Officer Trust Services at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

To administer trusts including: Testamentary Trusts, Agencies,  Living Trusts and Curatorships in accordance with the Trust Mandate. Responsible for taking  all assets  forming part  of the trust into possession and to invest and administer these to the optimal benefit of the beneficiaries within the parameters of the Trust document and legislation.
Job Description

Accountability: General Administration of Trusts

Accountabilities               

• Keep  abreast of  knowledge and  skills relevant to  the  area  of  work  by  reading all communication received  from legal department and  attending all informative sessions (updates received  from legal department, broadcasts etc.)
• Receive newly opened trust file for Testamentary or Inter  Vivos Trust from  Assistant Administrator: Trust and  / or Administrator: Trust and  approve that the information was captured correctly according to information in the Will or Trust Deed.
• Prepare the  letter  to  SARS (to  register  as taxpayer) and  attach the  trust document.
• Hand  this  letter  to  register  as  a taxpayer to  the  mailing  department for  mailing  to SARS.
• Prepare the  first letter (welcome and  informative letter) to the  client according to the Trust Manual.  Attach the  needs  analysis  form  to  the  client's  letter and  hand these documents to the mailing department mail to the client
• Provide security  to the Master  of the High Court when needed as a requirement in the Will or as set  out in the court  order  in the  case  of a third party  inter  vivos trust,  by completing the  necessary documentation. The  documents to  be  completed will be those  required by the insurance company who stands surety  for Absa Trust, obtain the nominated  trustee's  signature  and   arrange  for  payment  of  the  premium  to  the insurance company.
• Prepare the  Acceptance of Trusteeship, obtain the nominated trustee's signature and attach the  other necessary documentation (which  could  be  the  existing Letters of Authority, poof  of advertisement, Inventory etc.)  according to the  Master  of the High Court's requirements to be submitted to the Master  of the High Court.
• Take responsibility for the legal operationing of the trust by diarising  and following up on issuing  of Letters  of Authority by the  Master  of the High Court within reasonable time. (A trustee cannot act legally if the Letters  of Authority had not been issued)
• Arrange  insurance  on  fixed  properties  according to  the  replacement value  of  the property and  ensure annual  payments of the  premiums. (The Trust manual stipulates the  process to be followed  when  insuring  trust assets  as well as the  reports which  are printed monthly to remind them on premiums to be paid.)
• Arrange for  the monthly  rates  and  taxes  bill to  be mailed  to  Absa Trust and  ensure payment upon  receipt. Write to the different municipalities for change of address and obtain  confirmation.  Diarise  to  follow  up  monthly  if  the   bills  were   received   for payment.
• Arrange with renting agencies to find a tenant it the Trust has a fixed property as an asset  and collect the rent
• Advertise  to find a tenant if there is no renting agency  involved and  then prepare the necessary lease agreement and monthly on behalf of the trust obtain approval from the relevant  parties  (the  tenant  and   the   nominee  for   Absa   Trust).   Make   practical arrangements with the tenant to ensure collection of the rent timeously. ( the receival of the  rent must be followed  up monthly and  the  Trust Officer needs  to diarise  if the tenant will make a direct  deposit into the Trust's bank account, pay by check etc.)
• If the Trust has other assets  like furniture, cars, policies etc., ensure proper transfer into the  name   of  the trust,  and  arrange  insurance to  minimize   risk  for  Absa Trust or Trustees. Follow up on the  payment of the premiums (annual or monthly) by working through the  specific  reports printed from  the  trust system,  as indicated in the Trust manual.
• Prepare monthly debit orders  for payment of allowances on the  Trust system  in terms of the client's needs  analysis and hand  it to the Trust manager for approval.
• Evaluate  requests (i.e. allowances, school  fees)  received  from  clients  according to the guidelines in  the Trust manual and  prepare recommendation for submission to  the Trust Manager. Attach all necessary documentary proof.
• After approval, prepare the debit order  for payment of the  request in accordance with the  approved amount, sign the  debit order  and  hand  to the  Trust Manager to co-sign before  handing it to the Administration department to capture.
• Facilitate  ad-hoc payments to clients  in the same  manner as the  monthly allowances.
• Evaluate  the requests by considering the  trust capital,  termination  date  of the  trust, client's circumstances etc.; as guided  in the Trust manual.
• Facilitate  all correspondence to clients via letter,  sms, e-mail.
• Handle daily incoming and  outgoing mail, faxes, e-mails  and  telephone enquiries from clients, municipalities, brokers,  insurance companies etc. (all people  or institutions who need  to communicate with Absa Trust as Trustee of the trust)
• Revise investment portfolios  regularly  (as  per  the  Trust Manual)  to  ensure that the investment policy is being adhered to.
• Ensure   liquidity   of  funds   by  timeously  arranging  for  investments  to  be  realised.
• Withdraw funds from the money  market by liaising with the investment managers.
• Calculate  the  fees to be taken  and  give instructions to the  administration department for  collection  of  all  fees   to   which   Absa   Trust  is  entitled;  i.e. Acceptance  fees, Distribution fees, Management fees, Income tax fees
• Conduct    general    filing   of   correspondence,   yearend   statements   and    returned
• Certificates of Maintenance.
• Prepare  termination   statements  of   the  trusts  to   be   terminated   and   verify  the calculations made  of the trust capital  available  and  amount available  for distribution according to the trust system.  (There  is no draft and the information is available on the trust system.)
• Prepare final letters and  the receipt to clients  so that they can acknowledge receipt of their inheritance from the trust

Accountability: Client Services

• Interact  with  walk-in  and  telephone clients  on  a  daily  basis  when  they  come  in  to discuss matters relating to their trust.
• Attend to requests and queries  received  per sms, e-mail, mail or fax on a daily basis, by evaluating requests and make payments.
• Keep clients  informed of processes, procedures and  progresses of their  Trust Fund so that they can be updated on income  earned, investment made,  payments and expenses.
• Adhere   to  the   guidelines  of  Service  Level  Agreements  with  the  different service providers (Brokers,  Attorneys, Investment companies, Absa  Fund  Managers). These agreements are put in place so that Absa Trust gets the services they expect  in order  to give good  services to the clients.

Accountability: Investments

• Create   investment proposals  for  New  Funds  received   using  the  Latest Investment model according to the Trust Manual to ensure that investments are done according to the FAIS act, Trust manual and the approved Investment model.
• Review  existing   investment  compositions  of  all  the   trusts  under   administration, annually  or as prescribed in the Trust Manual  to comply  with legislation and  to make sure that the trust monies  are invested optimally.
• Lay  the   proposed  investments  before   the   Investment  Committee  in  their  weekly meetings and discuss the reasoning, to obtain the Committee's approval
• Give the necessary instructions to the administration department for the placing  of the different investments as approved by the Investment Committee
• File Investment proposals in the Trust File for record keeping  purposes.

Accountability:  Check accuracy of Risks/Reports

• Check risk reports (reconciliations, overdrafts, uninvested funds, new trusts, trusts to be terminated etc) on a monthly basis for discrepancies as these serve as management tools that ensure that available funds are invested timeously, reconciliations are done monthly, overdrafts are limited or authorised by the Trust manager etc.
• Work through the different reports and correct transactions and details where applicable to check that the information on the investments and bank account reconcile with the information on the trust systems
• Indicate reasons for discrepancies and correction measures on the reports, sign off and date as per prescribed rules in the Trust manual.
• Hand over the reports to Trust Manager on or before the due date as agreed upon from time to time in the trust office between the staff and management, and in line with the recommendation by internal audit.
• Give instructions to the administration department for implementation of the correction measures where necessary.

Accountability:  Formulate year end statements

• Check the accuracy of the financial statements and make changes as required by capturing the changes on the system if necessary. (The preferred language might be wrong as well as the codes use for capturing transactions.) Sort statements annually as prescribed in the manual, in the office per trust.
• Verify that the tax schedule and certificate of maintenance were attached to the yearend statement before these are mailed to the client
• Prepare Manual Statements where necessary, that is if the client request us to do so or if the trust has assets which is not captured on the trust system
• Verify that the yearend statements were mailed to all the beneficiaries who are entitled to one, by working through the client lists to check that a statement was mailed to each client.
• Follow up on outstanding addresses, by trying to contact the client on any other address or telephone number and update the trust system accordingly.
• Follow up by comparing returned mail and information already captured on the trust system to ensure that all the Certificates of Maintenance that were sent out, are returned. Once received, update the Trust System for audit purposes.
• Where there are outstanding Certificates on the respective due date, implement the measures according to the Trust Manual to ensure compliance with the Trust Manual.

Accountability:  SARS E-filing

• Verify that the annual IT12TR returns for all the Trusts under administration were submitted to SARS on or before the due date, by working through the list of accounts under management and comparing it to printouts received from e-filing reflecting the information on tax returns submitted.
• Submit the bi-annual Provisional Tax returns for all the Trusts under administration on or before the relevant due dates
• Give instructions for payments to SARS where applicable of taxes due, within the time limits.
• Ensure that the different Assessments received from SARS is correct and sign off accordingly by checking the calculations on the IT 34 received from SARS with the Trust Information for correctness.
• Verify that the Assessments (IT 34's) were printed and filed in the Trust file for audit purposes, by working through the list of account under management and compare it with the printouts received from e-filing about the issued assessments.
• Perform all other duties as reasonably assigned.    

Education and Experience Required

• NQF Level 6: B Degree
• B degree in Law (NQF level 6) ( Preferred)
• Estate and Trust Diploma (NQF level 5) ( Preferred)
• Certificate in Deceased Estates Administration via LEAD (NQF level 7)(Preferred)
• Advanced Estate and Trust Diploma (NQF level 6) ( Preferred)
• Two (2) years experience in the fiduciary environment as trust officer ( Essential)
• Three (3) years experience in the trust environment.

Knowledge & Skills: (Maximum of 6)

• Fully bilingual in English and Afrikaans
• Computer literate
• Client Interaction
• Good communication and interpersonal skills
• Competencies:  (Maximum of 8 competencies)
• Working with people
• Adhering to principles and values
• Analysing
• Following Instructions and procedures
• Planning and Organising
• Delivering results and meeting customer expectations
• Deciding and Initiating actions
• Coping with pressure and setback

Education

• Further Education and Training Certificate (FETC): Financial Sciences (Required)

Deadline: 22nd, February 2022