Specialist: Corporate Tax at Liberty Group South Africa

Purpose

To provide specialist advise and support in the maintenance and analysis of taxation data in order to provide accurate reports and information to relevant business stakeholders, through the execution of predefined objectives as per agreed SOPs.

Minimum Experience

5 years' experience in a similar environment 

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelors Degree and Professional Qualifications [Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L5] in Finance Economics and Accounting

Additional Minimum Qualifications

• Post-graduate qualification with specialist Tax focus (Desirable)

Skills

• Experience within the life insurance/financial services/wealth services sector (Essential)
• Communication skills (verbal, written).
• Analytical, interpretation (Tax Law) and able to apply tax principles and professional judgement to various business scenarios
• Problem-solving skills.
• Able to take initiative, function independently and take ownership and drive tasks/projects from begin to end.
• Interpersonal skills (assertiveness).
• Extreme attention to detail and accuracy;
• Advanced numeracy skills;
• Computer literacy (Excel) (Essential)
•  

Core Duties

• To accurately and timeously prepare and/or review and submit income tax and VAT returns and related payments.
• To accurately and timeously prepare/review monthly tax computations and related tax-accounting entries and disclosures for financial reporting purposes in respect of all Liberty Group non-life insurance companies.
• To review and reconcile, on a monthly basis, internal tax accounting with SARS statements of accounts.
• To liaise with SARS in resolving any tax controversy matters.
• To review income tax and VAT submissions prepared by Liberty Group business units, where applicable, to ensure compliance by the business.
• To identify and/or review the income tax and VAT processes and controls within the Liberty Group business in order to minimize tax risk.
• To formulate and draft tax opinions on the application of tax legislation to new and existing business initiatives, as and when required.
• To design tax models that incorporate new business initiatives, as required.
• To assist with ad hoc tax projects as may be required by business.
• To continuously advise and provide tax-related training to stakeholders to ensure optimal awareness and competence with regard to new and existing tax requirements.
• To regularly undertake research in order to hone technical skills in order to stay abreast of developments in field of specialization.

Process

• Support the auditing process by providing accurate and up to date data in alignment with Org. financial reporting standards and requirements.
• Provide specialist advice and support in area of accountability to ensure that identified solutions and recommendations are appropriate and effective.
• Apply quality assurance principles in order to ensure the authorisation and release of payments in a timely and efficient manner.
• Ensure the accurate and timely reporting on payments, accruals and reconciliations, ensuring a clear audit trail.
• Investigate anomolies and or irregularaties to establish and verify facts that leads to the identification and reduction of risks.
• Assist in the compilation of financial statements in line with the audit file and approved accounting framework related to identified funds.
• Apply identified methods and techniques to effectively calculate salaries and correctly deduct tax, pension and medical aid contributions.
• Accurately reconcile financial transaction records to supporting documentation in order to enable the verification of the validity of transactions.
• Accountable for the execution of specialised work including the improvement of quality, standards and outputs within defined work routines and operating procedures.
• Proactively solves problems, determines root-cause and applies solutions in line with guidelines and providing the necessary information to solve problems related to area of specialisation.
• Plan for own task execution and advises on improvements related to area of specialisation.

Customer

• Ensure own understanding and adherence to customer service delivery and Treating the Customer Fairly (TCF) principles to provide specialist support and guidance.

Finance

• Adhere to specified standards, policies and procedures to prevent potential losses/wastage related to the area of specialisation.

Learning and Growth

• Interact proactively with others for the purpose of continuous knowledge sharing; and integration of own new knowledge.
• Contribute positively to own area-specific knowledge improvement associated with area of specialisation.

Governance

• Ensure that established accounting standards, procedures and processes are adhered to, in compliance with legislative regulations.
• Comply to set governance and compliance procedures and processes related to an area of work and continuously identify, rectify and escalate risks where necessary.

Technical Competencies

• Tax Management (Intermediate)
• Research and Information Gathering (Basic)
• Financial Accounting (Intermediate)
• Reporting and Interpretation (Basic)
• Customer Advice (Technical) (Basic)

Behavioural Competencies

• Professional/Technical learning (Basic)
• Organisation and Attention to Detail (Intermediate)
• Interpersonal Effectiveness (Basic)
• Problem Solving and Analysis (Basic)
• Teamwork and Cooperation (Basic)
• Communicating with Impact (Basic)
• Relationship Management and Networking (Basic)
• Customer Orientation (Basic)