Senior Balance Sheet Controller at Barclays Africa Group Limited

Job description

An opportunity has become available in FC, within the Risk and Governance space. Financial Control is responsible for ensuring that Barclays Africa fulfils its financial, statutory and regulatory reporting requirements, while ensuring compliance with accounting, regulatory and balance sheet control policy. Financial Control comprises the following areas: Accounting Control, Reporting & Analytics, Policy Governance & Controls, Technology Enablement, Cluster Control and Technical Accounting. Financial Control serves as the Group’s primary interface with the auditors and regulators.

The policy, governance and controls team is responsible for providing finance management with assurance on the implementation and adherence to the governance and control framework over external financial reporting key risk.

This role is involved in change, embedment and ensuring the operational effectiveness, of appropriate risk assessment, testing and monitoring processes.

Analyzing key risk information, identifying financial reporting risk, assessing the control environment, escalation, via the appropriate governance forums, of significant findings to finance management and the business and monitors and inputs into Finance and business remediation plans.

Accountability: Understand Barclays Africa Financial Reporting processes, systems,

Controls, policies and frameworks (10%)

• Develop an in depth knowledge of the financial reporting systems and processes that
• operate across businesses within Barclays Africa
• Develop an understanding of Barclays Africa Financial Reporting policies and risk management frameworks in order to assess compliance and guide interpretation and training in relevant areas.
• Provide training on Financial Reporting policies and risk management frameworks.
• Input into the development of appropriate assurance and conformance testing plans to support risk assessments.
• Assist business to develop action plans to mitigate the risk identified during Analytical review, GLRS’s, conformance testing or in the KRI process.

Accountability: Coordination of External Financial Reporting Key Risk (FRKR) Governance and ownership of the Balance Sheet Attestation Tool (i.e. Consigno) across the Group (50%)

• Ensure the operation of a robust FRKR Governance process, including the FD attestation, AFRC and other forums (e.g. GLRS and BSRC’s) across all clusters, countries and entities in Africa.
• Provide appropriate management information to Finance Management on the assessment of FRKR, including development of MI packs, ensuring accurate and validity of information and high quality and appropriate commentary.
• Support Business owner for Consigno and other Financial Reporting attestation processes. This includes the monitoring of system performance, and management of remedial actions for system failures and other issues.
• Full understanding of the Group Balance sheet through performing monthly variance analysis and discussions with business. Provide output of analysis to Regional Financial Review Function
• Adhoc projects that require timely and sustainable resolution.
• Provide input to risk assessment of FRKR to Operational Risk Committees, including
• Risk Scenario’s, ORCC and other.
• Assist with developing appropriate Key Risk Indicators (KRI’s) to monitor the level of financial reporting risk and effectiveness of controls, to ensure that the Key Controls are appropriately implemented and understood by stakeholders.
• Co-ordination and management of RCSA, conformance and other control monitoring processes. Ensuring appropriate risk identification and reporting.
• Escalation, monitoring and tracking remediation plans
• Contact and escalation point for external and internal audit, assessment of findings and remedial actions, including assessment of risk and appropriateness of remediation.
• Accountability: Provide support to process executors through motivation and employee

Engagement (10%)

• Understanding and managing team dynamics to maximize performance
• Escalate issues around allocation of resources to process architects tasks to ensure delivery of team objectives
• Ensure continued development of resources, through couching and mentoring, to empower value added delivery of tasks.
• Assume role in indirect management, mentorship, support and influence
• Accountability: Process Ownership and / or Execution (20%)

As Owner of Processes:

Ensure alignment of process with organizational strategy; take accountability for relevant processes within area of responsibility and ensure delivery and maintenance of standardized processes and controls

Owner of the end-to-end business process including defining the goals, objectives and

KPI's, and performance management thereof

• Plan, implement and develop operating procedures for relevant area and updating user and working guides
• Constantly review and improve processes (automation included) to drive and implement a sustainable and effective process in support of quality and accuracy
• Drive sustainable cost and processing efficiencies through continuous innovation, industry benchmarking and alignment to best practices
• Act as escalation and decision point for operational decisions related to specific process
• Management of relevant executors of processes within ambit of control including coordination and management of capability and performance
• Change Management including facilitating change in process within scope of deliverables
• Identify process-specific risks and work with Process Architect to mitigate risks

As Executor of Processes:

• 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 / interdependent activities
• Actively supports the operational effectiveness of the Consigno system

Education and Experience Required

• CA(SA) preferred
• Non CA with 7 - 10 years relevant experience or CA with 5 - 8 years PQE experience
• Business experience in a Banking environment gained from a Finance, Product
• Management or Front /Middle office role preferable.
• Management experience (3-5 years) or SME as required by the specifics of the role

Knowledge & Skills:

• Exceptional academic track record
• Team management experience (Advanced)
• Understanding of financial reporting processes and related controls (Expert)
• Ability to identify control gaps and weaknesses (Expert)
• Ability to analyze and interpret financial data (Expert)
• Ability to write concise effective reports (Expert)