Chief Accountant - Africa at DNV GL

About the role

• With the purpose of conducting a standardized, high quality and cost-efficient support function, GSS (Global Shared Services) Finance has re-organized its Middle Eastern and Africa operations into a center responsible for defined finance processes and transactional tasks in Pune, India. The Chief Accountant will be based in Cape Town, South Africa joining a team of 3 other Chief Accountants covering countries in Sub Sahara and North Africa.
• The Chief Accountant oversees, reviews and evaluates the corporate compliance program on the local level, which includes internal control procedures and policies. The Chief Accountant ensures that management and employees comply with local rules and regulations and that corporate and company policies are being followed.
• The Chief Accountant is accountable to GSS management, in all compliance matters as listed in the job purpose. Accountability is achieved through providing stewardship on compliance matters for BA (Business Area)/GSS management in the Region.

Work to be performed/major duties:

• Responsible for all statutory reporting and compliance for certain African legal entities such as Angola and Morocco.
• Drive standardization of accounting processes and recording of transactions in collaboration with the GSS center
• Drive standardization of the chart of accounts and cost center structure for the legal entities
• Work with Business Controllers and GSS to standardize daily, weekly, monthly and annual reporting
• Monitor share capital development and dividends and makes sure that equity rules and dividend payment rules are followed and are legally compliant (eg. thin capitalization rules, limits to dividends, WHT on dividends, dividend reporting).
• Ensure compliance with Group accounting standards, International Accounting Standards, Statutory and Tax rules
• Oversee tax compliance, support in tax reviews, support in preparation of tax reports and tax calculation for annual group and statutory accounts.
• Oversee compliance to statutory rules, act as the main support in annual audits and preparation of annual statutory accounts and notes
• Coordinate and facilitate in Internal Control matters
• Prepare companies for Internal Control visits and participate in Group Internal Control visits
• Main contact point for general accounting processes and group reporting, which includes providing input to specific accruals and provisions, Intercompany invoicing, investments and asset reviews, revenue recognition and questions on non-standard or complex journal entries.
• Take active steps to reconcile and pay all Intercompany balances in line with GSS Finance goals and KPI’s, taking into account local exchange control regulations.
• Acts as main contact point towards auditors and outsourcing partners including tax advisors and local accounting service providers
• Perform Cash management tasks for the legal entity including opening Group Treasury-approved bank accounts, closing previous bank accounts and ensuring bank reconciliations are up to date. Ensure there are joint bank signatories for each bank account.
• Support key strategic projects e.g. Finance system rollouts

About you
Qualifications:

Required education and level:

• Professional Accounting qualification – Chartered Accountant South Africa CA(SA), or equivalent. Preferably Big 4 audit firm experience
• Educational degree in Finance
• 5 years of experience working as Finance or Compliance Manager
• Experience in a global Finance organization in an international company. Good understanding of all key business processes across functional areas. Experience working in Oracle is an advantage.

Characteristics of successful employee:

• Fluent in English - written and verbal communication skills
• Sharp judgment and good communication skills
• Positive attitude, customer centric mindset and the willingness to go the extra mile to meet organizational goals.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret documentation and various financial reports
• Energetic and approachable fostering positive atmosphere and building strong relationships with key stakeholders.
• Ability to work virtually/remotely having limited or no face-to-face interaction with most stakeholders
• Solution oriented, willing to take initiative to solve problems
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team with minimal supervision
• Attentive to detail and deadlines
• Ability to multi-task and prioritize
• Proven ability to learn and understand new software/accounting systems
• Strong ethical focus

Essential

On appointment the candidate must have:

• Proven ability to produce clear written reports and communicate verbally in English
• Experience on audits and tax compliance
• Experience using MS Office suite packages
• Demonstrable ability to deliver complex tasks and solve problems under tight timelines
• Good organisation and time management skills
• Adaptability and ability to cope with a wide variety of tasks
• Strong analytical skills
• Strong commercial acumen
• Strong ethical focus
• Tenacity and resilience