Specialist FC Systems and Reporting - Sandton at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• The purpose of the role is to manage the support, development and maintenance of the financial aspects of the Financial Reporting Systems and General Ledgers as well as participate in research, design, development and testing of improvements or new solutions to ensure financial data integrity. Assist with strategy and business requirements for FC Systems, manage and deliver financial and management reports to FC and other Group functions.  Provide leadership, training and support to stakeholders and team.

Job Description

Accountability: Maintain financial data integrity 

• Contribute towards financial systems data alignment and integration.
• Establish and execution of sufficient controls for the balancing process of financial systems.
• Execution of the balancing process of financial systems.
• Identifying opportunities to streamline the use of financial data and system functionality.
• Establish and enforce a stable environment for the maintenance/enhancement of financial processes.

Accountability: Manage Finance System operations

• Co-ordinate all maintenance and operational activities performed on the finance system to ensure accuracy and completeness.
• Establish and consistently enforce sound system and internal controls to ensure that procedures are correct.
• Propose Metadata changes to simplify reporting.
• Create and maintain standard and specific financial and management reports. (Focus on SAP4 HANA Business Warehouse (BW), Hyperion Planning, CDM and HFR Reporting but not limited to these Reporting Tools)
• Support and ensure accuracy of specific financial and management reports

Accountability: User Support, Reporting and Access 

• With strong operational knowledge be able to provide guidance to new users in utilising the finance application systems correctly
• Assist users with queries regarding transactions processed to the financial systems
• Providing user support relating to system problems and or errors
• Escalate any problems/errors that need IT attention
• Fulfil administrator role to manage and provide user access and support to the reporting engine.
• Build custom reports as required

Accountability: Stakeholder management 

• Build strong relationships with key role players in order to have a clear understanding of their business requirements
• Understand the impact of the changes and inform business of any risks or impact as a result of changes
• Escalate stakeholder dissatisfaction / issues to line manager for follow up and resolution
• Provide direction and input to enable Business Units to manage and resolve issues
• Track and report against customer experience metrics
• Accountability: Business direction and support 
• Ensure that the solution complies with existing policies and controls frameworks.
• Assist with the management of the day to day operations of the business area
• Ensure the satisfaction of the customer (internal or external) needs by responding efficiently, ensuring high quality of work and by meeting the required deadlines
• Agree and manage service offerings and SLAs with internal customers (agree annually and measure on a monthly basis)

Accountability: Risk management, compliance and controls 

• Ensure that the team understands applicable risk management, compliance and control (RCSA) requirements, including required compliance training
• Participate in the development of the Business Continuity Plan by reviewing and ensuring the critical financial processes are adequately covered and tested
• Assist external and internal audit.
• Perform proper maintenance of all actions needed for the completion of DEA (Design Effectiveness Assessment) and OET (Operating Effectiveness Testing)
• Assist with compliance testing.
• Assist with any audit findings raised and work to close out these in the required time frame
• Perform relevant attestation to controls as per distributed plan and timelines
• Provide input to risk and control assessments to ensure that all risks are controlled

Accountability: People and talent management 

• Exhibits Absa’s purpose and values and champions them in the team towards development of a corporate culture
• Supports a culture that acknowledges the diversity of the members
• Training requirements to be identified and applied for on a timely basis and handed to team leader for approval

Accountability: Process management 

• As Process Executor:
• Execution of processes as designed
• Constantly review, improve and maintain own activities to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of processes
• Recommend areas for improvement in order to reduce cycle times, improve productivity, create capacity and improve process reliability and customer satisfaction
• Assist in the implementation of new and/or enhanced processes
• Identify activity-specific risks and work with Process Owner / Process Architect to mitigate risks
• Maintain awareness of own activities and the impact thereof on related / inter-dependent activities

Education & Experience:

Education:

• B Degree in Commerce or Advanced Diploma in Accounting or Advanced Diploma/B Tech in Information Technology (NQF Level 7).

Experience:

• 3 – 5 Years’ experience in support, development, and maintenance of financial reporting tools
• Intermediate exposure and understanding of SAP4 HANA BW and Hyperion Planning concepts 
• Intermediate skill in the development of Business Objects Web Intelligence reports and Dashboards. 
• 5 – 8 Years’ experience in banking/financial and financial systems
• Preferred - Understanding of information systems and technology

Knowledge & Skills:

• Quantitative finance skills
• Risk knowledge (credit and market risk)
• Negotiation
• Report writing
• Presentation skills
• Conflict Management
• Coaching
• Problem-solving
• Interpersonal skills
• Management and leadership

Competencies: 

• Deciding and initiating action
• Learning and researching
• Entrepreneurial and commercial thinking
• Relating and networking
• Adapting and responding to change
• Persuading and influencing
• Creating and innovating