Senior Specialist: Commercial Finance at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Description

Accountability: Manage and execute the following deliverables to Exco and other members of senior management in collaboration with teammates, with the support of business unit financial decision support teams, risk colleagues and treasury colleagues:

• Project management and analysis of key planning deliverables throughout the year: revised annual forecasts (RAF), outlooks, short-term and medium-term plans (STP and MTP), stress testing and integrated plan outputs
• Monthly and quarterly key financial reports on financial performance
• Competitor analysis
• Research projects - gathering financial data and creating insightful, decision useful analysis and thought pieces
• Other ad hoc projects and presentations
• Financial scenario analysis and stress testing
• Consolidating financial information for senior management
• Attend meetings to assist executives to understand and complete their tasks to achieve team goals

Accountability: RAF and STP review packs

• Assess the attainability and reasonability of the various budgets and forecasts put forward by comparing them to market expectations, past performance and management expectations. Reliance is not simply placed on the numbers themselves but utilisation of various key metrics (return on regulatory capital, return on equity, cost-to-income, JAWS, etc.) is essential. 
• Compile review packs for submission to Exco and any other relevant committee. The pack together with commentary is necessary to provide a sounds basis on which the budget is approved.
• Interact with other departments such as Treasury, Risk and Group Tax may be necessary to provide comfort and assurance that the more technical aspects of submissions (e.g. funding plan impacts, risk-weighted assets and leverage) have been scrutinized and appear reasonable given the Groups economic outlook. undefined
• Accountability: Ad-hoc requirements/submissions
• Execute ad-hoc queries that are dependent on external and internal requirements and vary considerably throughout the year.
• Attend various committee meetings in which one will use their understanding of e.g. margins, impairment trends or economic understanding to provide a valuable contribution. In some instances, the contribution will be on a discussion basis and in others a submission to the committee is required.
• Provide other departments (Productivity Office, Office of the CE’s, Treasury, etc.) with a range of information (analysis, forecasts and actual financial data etc) to perform their respective tasks. The information supplied may need to be package in a different format to make it relevant for their respective needs. An understanding of the roll-up structures within the Absa business and good financial understanding is vital in this instance to avoid misrepresenting information. undefined
• Accountability: Interim and year-end reporting (twice a year)
• Compile competitor analysis which compares the Commercial SA’s performance to peers. undefined
• Accountability: Cluster Relationship Manager (CRM) roles undefined

Perform all other duties as reasonably assigned

• Peer responsibility: Coach, inspire, engage, mentor and develop finance and business savvy leaders.
• Play to our A-Game culture of inclusivity, diversity, entrepreneurship, and ownership.
• Network with finance colleagues across BB Finance and create awareness of challenges, opportunities and issues and encourage collaboration
• Focus on finance skills evolution and remaining relevant.
• Maintaining and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders across the organisation, e.g. BB and BU Financial Resource Management, BB and BU Risk, Group Treasury Finance, Finance Business Partners and Financial Decision Support Heads.

Qualifications and experience:

• B Com degree with Honours
• CA SA / CIMA (5-8 years post qualifying)
• Non-CA SA / CIMA (7-10 years’ experience in Financial Services organisation)
• Able to work effectively across a multi-service Financial Services organisation
• Experience working closely with data, MI, and analytics teams is essential. Exposure to MI tools, data modelling, dashboards, or basic coding (e.g. SQL, Python, or similar) is an advantage.
• Previous exposure to financial management reporting in a financial services organisation