Lead Financial Accounting at South African Airways (SAA)

Job Purpose    

• The Lead: Financial Accounting role is responsible for compiling and distributing the Final Income Statement, high level narratives for the month and Balance Sheet for the Group, balancing of final Group Trial Balance in SAP with Final Income Statement and Balance Sheet, Manage and set month end closing deadlines for all SAP users (Group), Manage the opening and closing of accounting periods in SAP (Group).Furthermore, the role will run the foreign currency revaluation program in SAP and reconcile to detail, Ad Hoc Tasks and sound liaison with other finance departments and ensure preparation of annual financial statements and oversight of work including maintenance, fleet and fixed asset accounting.
• The incumbent will be responsible for creating new, changing, blocking and unblocking GL accounts in SAP (Group), Maintain Trial Balance in SAP (Group). The role will ensure that reconciliations are done, reviewed and signed off, ensure that all Inter-Company consolidations are done, reviewed and signed off, as well as to ensure that all month end closing exchange rates are loaded in SAP.
• The role is also responsible for converting and uploading of Mango’s Trial Balance in SAP, supervising of subordinates and co-ordinating leave, the period 13 year end journal process and provide updated Trial Balances etc. to auditors and internal customers.
• The role also requires liaison and communication with internal and external auditors as well as the follow up with SAA finance managers/financial controllers regarding the status of the clearing of audit findings from the prior years’ external audit.

Principal Accountabilities    

• Provide input to the design of the Department Strategy and implement strategy 
• Recommends, update and standardises policies, processes and systems 
• Prepare, manage and control budget of cost centre and contribute to department budget management
• Prepare Group consolidated annual financial statements (AFS) to IFRS, Companies Act, PFMA and other relevant legislation standards and benchmark against the AFS of other industry leaders in order to keep up to date with best practices followed by leading airlines
• Preparation of information for inclusion in the annual report and Directors’ Report
• Preparation of the financial results presentation after finalisation of the year end results
• Liaising with typesetters of the SAA annual report and verifying their various drafts of the SAA annual report
• Prepare Monthly Flash report (preliminary income statement) (Excel) by the 4th working day of the month, which includes commentary and high level narratives, check consolidation entries for correctness and provide copies (hard/soft)
• Inform clients on distribution list about the deadline relating to information required for the Flash Report
• Provide final Income Statement and Balance Sheet working paper (Excel) by the 7th working day of the month
• Manage Mango’s Trial Balance Conversion and upload to SAP monthly
• Run Foreign Currency Revaluation every month, ensure that the amounts are posted correctly to the various GL accounts and perform a reconciliation of the calculation as well as provide a dummy revaluation for the flash report
• Ensure that all accounts, which are our responsibility, are reconciled and cleared monthly and reconciliations verified and signed off
• Ensure that there are no unresolved issues older than 3 months on the accounts
• Create/change/allocate/block/unblock General Ledger (GL) Accounts in SAP after following the relevant department policies and procedures
• Maintain Trial Balance (TB) in SAP
• Ensure that all new accounts are correctly grouped in the TB
• Deal with change requests
• Reconcile TB and AFS groupings to ensure that the TB and AFS are in sync
• Clarify any changes/reallocations to the TB with the Manager: Finance Management and advise TM1 administrator and the Management Accountant to ensure that the TB, AFS and TM1 are in sync
• Exercise control over the opening and closing of the FI accounting periods in SAP for the whole group, as per the month end timetable
• Manage March year end closing and special period 13 as per the year end timetable/instruction from Manager: Finance Management and summarize period 13 journals entries posted
• Calculate performance for recovery of audit and management fees from subsidiaries
• Review of work performed by Specialist responsible for Fleet and Maintenance Accounting and fixed assets
• Review and sign-off of GL recons prepared by the Fleet Accounting Specialist
• Ensure a continuation plan for the department is in place
• Drive a Team Based Performance Management for the department
• Draw up and implement training plans (PDP’s) thereby ensuring that the department maintains skill levels and improves on service levels
• Scrutinise and follow up on any abnormalities in the Trial Balance on a regular basis
• Provide prints of intercompany account balances between Shared Services (Co. 1000) and Corporate (Co. 1010) with SAA Travel Centre (Co. 3060) to the Financial Controller who will journalise entries to impair the loan accounts
• Provide the Manager, Group Treasury, monthly per e-mail, with a copy of the final Group Consolidated Trial Balance as well as the Bank & Cash Balances for Airchefs and Mango as per their TB’s immediately as soon as the information is available
• Review monthly journals captured in SAP by subordinates for correctness
• Review monthly and year to date Sundry Income analysis before distribution (Account 810500)
• Verify and signoff of monthly and year to date FOREX analysis (Account 944010)
• Verify and sign off monthly recurring journals prepared by subordinates
• Ensure journals marked for reversal have been reversed
• Ensure Trial Balance variants in SAP are updated for the new month
• Compile internal month end closing schedule 
• Update the SAP News monthly with the new closing dates once available
• Back up Shared files between Manager and Team Leader after each month end
• Complete PFMA documents in respect of irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure 
• Perform Ad Hoc functions as requested by Manager

Qualifications & Experience    

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting at NQF level 7
• Qualified Chartered Accountant CA(SA) registered with SAICA
• At least 5 years’ experience in financial accounting environment, of which 2 years is at management level
• Experience with people management
• Exposure to financial reporting, particularly International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

Knowledge and Skills    

• Good knowledge of SAP FI (Financial) essential
• Good knowledge of MS Office (Advanced Excel) essential
• Good knowledge of TM1 will be an advantage
• Application and understanding of accounting principals
• Public Finance Management Act
• Knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Companies Act and other relevant legislation
• Accounting principles and procedures
• Computer literate (MS Office and Advanced Excel, SAP FI, TM1, Account Production)
• Good interpersonal skills
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
• Ability to perform under pressure and meet deadlines
• Analytical and accuracy in work output essential
• Strong numeric skills
• Attention to detail
• Strong problem-solution orientation
• Effective decision making
• Innovative
• Self-starter
• Good administrative, planning and organising skills
• Reliable and team player
• Confidentiality and accountability

Attributes    

• Leads with purpose
• Manages team performance
• Manages transformation and change initiatives
• Drives innovation
• Sells/ translates the vision
• Leverages Team Diversity
• Role models behaviours and values