
• Monitoring costs and ensuring all internal controls are adhered to. 
• Monitoring performance against current budgets and forecasts and advising Payments through monthly performance packs and business review meetings.
• Review the translation and preparation of the consolidated Payments management pack.
• Analyse monthly variances against the budget for the Operations Department. 
• Manage costs / third party fees and recommendations on reducing costs etc.
• Advise on improving the business with regards to Operations Finance strategies / financial plans and controls