Finance Business Partner (Balance Sheet and Operation Expense Management) at Hollard Insurance

Job Advert Summary    

• Manage Opex reporting reprocess ensuring that all month end journals are processed to correct GL accounts and cost centre.
• Communicate Opex monthly results to cost centre managers and attend to queries flowing from EVR discussion.
• Overall Opex management – budget and forecast management for support areas.
• Balance sheet management – managing of balance sheet process ensuring all balance sheet accounts are reconciled and reconciliation queries are followed up and cleared timeously.
• Provide effective Balance Sheet risk management to ensure that write off that results into financial losses are prevented.
• Collaborate with wider finance community in setting up Balance Sheet milestones and standard operating processes.
• Effective provision process ensuring that debtors (receivables) loans are adequately provided for
• Provide input in setting up of BEE target for BU and monitor BEE targets.

Job Responsibility
Opex Portfolio

• Quality of financial accounting records as well as quality and timing of monthly results ensuring that meaningful commentary is providing on month end results
• Provide strategic support to exco members in managing operational expenses ensuring that cost savings initiatives are identified and planned savings are achieved.
• Maintain fixed asset register and provide feedback on the that asset that need to be capitalized or retired.
• Manage forecast and budget process for support areas ensuring that Budget and forecast are completed within the agreed timelines. Communicate results of Opex expenses with cost center owners and a
• Maintain Delegation of Authority (DOA) and update all changes occurred to ensure that payments are made on time
• Manage inter-departmental expense recoveries and Opex allocation process and obtain buy between receiving and transferring cost center managers.
• Follow up on EVR queries and resolve before the end of the new reporting month.

Balance Sheet Management

• Monitor and enforce effective controls on Balance Sheet accounts for Life Solution and communicate outcomes of Balance Sheet review to heads of finance departments.
• Establish Balance Sheet standard operating processes and ensure consistent application of balance sheet controls across difference finance teams.
• Alignment of balance sheet accounts across performance cells ensuring consistent use of GL balance sheet accounts.
• Ensure consistent and effective provision for non-recoverable receivable is implement timeously and ensure timely follow up is done on outstanding recoverable.
• Working Capital and Cash flow forecast
• Manage working capital and cash flow forecast for BU and reporting to the centre
• Provide commentary and insights on working capital ratios and cash flow projection requirements for Business Unit and help in identifying accounts that requires management intervention.
• Champion process efficiency through use working capital results and help business to improve process of receivables collection and timely payment of suppliers
• Monitoring of cash flow forecast against the actual cash flows and communicate results of cash flow analysis to the relevant heads of departments and
• Planning and support of the year-end audit process
• Assist auditors in their audit by providing explanations/ supporting document
• Ad hoc attendance at business meetings (as requested)
• BEE Compliance reporting and tracking
• Adequacy of processes to support Life Solutions' strategic objectives around Preferential Procurement and ESD targets from a BEE scoring perspective.
• Liaise with the centre on mapping of qualifying BEE spend to ensure that expenditure is mapped to the correct cost centres.

Required Knowledge and Experience    

• Insurance industry experience would be an added advantage
• Experience in building relations with senior management and driving change management
• PC literate (Advanced MS Office, Great Plains an advantage)
• Technical Insurance accounting, financial and management accounting
• Knowledge of accounting packages, systems and controls including budgeting, understanding of Line of business systems and their integration into the accounting system
• Financial and management accounting (IFRS)
• Some knowledge of regulatory and related insurance industry general information
• Knowledge of systems and controls, budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis

Educational Requirements    

• CA qualification and minimum of three years experience in operating at senior manager level